McKee's Media Noc. 20, 2020

 

EXCERPTED

ROCHESTER EVICTIONS WHAM-TV: After physically blocking eviction, CityWide Tenant Union demands Mayor Lovely Warren stop all evictions in Rochester (VIDEO) WHEC-TV: Rochester tenants, housing advocates call for end to evictions during pandemic (VIDEO) RENT STRIKES City Limits: A look at rent strikes in NYC, as housing relief legislation lags CITY SUES BKLYN LANDLORD New York Post: NYC sues Brooklyn landlords who tried to evict tenants during pandemic STATE BANS SUITS AGAINST FREE SPEECH BY TENANTS & OTHERS Ryan Tarinelli: New state law strengthens & expands statute curbing SLAPP lawsuits (New York Law Journal) ZONING / DEVELOPMENT Christine Chung: New York City Council candidates split on Flushing waterfront development plan (The City) ENVIRONMENT, COVID, AND CITY HOUSING Christopher Werth: Pandemic has thrown a wrench into NYC's enforcement of lead paint poisoning prevention law (Gothamist/WNYC) (AUDIO) Greg Smith: NYCHA boss says OK to independent study of how aging ventilation systems affect COVID spread in public housing (The City) Sam Raskin: De Blasio signs bill requiring carbon refit for some rent-regulated buildings (New York Post) Clayton Guse: MTA plots steep NYC subway, bus cuts amid COVID-19 budget crunch (Daily News) Jim Brennan: The state must step in now to avoid a mass transit apocalypse (Gotham Gazette OpEd) Richard Ravitch: The federal government must provide financial aid to states and municipalities (New York Times OpEd) BUDGET AND ETHICS Karen DeWitt: December session of state legislature has not been ruled out (NPR) (AUDIO) Joe Mahoney: $25K raise will make Andrew Cuomo the highest-paid governor in the U.S. (Niagara Gazette) Geoff Herbert: Cuomo says he will not take $25,000 pay raise in 2021 (Syracuse Post Standard) Chris Bragg: After approving Cuomo's book, ethics commissioners quash greater scrutiny (Albany Times Union) Samar Khurshid: Kallos proposes City legislation to tighten oversight of independent expenditures (Gotham Gazette) Chris Bragg: Fears of gridlock coming true for new state redistricting panel (Albany Times Union) Zach Williams: Several Assembly Committee chairs are open; Speaker Heastie is expected to appoint more women & people of color (City & State)

McKee's Media - Nov. 11, 2020

 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES

Upstate Tenants Protest Evictions

Albany Times Union letter to editor: Small landlord says evictions are not the solution to pandemic crisis
CBS6 Albany: Tenants protest resumption of evictions outside Troy marshal's office
Matt Hunter: Citizen Action & VOCAL NY members protest against evictions in Troy (Spectrum News) (VIDEO)

Elections

Chris Bragg: Outstanding absentee ballots in contested state senate races offer clues to final outcomes (Albany Times Union)

Samar Khurshid: Brooklyn, Staten Island Democrats look to absentee ballots to overcome election night deficits (Gotham Gazette)

Shant Shahrigian: Candidates for 5 New York City Council seats start sprint to special elections (Daily News)

Denis Slattery: Gianaris proposes legislation to allow earlier counting of absentee ballots (Daily News)

Denis Slattery: Green & Libertarian political parties face loss of their automatic ballot lines as the Working Families Party avoids the same fate (Daily News)

Emma Fitzsimmons: What Biden's win could mean for NYC: 5 takeaways (New York Times)

State Budget
Danny Katch: Albany's failure to tax the rich is leading to a health care disaster as second COVID wave looms (The Indypendent)

State bans frivolous lawsuits meant to punish free speech

Edward McKinley: Cuomo signs Hoylman-Weinstein bill to curb SLAPP lawsuits designed to chill free speech (Albany Times Union)

New York Times editorial: New York's new anti-SLAPP legislation is long overdue

Miscellaneous
Gabriel Sandovar: Bronx pastor bargained for a new church in selling his congregation's land, accuses developer of bad faith (The City)

Copyright © 2020 TenantsPAC, All rights reserved.

