Deliver a Message to Gov. Cuomo Jan. 3rd.

CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR  BY DELIVERING A MESSAGE  TO GOVERNOR CUOMO. Wednesday, January 3, 2018 Albany, New York Travel with us to Albany on Wednesday to protest at the Governor's State of the State speech. Demand that Gov. Cuomo take meaningful action to win meaningful reforms to the rent laws and win significant new funds for public housing repairs & new affordable housing statewide.  Tenants are demanding that Gov. Cuomo put these necessary reforms into his executive budget which he will release later in January. DRESS WARMLY! For information on buses & vans: Call or email on Tuesday: (You will not be able to reach Andrea until Tuesday) Andrea Shapiro - Met Council on Housing andrea@metcouncilonhousing.org (212) 979-6238 ext 102 (718) 207-2439 Happy New Year to all. Here's to tenant victories in 2018.

Housing Justice Town Hall - ALL Tenant Groups participating - Dec. 13, 2017

Join Met Council on Housing, 
Real Rent Reform Campaign, Tenants 
& Neighbors, Upstate/Downstate Alliance & 
many other organizations at a 

Housing Justice Town Hall on 
State Housing Policies

Governor Andrew Cuomo is invited!

• When: Wednesday, December 13, 6:30PM – 8:30PM
• Where: First Bethel AME Church (60 West 132nd Street, 

#2/3 Subway to 135th Street & Lenox Avenue)

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

Governor Cuomo is going back 
to Albany in January, and we 
demand that he make housing justice 
a TOP priority for the 2018 
Legislative Session!

We demand that, in the 2018 budget, 
the Governor:

• Strengthen rent laws by reforming preferential rents and eliminating the vacancy allowance;
• Fully fund NYCHA and Upstate Housing Authorities;
• Pass statewide source of income discrimination protections;
• Fund supportive housing and home stability support statewide; and
• Generate revenue through the millionaire's tax 

It is urgent that ALL NEW YORKERS unite to maintain affordable housing statewide!

The JANES awards - Thurs., Dec. 7, 2017

Come to the Second Annual

JANES AWARDS

This Thursday, December 7 , 2017 

6:30 -- 8:30 pm

at DCTV.  87 Lafayette Street

between Walker Street & White Street, 
2 blocks below Canal Street

Honoring:

Jane Benedict Award to 
Jennifer Flynn Walker

Jane Wood Award to Deborah Rand

Jane Jacobs Award to the Cooper Square Committee

Proceeds support the Met Council Research & Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization

$100 per ticket (discounts available)

To RSVP, or more information:

(212) 979-6238, ext. 2 or andrea@metcouncilonhousing.org

metcouncilonhousing.org

The Janes Awards and Articles of Interest to Tenant Advocates Nov. 22, 2017

THE JANES:  Second annual Janes Awards (see Articles for tenant advocates below) Thursday, December 7   6:30 -- 8:30 pm DCTV, 87 Lafayette Street between Walker Street & White Street, 2 blocks below  Canal Street Jane Benedict Award to Jennifer Flynn Walker Jane Wood Award to Deborah Rand Jane Jacobs Award to Cooper Square Committee Proceeds support the Met Council Research &  Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization $100 per ticket (discounts available) To RSVP, or more information: (212) 979-6238, ext. 2 or  andrea@metcouncilonhousing.org metcouncilonhousing.org

Saving Mitchell-Lama - Village Voice article

Steve Wishnia's article in the Village Voice: Saving Mitchell-Lama, notes that Mayor de Blasio's plans to save ML will help keep Mitchell-Lama co-ops affordable, but don't do much for the renters.  

End Vacancy Bonus and Preferential Rent Loopholes!

Photos provided by Real Rent Reform Campaign

Sign the Real Rent Reform (R3) petition to end to 
vacancy bonus and preferential rent loopholes.

