McKee's Media - June 30, 2021

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES:

(excerpted from Michael McKee's email)

Robert Barnes: U.S. Supreme Court votes 5-4 to leave CDC moratorium on evictions in place (Washington Post)

Scott Wilson: California allocates $5.2 billion to pay overdue rent for low-income residents, $6 billion to convert obsolete properties into housing for homeless Californians (Washington Post) [Compare this to the $2 billion for NY tenants.]

Sara Maslin Nir: There are jobs in the Hamptons. If only workers could afford the rent (New York Times)

David Brand: De Blasio moving thousands of homeless New Yorkers out of hotels back into congregate shelters (City Limits)

Bill Heltsel: Westchester tenants sue state housing agency over swimming pool order for reduction in services (Westchester-Fairfield Business Journal)

McKee's Media - May 21, 2021

 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES: Converting hotels to affordable homes Kathryn Brenzel: Albany lawmakers race to allow commercial to residential conversions before end of session (The Real Deal) Right to Counsel for all NYC boroughs! Allison Dikanovic: De Blasio signs bill expanding "Right to Counsel" to all zip codes in NYC. Here's why it's a big deal (The City) Homelessness Michael Gartland: NYC street homeless down by 38 percent, but future uncertain (Daily News) Jeff Coltin: Christine Quinn on what the next mayor of NYC must do to end homelessness (City & State) Ethan Geringer-Sameth: Democratic candidates for NYC Mayor take on family homelessness (Gotham Gazette) Mayoral Campaign Jim Brennan's Commentaries: An actual NYC mayoral poll with a ranked-choice outcome illustrates how it works Dean Moses: Kathryn Garcia says her "Housing Heals" plan aims to end homelessness in NYC (amny) Gotham Gazette: Dianne Morales' strengths and weaknesses as she runs for NYC Mayor Ross Barkan: Dianne Morales, under fire (Political Currents) Julia Marsh: Andrew Yang is stumped by basic questions about NYPD reforms (New York Post) Politico NY: Andrew Yang fumbles on issues as race for NYC mayor gets more competitive

McKee's Media - May 17, 2021

 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES: RENT RELIEF PROGRAM Suzanne Cavanaugh: NYS rent relief website goes live -- but without an application (The Real Deal) Eddie Small: NYS rejected four out of five applicants for second round of rent relief (Crain's) Adam Mahoney: FEMA has funding to house the homeless, but local governments are not applying (Grist) SHORT-TERM RENTALS Shant Shahrigian: Council Member Ben Kallos introduces bill to require Short-Term Rental hosts to register with NYC (Daily News) Katie Honan: New City Council bill would make it harder for illegal Short-Term Rentals (Wall Street Journal) Dennis Schaal: Airbnb posts $1.2 billion first-quarter loss (Skift) The Real Deal: Demand for short-term rentals surges past pre-pandemic levels Steven Nigro: NYC fines landlord for illegal short-term rental by tenant (CityLand) ZONING Kathryn Brenzel: Judge lifts temporary restraining order on Crown Heights towers that cast shadows on Brooklyn Botanical Garden (The Real Deal) VOTING RIGHTS Brigid Bergin: In November NYS voters will vote on two constitutional amendments to expand voting rights (Gothamist/WNYC) Buffalo News editorial: 2014 NYS redistricting amendment might not prevent the return of the "earmuff" district Christine Chung: Weeks from pivotal primary election, NYC Board of Election still does not have software to tally ranked-choice votes (The City)

