(DNAINFO)  Amy Zimmer — It was not a desirable neighborhood when Sam Weiskopf moved into his two-bedroom unit in the West 80s more than 40 years ago, paying just under $250 a month. But he stayed put as the area transformed around him.

Now he pays “just north of $1,000” a month, far below market rate for the neighborhood. But while his counterparts in the city’s rent-stabilized units just saw their housing rates frozen in a recent historic vote by the Rent Guidelines Board, tenants in rent-controlled units like his aren’t included in the decision, officials said.

As a result, Weiskopf’s rent can continue to rise — by as much as 7.5 percent a year, which is the maximum landlords can increase rent each year.

“We’re just trying to make it through off our savings,” said Weiskopf, 78, a retired salesman.

Weiskopf’s home is one of more than 33,000 rent-controlled units in New York City, according to filings with the Office of Rent Administration. Rent-controlled apartments, unlike rent-stabilized units, are not overseen by the Rent Guidelines Board. So, the board’s recent historic vote, freezing rents on one-year lease renewals for the city’s nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, does not apply to rent control tenants, many of whom are seniors on fixed income struggling to cover their costs.

Source: Rent-Controlled Tenants Not Covered by City’s Historic Rent Freeze – Upper West Side – DNAinfo.com New York