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.