Mayor Adams recently appointed Doug Apple as the new chairman of the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), with Reed Jordan and Alex Armlovich as members. The new appointments signal the city’s ongoing commitment to maintaining affordability for working families while making rent-stabilized apartments economically feasible.

What You Need to Know: The Rent Guidelines Board determines annual rent adjustments for the city’s nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments. The board consists of nine members appointed by the mayor. Two members are appointed to represent tenant interests. One of these serves a two-year term, and the other a three-year term. Two members are appointed to represent owner interests. Like the tenant members, one serves a two-year term, and the other a three-year term. Five members (including the chairperson) are appointed to represent the general public. One of these serves a two-year term, another a three-year term, and two serve four-year terms. The chairperson serves at the pleasure of the mayor.

The new members who have just joined the board come with various experience and perspectives. Doug Apple, the new chairman, has had leadership roles with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). Reed Jordan currently serves as the director of community scholarships at NYC Kids RISE and is an adjunct professor at the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he teaches courses about confronting spatial inequality and advancing racial justice in neighborhoods. And Alex Armlovich is a senior housing policy analyst at the Niskanen Center.

What’s Next: As a result of the mayor’s appointing powers, the board’s annual decision on whether to raise rents on rent-regulated apartment reflects the mayor’s posture toward one of the most significant housing issues under his control as mayor. Last year, the board voted 5-4 to increase rents by 2.75 percent on one-year leases and 5.25 percent on two-year leases. New members will soon be responsible for analyzing economic trends, tenant affordability, and the expense of maintenance for the buildings to make future rent hikes.