Fwd: Tenant Lobby Day: Weekly Update

In This Update: Tenant Lobby Day 2015 RAFA Update | Know Your Rights: Illegal Evictions TENANT LOBBY DAY - MAY 2015 Tenant Lobby Day is right around the corner! This year, we are headed to Albany with great NY City elected officials to educate state legislators about the rent laws. Rent laws are up for renewal in Albany in 2015, which means now is the time we need to organize. We also need to ask ourselves this question: why do we need to renew New York City laws in Albany? In 1971 Albany passed the Urstadt Law, which prevents city council from strengthening or renewing rent regulations. The Urstadt Law is more than a logistical annoyance – Albany is controlling NYC's rent laws and is dominated by big Real Estate spending. Tune in tonight! Vajra Kilgour and Kenny Schaeffer cover the housing movement in New York City and around the world. Click here to receive Twitter updates Read more about the Real Estate Lobby's influence in Albany and the Urstadt Law here: NY Times' Michael Powell on real estate's influence on Albany politics  Tenant/Inquilino's Kenny Schaeffer on the Urstadt Law We need big turnout on Lobby Day to show Albany and the Real Estate Lobby that we are serious about rent reform. State Legislators and the Real Estate Lobby need to know that we oppose the Urstadt Law and that we will not stop until we create real affordability in NYC.  Whether you are a long time activist or new to the Housing Justice Movement, Tenant Lobby Day is a great way to get involved. Email tenantlobbyday@metcouncilonhousing.org for more information. REAL AFFORDABILITY FOR ALL UPDATE  The Real Affordability for All coalition had a great meeting last Thursday, and organizational members started the process of writing a housing plan to solve the city's worst housing crisis. Before Mayor de Blasio releases his plan to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing, the tenant movement must continue to influence the administration. The solution can't be to simply give real estate moguls tax abatements to build 80/20 condos with no real affordability. Tenants are taking action to make sure that Mayor de Blasio is focused on creating sustainable communities with affordable housing. On April 4, hundreds of Brooklyn tenants stormed the downtown area after growing tired of watching wealthy developers receive sweetheart deals without creating affordable housing. Two days later - on a Sunday afternoon - more than 200 tenants executed another large demonstration, this time in Bushwick. Next Thursday, April 24, the Real Affordability for All campaign is planning to have their biggest event so far. If your organization is interested in joining the campaign, email jaron@metcouncilonhousing.org for more information.  KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: ILLEGAL EVICTIONS  Landlords commonly threaten tenants with an illegal eviction. If a landlord threatens to lock you out of your apartment or put your stuff on the street, you need to know your rights. If any of the following apply, you are a legal tenant and an eviction must be carried out through the court system: You have a written lease permitting you to live in the apartment, even if it's expired. Your landlord ever accepted rent from you. You have lived in the apartment for 30+ days, even if no rent was ever paid and there is no lease. In order to legally evict a tenant, landlords need to first obtain an eviction order through the court and then hire a marshal to perform the evictions. The landlord, court, and marshal, are all separately required to notify you if you are subject to an eviction case. It is unlawful for anyone else, including the landlord, to evict or attempt to evict an occupant by: Using or threatening to use force Interrupting or discontinuing essential services (heat, electricity, water) Removing the occupant's possessions from the dwelling Removing the entrance door Removing, plugging or rendering inoperable the entrance door lock Changing the lock on an entrance door that requires a key Learn more: http://metcouncilonhousing.org/help_and_answers/illegal_evictions MET COUNCIL IN THE NEWS **Please note that the Met Council on Housing is not and has never been affiliated with the Met Council on Jewish Poverty in any way**  "Progressive Groups want More Affordable Housing" - NY Daily News "De Blasio Picks 5 Members for Rent Board" - NY Times "With Rent Hike Battle Ahead, De Blasio Appoints Members" -Wall Street Journal "Study: More NYers Can't Afford Housing in NYC" - AM New York "Renters Hope for Promised Rent Freeze" - NY Times   The Met Council on Housing is dedicated to fighting for safe, stable, affordable housing for more than 50 years. Visit us on the web at www.metcouncilonhousing.org 339 Lafayette Street #301 New York, NY 10012 United States

More Electronic Resources

Here are some more resources for those of you doing research on tenants' rights, your building, etc. Click on the links and you'll jump to the appropriate website.

Division of Housing and Community Renewal

Law Help

Department of Housing Preservation and Development

Department of Buildings

City Register — ACRIS (Property Records)

New York State Unified Court System

Electronic Courts

Access to Official Court Reports On-line

New York City Government Website

New York City Department of Finance

NYC Housing Authority

NYC Department of Homeless Services

National Center for Housing and the Environment

The following link is specifically about MOLD:

Lab Results, LLC

Homelessness, Subsidies and Policy...

