After some spirited chanting and clapping to open last night’s Town Hall meeting at the Church of all Nations, Assembly member Linda Rosenthal began the night by discussing the importance of passing of the bill S2237-A, which was introduced to the State Senate by several reps including Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Ms.Rosenthal stated that without the bill those who live in rent stabilized housing wouldn’t have any real protection against the aggressive gentrification which is being pushed by “greedy landlords”. As I’ve stated in earlier pieces, one of the things that this legislation would do would be the removal of the $2000 dollar threshhold which currently allows building owners to remove a unit, or a building, from the protections of rent stabilization.
The obstacle to the bill S2237-A, are those lawmakers who receive large campaign contributions from real estate groups. According to Ms. Rosenthal, the landlords contributed a total of $ 2.5 million dollars to Albany, to politicians on both sides. For those of use who have been working on this issue for some time, this comes as no real surprise. When it became obvious that the Democrats were going to take control of Albany, building owners decided to hedge their bets and heavily funded some of the newer Democrats. This does complicate the passing of the bill which needs 32 votes to pass and has currently 23 sponsors signed on, 4 Democrats who refuse to state they support it and solid Republican opposition. Senator Rosenthal urged those in the audience to call Albany and tell those Democrats who are wavering on the bill and remind them why they are where they are and who put them there. Democrats usually win their positions because of the push by tenants and tenant rights group.
The next New York Senator to speak was Eric Schneiderman who started off by stating that Albany is a strange world, separated from the real one, where you have lobbyists instead of friends. He went onto say that the passing of the rent destabilization bill is the top priority for him. Mirroring what Senator Rosenthal had earlier stated, the main obstacle to the bill are the landlords and those who received contributions from them. Senator Schneiderman called the system of rent decontrol corrupt and the issue itself really centers on what kind of city and country we want to live in. He called for the audience to call Senators Carl Kruger, Jeffery Klein, Craig Johnson and Pedro Espada and demand that they support the bill.
Senator Liz Krueger spoke, saying that life in the city is about safe affordable housing and that the passing of S2237-A is on top of her list as a priority. She blamed overpriced housing for putting tenants of rent stabilized housing into the position that they currently are. She said that landlords argue due to the current economic situation, they are not able to find renters for their lower priced units. She pointed out that the units were overpriced and it was no surprise they were unable to rent apartments for $4,500 a month. Apparently, one of the building owners actually lamented that landlords are facing, “the tyranny of the majority”- that “there are more tenants than landlords”. “No, that’s democracy!” Senator Krueger pointed out. She went on to point out the end of the $2000 thresh hold and urged voters to help the 23 sponsors by calling Albany and urging those who are on the fence to vote in favor of the legislation.
After Senator Krueger spoke, two tenants came on to tell their story horror stories concerning their landlord. An elderly woman spoke of how her landlord tried to force her to move out of her apartment after her husband became ill. After she refused to sign a document which would have forced her out of the building, the landlord threatened to take her to court.
Senator Jose Serrano represents much of the Southern Bronx and Harlem. He states that the majority of the calls that his office gets are from tenants who are being harassed by their landlords. He went onto to speak about the urgency of the passing of the bill and like the earlier speakers urged the audience to call Albany. Poignantly he noted how he had grown up in these same neighborhoods in the 1970’s, none of the same developers and speculators would have ever set foot in Harlem and the South Bronx. He and his family had stuck it out only to face being forced out – now that the same neighborhoods had become desirable.
Senator Bill Perkins came out swinging from the first moment he took the podium. He stated that those tenants who want to fight for rent stabilization have to move beyond the prayers and the churches, that affordable housing is a right. This statement was met by a rebuttal from someone in the audience who yelled that it was a privilege. Without missing a beat, Senator Perkins said again that it is a right and called out Malcolm Smith, one of those Democrats on the fence, to clearly state his position in supporting the bill. He then went onto to say that if Mayor Michael Bloomberg wanted to, he could help push the bill through since he has a great deal of influence in Albany and among the real estate groups. Senator Perkins went onto state the shame that the issue is not being debated in the Mayoral election. He later called for the tenants to take up civil disobedience and that he is more than willing to go to jail with those who are willing to do so.
A final thought, the high spirit of the crowded room along with the fact that several elderly residents who are physically disabled also made the trip was moving testimony to how deeply important the issue is. And while major media has given the bill S2237-A very limited attention there a strong undercurrent is rising which could pull down those who Democrats who forgot who their constituents are.
For more information on this and other issues, you can read my work at
http://www.examiner.com/x-6452-NY-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m4d24-New-York-State-Senators-demand-the-passage-of-rent-stabilization-bill
Until next time..
