Landlords say such alleged abuses are rare.
But tenant advocates argue that the woman's allegations, made at a 1973 hearing, are a warning of what could happen to many New Yorkers if state lawmakers authorize landlords to raise rents to market rates when tenants move. The procedure, known as vacancy decontrol, has emerged as a potential compromise in the battle over renewal of the state rent laws threatened with expiration on June 15. Although Bruno later stressed he supports vacancy decontrol in addition to phasing out rent laws over a few years, his comments reignited a highly charged debate. That debate dates to 1971, when Gov. Nelson Rockefeller approved vacancy decontrol in response to landlord complaints that the rent laws had crippled the housing market and made new construction a bad risk. Any apartment that was vacated, the sky was the limit on rents.