“Solutions” to homelessness and policies on housing subsidies have been all over the online media recently. I’m passing on some of the more attention-grabbing pieces here because it could be interesting to compare this to H.S.I.’s policies regarding ending homelessness. Click on blue links for more details. You may feel that this is a minor concern for us since we’re no longer homeless, but many of us came to Kenmore Hall because we were homeless once. The problem is growing, and funds are getting tighter all around – keep your rent subsidy as long as you can! And some people may want to get involved in some of the public actions posted below.

From Gotham Gazette

De Blasio's Homelessness Reset: Advantage Lessons Learned

by John Surico

' alt="Gotham Gazette: De Blasio's Homelessness Reset: Advantage Lessons Learned" v:shapes="_x0000_i1025">
On June 23rd, 2004, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg outlined his five-year strategy to attack homelessness in New York City. It was an agenda his administration vowed would cut the rate by 66 percent by the time the mayor left office at the end of 2009, before he convinced the City Council to extend his and its term limits. And, better yet, he said, it wouldn't cost that much at all. "This new plan aims to replace the City's over-reliance on shelter with innovative, cost-effective interventions that solve homelessness," the mayor declared.

At the heart of this was Advantage. A rental assistance program started in 2007, Advantage would transition thousands of homeless families from the New York City shelter system into affordable housing through one- to two-year subsidies. Both city and state funds would cover 40 percent of rent the first year, and 30 percent the second year.

Read More

April 2014

v:shapes="_x0000_i1027"> v:shapes="_x0000_i1028"> ' border=0 v:shapes="_x0000_i1029"> v:shapes="_x0000_i1031"> ' border=0 v:shapes="_x0000_i1032">

POLICY MATTERS A monthly update on policy issues in the fight against homelessness in NYC.  Something to Celebrate in the New State Budget A last-second language change on Monday, March 31 paves the way for a critical rental subsidy program for homeless New Yorkers. As state legislators and Governor Cuomo enacted the new state budget they removed language prohibiting any city in New York of over 5 million from using state money to fund a rental subsidy program for homeless people.  Just 5 days before this year's March 31st deadline the prohibitive language was still firmly in place. There were media stories reporting policy makers were saying it was too late in the process to change it. But client leaders, advocates and public officials championing the cause stepped up efforts in the final hours of budget negotiations and overcame long odds to remove the prohibitive language. Read more about the advocacy campaign, Care for the Homeless' testimony before City Council and the last-second budget change here.  That clears the way for a subsidy program absolutely critical to fighting and ending modern day homelessness. This success isn't an end, though. It's a beginning. If you want to join our grass roots campaign to build the better policies that can end modern day homelessness as we know it in New York, sign on by sending your e-mail and contact information to policy@cfhnyc.org. We'll sign you up for this monthly Policy Matters newsletter, too!

Shelter Census Hits New High as Housing Hits New Low

Over 111,000 People in NYC's Shelters in 2013 Even as we celebrate the opportunity to more effectively fight homelessness, we recognize just how enormous NYC's homelessness crisis has become. More than 111,000 New Yorkers slept in city homeless shelters in New York City at some point in 2013.  The Coalition for the Homeless State of Homelessness 2014 report released in March documented these new records: ·  City DHS shelters averaged a record high daily census of 53,615 people ·  That included a horrendous 22,712 children, another record high ·  In 2013, average duration of stay in shelter for homeless families increased to 14.5 months The recent increase in city shelter population has been driven primarily by homeless families. In 2002, DHS reported an average of 7,111 families in city shelters. That increased in January, 2013, to 12,712 families - an increase of over 78% in 11 years. Last month New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli also released his Housing Affordability in New York State report, documenting falling median wages in New York and rising housing costs have pushed many New Yorkers over the housing crisis edge. Three million New York households are in housing they can't afford. Read more.
Join Care for the Homeless at NYC AIDS Walk on May 18 For almost a decade Care for the Homeless has taken part in the NYC AIDS Walk, raising public awareness, supporting the cause and raising funds for the fight against HIV and AIDS. In 2014, Team Care for the Homeless, led by client leaders from our two consumer boards, is once again participating. About two dozen clients and staff are already on board, and we hope you will join us. The walk is on Sunday, May 18, in Central Park. Opening Ceremonies kick off at 9:15, with the walk starting about 10 a.m. It's a 6.2 mile walking course. We take a fairly leisurely pace (though each walker can set their own pace), so it's a 2.5 hour walk if you go the distance. Team members are invited to participate for as much or as little of the event as they are comfortable. It's a festive, fun atmosphere featuring music, celebrities, lots of support and good will. Last year we walked in terrible rain, but we've been assured it'll be a beautiful day for a celebration and a walk this May 18th. You're invited to join the Care for the Homeless AIDS Walk team by contacting us atpolicy@cfhnyc.org, or you can sign up with our team at the AIDS Walk New York website.

