Rangel defends his cheap rent

Rep. Charles Rangel defended living in three combined, rent-stabilized Harlem apartments as a legal benefit of long-term city residency, but said he may abandon a fourth apartment he uses for campaign work if it’s not allowed.

Rangel, 78, one of New York’s most influential politicians and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, held a news conference outside his apartment complex to respond to a report in the New York Times on his four below-market apartments.

Housing experts said Rangel’s living arrangement was legal. But some questioned whether the powerful congressman and champion of affordable housing initiatives was taking advantage in a market where low-income housing is disappearing.

Rangel, who earns $165,200 a year and has a time share in the Dominican Republic, pays a combined $3,894 a month for the four apartments, the Times reported. The rent is roughly half the market rates.