The Rent Guidelines Board held its final hearing Wednesday night over proposed rent hikes.

Earlier in the day, tenants came out to the Great Hall at Cooper Union to give their input on the proposal.

Tenants say with oil prices down and unemployment at its highest levels in years, this is not the time to raise rents.

A rally was also held outside calling on the mayor to ask the board not to hike rents.

"People have lost their jobs, raises have been canceled and yet landlords are getting a raise. A hundred thousand apartments have been deregulated over then last 10 years since 1997, and the landlords are still crying poverty," said New York City tenant Michael Jascz.

"A year and a half ago I had pneumonia and I was hospitalized due to lack of heat. They do not deserve an increase at all and many many other tenants are going through the same thing," said New York City tenant Debbie Stevens.

The proposal calls for increases of two to four and a half percent for one-year leases and four to seven and a half percent for two-year leases.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer made friends in the crowd when he pointed out that last year, the board approved the highest rate increases in more than 20 years, after landlords argued that energy prices would continue to rise. But since that didn't happen, Stringer argued tenants should get a break.

"So come clean, admit you made a mistake and the reason you freeze the rents is because you rent gauged last year based on a faulty set of assumptions," said Stringer.

Landlords argue property taxes did increase. Some, especially small building owners, argue they're not doing as well as many people may think.

The Board will hold its final vote at the end of the month, with any increases going into effect for lease renewals starting October 1st.