McKee's Media - April 26, 2021

 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES (excerpted) Extension of eviction moratorium? David Cruz: Albany lawmakers introduce bill to extend moratorium on evictions through August 31 (Gothamist) NYS Tenant Protections v. Landlords Tom McParland: Attorney General Tish James defends NYS rent laws in federal court as landlords appeal judge's dismissal of their case (New York Law Journal) Steven Wishnia: Harassed South Bronx tenants picket landlord's Brooklyn home (Tenant/Inquilino) Noy Messinger: Barberry Rose tenants unleash rage on NYC's "second-worst landlord" (Tenant/Inquilino) Fredrik Deboer: "Follow the damn law": Lawsuit targets NYC landlords illegally refusing vouchers (Tenant/Inquilino) Ralph Ortega: Interview with former NYC Council Member Dan Garodnick about his new book on the fight to keep Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village affordable (City & State) "Good Cause" eviction bill Michael DeMasi: Statewide realtors group lobbying Albany Common Council against Mayor Sheehan's proposed good cause eviction bill (Albany Business Review) Turning Hotels into Affordable Housing Rebecca Lewis: Albany lawmakers negotiating bill for conversion of unused hotels and old office buildings into affordable housing (City & State) Affordable housing still needed despite rent drops Kriston Capps: After NYC exodus, number of apartments affordable to Section 8 voucher holders surged (Bloomberg CityLab) Cordilia James: Brooklyn, Manhattan rental markets are on the upswing (The Real Deal) Matt Troutman: Asking rents for 1-bedroom apartments drop the most near NYC subway stops (Patch) Jake Offenhartz: NYC asking rents on vacant apartments keep falling. How long will it last? (Gothamist) Tenants' right to sue out-of-state landlords in Small Claims Court (no lawyer required) NYS Senate passes Hoylman-Gottfried bill to allow tenants to bring claims against out-of-state landlords in small claims court Right to Counsel - even upstate David Lombardo: Upstate lawmakers secured massive increase in civil legal services funding (Capitol Pressroom) (AUDIO) Mayoral Candidates and Housing Fredrik Deboer: All NYC mayoral candidates call themselves pro-tenant at forum (Tenant/Inquilino) Fredrik Deboer: Todos los candidatos a la alcaldía se llamen 'partidarios de los inquilinos' (Tenant/Inquilino) Janaki Chadha: Morales distances herself from former employer amid pressure from housing groups (Politico NY) Jarrett Murphy: "He's a bit of an enigma": What Eric Adams' development record & housing plan tell us (City Limits) Zoning Kathy Wakeham: SoHo/NoHo upzoning: Another rezoning for displacement (Tenant/Inquilino) Kathryn Brenzel: Judge lifts restraining order, allows Gowanus rezoning proposal to move forward (The Real Deal) Census means NY to lose 1 Congressional Rep Ally Mutnick: Census Bureau to release first data from 2020 census, triggering redistricting cycle (Politico)      Ethics Nick Reisman: State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli asks A.G. Letitia James to investigate Cuomo's book deal (NY State of Politics) Jesse McKinley on A.G. investigation into Cuomo's book deal (New York Times) Nick Reisman: Cuomo refuses to reveal how much he earned from book deal (NY State of Politics) Chris Churchill: Andrew Cuomo's history of opportunism and lying (Albany Times Union OpEd) (MUST READING: Churchill nails Andrew) Dan Clark: Liz Krueger says there is appetite for an ethics overhaul in Albany, possibly this year (WMHT New York Now) Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Brooklyn Council Member Chaim Deutsch pleads guilty to tax fraud State Budget  David Brand: State budget restoration to court system will make it possible for older judges who were cut to return to their positions (Queens Daily Eagle) Empire Report: Cuomo vetoes 36 legislative additions to the FY 2022 state budget Other state issues Nick Reisman: Single-payer health care bill advances in state legislature (NY State of Politics) Denis Slattery: Albany lawmakers approve HERO Act, new COVID-inspired workplace protections (Daily News) Albany and the Police WNBC-TV: NY pols want to bar police departments from hiring "wandering officers" with history of misconduct (VIDEO) New York Times: Here's what NYC mayoral candidates would do about the police OTHER STATES Irina Ivanova: Memphis tenants face eviction as courts strike down CDC eviction moratorium (CBS News) (VIDEO) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eviction-memphis-crisis-court-cdc-ban/ Jeremy Finley: Nashville landlords accused of illegal evictions (WSMV) (VIDEO) https://www.wsmv.com/news/investigations/legal-aid-reports-cases-of-landlords-using-illegal-tactics-to-remove-tenants/article_1e2e6d9e-a3bc-11eb-9001-e7cb0f57a155.html CNN: Federal judge orders Los Angeles to offer all homeless people on Skid Row in housing by October 18 (VIDEO) https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/21/us/los-angeles-skid-row-housing-order/index.html

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McKee's Media - March 31, 2021

