FYI: Mayor Bloomberg upstaged the City Council this morning by introducing new state legislation to protect tenants in Mitchell-Lama buildings that don’t qualify for rent stabilization from excessive rent increases when their owners buy out of the program. Bloomberg unveiled his proposal just hours before a City Council hearing on a related city bill, which the administration opposes. The council bill would require owners of city-run Mitchell-Lamas built after 1973 to give tenants 18 months’ notice before leaving the program, and to pay the city $1000 per unit in administration fees. The mayor’s bill would extend rent protections to all 32,000 Mitchell-Lama units, both state and city-run, that are not covered by rent stabilization. And rather than set up hurdles for landlords who want to exit the program, as the council bill does, the mayor’s bill offers new incentives to those willing to stay in it. [10/29/03]