Almost 240,000 NYC families live in a rent stabilized apartment 
with a preferential rent - a discount that can be taken away at 
lease renewal leading to a sudden increase of hundreds of dollars. 
The vacancy bonus gives landlords a 20% increase in rent 
each time an apartment turns over, providing an incentive for 
harassment of long-term tenants.

Tell your State Senator that we need them to pass tenant 
protection bills that stop rents from spiraling out of control. 
We need Real Rent Stability.

Tenants PAC's 20th anniversary and Articles of Interest to Tenant Advocates 10/3/2017

Celebrate Tenants PAC's   20th anniversary Wednesday, November 8     6:30 -- 9:00 pm Guest of Honor:  Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Special Guest: Andrea Stewart-Cousins,  next Majority Leader of the New York  State Senate Click here for the invitation. Click here to purchase tickets, to become a sponsor,   and to purchase an ad in the commemorative journal Articles of Interest to Tenant Advocates: Marisol Alcantara & Jose Peralta: Our first priority is to pass bills  to protect tenants   (El Diario) Luis Rodriguez-Nieves & Lucy Paulino: Talk is cheap: what will the IDC actually do to pass these pro-tenant bills?  (El Diario) City Limits: Is "Housing Not Warehousing" next?

Stand for Tenant Safety bills become law 8/25/2017

Eighteen"Stand for Tenant Safety" bills have now become law.  Meant to discourage harassment by construction, the new laws expand the definition of "harassment," raise penalties for violations, create an Office of Tenant Advocate in the Department of Buildings, and more . Click on "read  more" for the full list.

Why is "Preferential Rent" a scam? ProPublica explains

ProPublica

The article is VERY LONG with great statistics, so this is just an excerpt.

New York Landlords Exploit Loophole to 

Hike Rents Despite Freeze

Thanks to a 2003 state law, owners of rent-stabilized 
apartments can arbitrarily boost rents to a legal maximum 
that they set themselves. The tactic fosters gentrification, 
eviction and homelessness.

by Cezary Podkul
ProPublica, April 25, 2017, 8 a.m.

State Court upholds rent freeze

STATE COURT UPHOLDS RENT FREEEZE!!!   (Landlords likely to appeal) Politico NY: Judge upholds rent freeze,  dismisses landlord lawsuit against NYC RGB Daily News on rent freeze decision: judge says  board should consider tenant affordability Mike McKee http://www.tenantspac.org/ Tenants' PAC · United States

NYC Enacts Right to Counsel in Housing Court!

Tenants have won a huge victory:  Lawyers will provided free for tenants whose household income is under $50,000 (for a family of 4), and those with more income will get free legal counseling (but not representation) in court.

NY Times Editorial
A Housing Solution: Lawyers for Tenants

A Housing Solution: Lawyers for Tenants

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDFEB. 15, 2017

Continue reading the main storyShare This Page

• Share
• Tweet
• Email
• More
• 
  

Woody Guthrie's song about Fred Trump's home

Watch Ryan Harvey, Ani DiFranco, and Tom Morello singing Woody Guthrie's "Beach Haven Ain't My Home," about the Fred Trump-owned, segregated development where Woody was living at the time.  


Music by Ryan Harvey. . Click on "read more" for the lyrics by Woody Guthrie.

City Limits: 10 Housing Policies to Watch under Trump

City Limits: 10 Housing Policies to Watch Under President Trump
Excerpt: 

[E]ven if we can hope for progress on a local level, New Yorkers can’t afford to ignore housing problems outside city borders, says Laura Mascuch, director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York. Rural counties—including areas of upstate New York—depend on federal sources for a greater portion of their housing budgets, and their housing problems affect city residents, too: Nationally, homeownership rates are at their lowest in fifty years, which experts say is helping to drive up demand in the rental market, worsening the affordability crisis in cities. One election result analysis shows a correlation between negative home values and support for Trump. In other words, hiding in a progressive bubble while ignoring federal fights is probably not the answer, either.

Here are 10 national housing battles in the hands of Congress and the White House that activists say could be worth following in the months to come.  [Read the whole article for a list and explanation of each issue and how we can fight back. l