 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES The Real Deal: CDC extends national eviction moratorium through June  (Because NYS has its own moratorium, the CDC moratorium will apply to us only after our moratorium ends on May 1, 2021.) Don McIntosh: Interview with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democratic Left/Portside)  ALBANY AND THE BUDGET Milton Perez: A message for Andrea Stewart-Cousins & Carl Heastie: Stand up to Andrew Cuomo & finally house homeless New Yorkers like me (Gotham Gazette OpEd) Jimmy Vielkind: Democratic lawmakers & advocates push higher taxes on affluent as budget deadline looms (Wall Street Journal) Adolfo Abreu & Samelys Lopez: Best way to defend the Bronx? Start with taxing the super-rich (Riverdale Press OpEd) Denis Slattery: Cuomo's campaign gets $568K from billionaires while opposing wealth tax (Daily News) Public Accountability Initiative: Number of NYS millionaires grew rapidly after 2009 millionaires tax increase Tom Precious: State budget will be late (Buffalo News)

McKee's Media - March 24, 2021

 

GOVERNMENT AID FOR LANDLORDS/TENANTS Katherine Fung: Second round of NYS rent relief only distributes $7 million of $60 million available (Gothamist) Will Parker: Some landlords don't want any of the $50 billion in rent assistance approved by Congress, say it comes with too many conditions (Wall Street Journal) (AUDIO) Georgia Kromrei: Some landlords shun federal rent relief over program requirements (The Real Deal) Josh Cohen: HUD has $10 million per year for tenant organizing. Why won't the agency spend it? (Shelterforce) The Real Deal: Real estate reps react to revelation that many brokers illegally reject tenants with Section 8 vouchers DOES RENT REGULATION WORK? Shane Phillips: Renting is terrible. Owning is worse. A third option is needed (The Atlantic) Miriam Axel-Lute: Shelterforce weighs progress on rent control & rental assistance over the last few decades CHUTZPAH.  CROMAN NEEDS MORE TIME TO PAY FINE: Vacancies he caused means not enough tenants to pay rent, so his income dropped.  Kathryn Brenzel: Judge gives Steve Croman an extension of deadline for final $2 million payment in tenant restitution (The Real Deal) BAN NO-CAUSE EVICTIONS AND RENT HIKES for 5 YEARS! Kathryn Brenzel: Housing advocates pressure Albany to ban no cause evictions & rent hikes for five years (The Real Deal) HOMELESSNESS (Lucerne Hotel) Jake Offenhartz: As dispute over Upper West Side hotel continues, NIMBY attorney Randy Mastro hires detectives to spy on homeless activist (Gothamist) PREDATORY EQUITY Bloomberg: House-flipping investors are throwing cash at a red-hot U.S. housing market NYS BUDGET and TAX THE RICH Daily News: Hundreds march on Heastie's Manhattan office, demand he impeach Cuomo & tax the rich WSYR: Syracuse activists rally for Invest in Our New York Act (VIDEO)

To stop an eviction proceeding till May 1, file a Hardship Application!

Use EvictionFreeNY to file a Hardship Declaration that will delay any eviction proceeding against you until at least May 1, 2021.  Don't delay!

McKee's Media - 3/17/2021

 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES: FEDERAL COURT DISMISSES LANDLORDS SUIT AGAINST HSTPA Molly Crane-Newman: Federal judge dismisses NYC landlords' lawsuit, upholding constitutionality of 2019 rent laws (Daily News) 88 LANDLORDS SUED FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST VOUCHER HOLDERS Matthew Haag: Housing Rights Initiative lawsuit accuses 88 NYC landlords of illegal discrimination in renting (New York Times) R.I.P.  Chris Libonati: Douglas Barclay, GOP patriarch from Central New York, dead at 88 (Syracuse Post-Standard) NOTE: Senator Barclay was sponsor of the 1975 Warranty of Habitability Law HOTELS AND THE HOMELESS: Nicholas Slayton: Hotels can play a crucial role in long-term housing for homeless people (Shelterforce)  TAX THE RICH - NYS BUDGET New York Post: State Senate & Assembly release budget proposals with $7 billion in new taxes on the most affluent New Yorkers Christopher Robbins: State lawmakers want higher taxes on the rich, but shy away from billionaires' tax (Gothamist) Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes: It's time for a wealth tax (The Indypendent) Edward McKinley: New York State enters budget season: marijuana legalization, wealth tax & sports betting (Albany Times Union) Rob Katz: From Brooklyn to Buffalo, socialists are organizing to tax the rich (The Indypendent) Morgan McKay: Senate and Assembly pass one-house budget bills, with increased taxes on rich New Yorkers (NY State of Politics) (VIDEO) Clayton Guse: Lawmakers sink Cuomo's plan to raid $160 million from mass transit funds (Daily News) Tom Precious: As NYS budget bargaining begins, which Cuomo will be in the room? (Buffalo News) Zach Williams: Three issues to watch in state budget negotiations (City & State) Kathryn Brenzel: Real estate execs slam Senate & Assembly one-house budget proposals (The Real Deal) Nick Reisman: What's a Big Ugly? The mothership? A guide to Albany-isms (NY State of Politics)