Letter to the Editor published in the New York Times "A Crisis of Homelessness': Read Bobby Watts' latest Letter to the Editor in the New York Times and learn why we need to increase our federal support for affordable housing, not let it fall victim to mindless sequestration. Download the printable version of this month's Policy Matters newsletter here.

alt="Care for the Homeless Logo" name="14527bb77217eaec_ACCOUNT.IMAGE.18" border=0 v:shapes="_x0000_s1027">Policy Matters is a monthly update on policy and advocacy issues in the fight against homelessness in New York City.

Learn more and support our Homelessness at careforthehomeless.org.

H.S.I. describes itself in the following fairly benign ways in a recent audited financial statement found on the NYC Charities Registry:

From: HOUSING AND SERVICES, INC.... COMBINED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS... YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2011 AND 2010
'The organization operates and develops permanent supportive and affordable housing."

"Property management services: H.S.I. provides property management and administrative services to the low income permanent supportive housing projects known as Cecil Hotel, Kenmore Hall and Narragansett Hotel. The projects are controlled by H.S.I. through a commonality of trustees and officers."

FORM 990, PART III, LINE 1:
"The organization works toward ending chronic homelessness, preventing homelessness for persons threatened with displacement and improving housing conditions for the marginalized through the operation and development of permanent supportive and affordable housing. The organization helps its clients achieve their fullest potential for housing self-sufficiency by realistically assessing their individual needs and building respectful and caring supportive communities to overcome barriers to their success."

KENMORE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND CORPORATION: "Operation of low income supportive housing project.":

The phrase supportive housing is used three times in the above quotes, but nowhere does it say that tenants are obligated to use the social services offered, or that the social services are mandatory. There is one key phrase referring to "building respectful and caring supportive communities..."; the key word here being respectful. There is nothing respectful in the attitude of the newer social workers, Jan Principato and Beverly Clarke. They are hostile, aggressive, and rude - and they make no effort to assess the individual needs of tenants at all. Rather, they appear to prefer the idea of forcing tenants to fit into pre-set categories of substance abuse, mental illness, or a history of incarceration. There are many other reasons for homelessness that should be acknowledged, and they are legitimate reasons that don't further stigmatize tenants or profile them in negative ways. It's interesting to note that Jen Principato is leaving in early April 2014; she's only been associated with H.S.I. and Kenmore Hall since the end of September/early October 2013. Rumor has it that she's moving on to work with incarcerated people. I feel sorry for prisoners that will have her up in their faces; we can walk away from her - they'll be stuck with her.

In Sunset Park, Demise of Affordable Units Feared

For anyone that's been trying to move out of Kenmore Hall, the following article is a familiar story. It's getting harder to find housing that accepts Section 8 in neighborhoods that are reasonably safe. Sunset Park was one of the areas I'd been looking at myself because it's familiar (I used to live one neighborhood over). When staff and management are confronted by tenants regarding making policy changes, repairs, or reassigning rooms, the standard response has become a variation of "if you don't like it here, why don't you move out?" That's what some of us are doing. But it takes time, and we're still entitled to a decent standard of living while we're here.

http://shar.es/RR9gU

Hundreds of apartments covered by Section 8—key anchors in a neighborhood where affordability is threatened by gentrification—are slated to leave the program

This message was sent using ShareThis (http://www.sharethis.com)

tenant survey

Back in 2009, I was a newcomer to Kenmore Hall and had had the first blog running since June. I had planned to survey the tenants about satisfaction with conditions here at Kenmore Hall. I can't remember why I never did anything with it, but I just found the survey - and a lot of the issues seem not to have changed.

KENMORE HALL TENANT SURVEY September 2009

This survey can be filled out anonymously. The results will be used to poll tenant satisfaction with conditions at Kenmore Hall. Please provide brief responses to the following questions; additional information can be added on the back side of this page.

1. Are you satisfied with how the elevators operate?

2. Are you satisfied with how the common areas (halls, stairs, and lobby) are maintained? Are they clean enough?

3. When you fill out a work order for repairs or maintenance in your unit, are you satisfied with how the desk and maintenance staff respond? Does staff respond in a timely manner? Is the work done correctly?

4. Are there noise and/or smell issues on your floor?

5. Would you like your unit tested for mold?

6. Has management responded appropriately to concerns about quality of life issues you've raised?

7. How often have you contacted management about your concerns?

8. How many times have you had to follow up on issues in order to resolve the situation?

another potentially helpful resource

Tenants & Neighbors, 

236 West 27th Street, 4th Floor,

New York, New York 10001

Telephone: 212 608-4320
Email: info@tandn.org

 

The staff of Tenants & Neighbors is creative, professional, and hard working. We have expertise in tenant organizing and in housing policy 
 issues. We come from diverse backgrounds, but we all share a deep commitment to working alongside tenants in the struggle to defend affordable housing and strengthen tenants' rights.