Personally, I believe that housing security should be a right, and it’s just not possible to have that when your rent can spike arbitrarily in the future for reasons outside your control. Young people with no local connections and limited belongings might be able to move every few years, but it’s downright traumatic for older people. Based on my lived experience, I will always vote for rent control while simultaneously pushing for more housing. The economic arguments against it are almost irrelevant.
I'm a renter and a parent in NYC, and I totally get where you're coming from. On a personal level, I'd love rent control that would freeze my rent and give me some stability. I'd also love it if NYC would build millions of new housing units, but that doesn't seem to be forthcoming.
That said, I also think that city policymakers have a responsibility that extends beyond just what will make life better for the current residents of their city. I wish rent control had better data supporting it, but everything I've seen suggests that while it might make things better in the short-term for some, it makes things worse in the long-term for everyone.