What do the Mayoral candidates think on housing and homelessness for NYC?

Gotham Gazette: Democratic Mayoral Candidates Outline Housing, Homelessness Plans

NY Times Opinion (Mara Gay) : https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/opinion/nyc-mayoral-candidates.html

From McKee's Media, March 17, 2021: 

Howard Wolfson: Interview with Dianne Morales, candidate for NYC Mayor (Bloomberg)

Samar Khrushid: Donovan, Garcia, Morales, Wiley & Yang seem to be on track to receive matching funds in NYC mayoral race (Gotham Gazette)

Shant Shahrigian: NYC mayoral candidates Kathryn Garcia & Andrew Yang challenge City to streamline business licenses (Daily News)

Sally Goldenberg: New York Communities for Change supports Scott Stringer for NYC Mayor (Politico NY)

Andrew Siff on race for NYC Mayor: Yang, Wiley, Stringer & Adams emerge as early frontrunners (NBC New York) (VIDEO)

New York Times: Five takeaways from NYC mayoral race

Politico NY: How Andrew Yang charmed the right on his road to political stardom

Shant Shahrigian: NYC mayoral candidate Maya Wiley awarded $1.9 million in matching funds (Daily News)

Martin Braun: NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang raises $2.1 million in direct donations (Bloomberg)

Jarrett Murphy: NYC mayoral candidates have uneven records of voting over the years (City Limit)

Patrick Sissoon: More than 300 candidates compete for 35 seats on New York City Council (Bloomberg CityLab)

McKee's Media - 2/15/2021

 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES

(excerpted from Michael McKee's emails)

HOUSING POLICY Jose Lopez & Barika Williams: NYC needs an Integrated Housing Plan to end homelessness & promote racial equity (Gotham Gazette OpEd) Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani: How socialists solved the housing crisis (The Gravel Institute) (VIDEO) (MUST VIEWING) HARDSHIP DECLARATIONS NEEDED TO HALT EVICTIONS TIL MAY 1 Emma Whitford: Few tenants have filed anti-eviction hardship declaration, stirring unease (Law360) Claudia Irizarry Aponte: NYC families caught in rent assistance Catch-22 sue to sidestep state blockade (The City) HOUSING DISCRMINATION Nick Reisman: State senate passes housing discrimination bills (NY State of Politics) TAX THE RICH! Nick Reisman: Fiscal Policy Institute releases new report says taxing the rich can spur recovery (NY State of Politics) Michael Kink & Becky Saletan: The Wall Street tax New York needs now (Daily News OpEd) Emilie Munson: Pelosi rebuts Cuomo's claim that pending federal aid shortchanges New York (Albany Times Union) Spectrum News: Protesters across the state urge Cuomo to support the Invest in Our New York Act (VIDEO) 13WHAM: Protesters call for NYS to help New Yorkers facing homelessness, addiction (VIDEO)

Landlords hail relief bill as end of "cancel rent"

 The Real Deal

Newly amended legislation would distribute $1.3B in federal funds

New York /

By Georgia Kromrei

EXCERPT:

A newly amended bill aims to meet the federal requirements for the rent-relief program, which include means-testing and priority for tenants who demonstrate housing instability or risk of homelessness.

Facing eviction for nonpayment or holdover? File a hardship declaration!

 https://www.evictionfreeny.org/en/

Protect yourself from eviction in New York State

You can use EvictionFreeNY.org to send a hardship declaration form to your landlord and local courts— putting your eviction case on hold until May 1st, 2021.  [Otherwise your case could start after Feb. 26, 2021.]