BIDEN WON! and McKee's Media November 7, 2020

 BIDEN  AND HARRIS WON!

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES: EVICTIONS Michael DeMasi: Apartment evictions resume in Albany County despite supposed pandemic protections (Albany Business Review) Allison Dikanovic: Clarification on eviction moratorium & housing court procedures for NYC tenants (The City) STATE ELECTION Morgan McKay: State senate Democrats predict that absentee ballots will favor some of their candidates who were behind on Election Day (NY State of Politics) (VIDEO) Ryan Tarinelli: Key races for state senate will come down to absentee ballots (New York Law Journal) Samar Khurshid: The state of play in the state senate as preparations continue for counting of absentee ballots (Gotham Gazette) Amandra Fries: New York State Legislature leans further left as DSA candidates win new seats (Albany Times Union) Clifford Michel: How the Trumpian red wave gave south Brooklyn & Staten Island GOP a lifeline (The City) STATE ECONOMY Anna Gronewald: NYS financial update predicts $15 billion revenue loss (Politico NY) Nick Reisman: Cuomo counts on Biden to make deal on coronavirus aid (NY State of Politics) Karen DeWitt: With elections over, NYS must resolve a multi-billion dollar deficit (NPR) (AUDIO) Jeff Andrews: 11 NYC infrastructure projects President Biden should fund (Curbed) Erik Engquist: Four things Biden could do for NYC real estate that Trump didn't (The Real Deal) Orion Jones: Prospect of divided government rallies real estate stocks (The Real Deal) Bloomberg News: Stock market surges on day after election, adding $57.4 billion in wealth to the 167 U.S. billionaires Reuters: Airbnb to make IPO filing public next week despite COVID-19 surge Copyright © 2020 TenantsPAC, All rights reserved.

McKee's Media - Nov. 4, 2020

  

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES STATE RENT RELIEF AND PENDING STATE RENT LAW The Real Deal: NYS denied rent relief to 57,000 applicants, has distributed only $23 million of $100 million available Amanda Fries: More than 60 percent of applicants for state rent relief were  denied (Albany Times Union) Brick Underground: My landlord wants to see recent pay stubs. Do I have to comply? Georgia Kromrei: Bill that would give landlords a hard deadline to make court-ordered repairs awaits Gov. Cuomo's signature (The Real Deal) THE PANDEMIC AND REAL ESTATE

The Real Deal: Predatory equity outfits raise funds to scoop up distressed properties, but still looking for distress Nick Reisman: How the 2020 vote & the NYS budget crisis intersect (NY State of Politics) Hugh Son: High earners in finance & tech explain why they left "the world's greatest city" (CNBC) Boston Review: COVID-19 provides all the more reason to tax the rich Daily News OpEd: Small property owners call for permanent end of tax lien sales Brick Underground: Some NYC landlords offer three months of free rent to fill apartments The Real Deal: NYC commercial property tax delinquencies jump 50 percent over last year U.S. SUPREME COURT AND RENT LAWS Leonard Goodman: The real reason Democrats did not stop the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett (Chicago Reader/Portside) Kathryn Brenzel: U.S. Supreme Court shift could favor landlords in rent law challenge (The Real Deal) D.D. Guttenplan: The U.S. Supreme Court has never been on the side of working people, but has been a reliable servant of money & power (The Nation) STATE BUDGET New York Post: Cuomo waiting until after election before taking budget action

McKee's Media - Oct. 22, 2020 - Early voting and articles of interest

 

EARLY VOTING IN NEW YORK STATE BEGINS SATURDAY!
Visit the Voting Information Center for information about:

• Early voting in person (October 24--November 1)
• Your polling site for early voting (by county)
• Voting by mail (mail your absentee ballot soon)
• Check your voter registration
• How to become a poll worker

Make a plan to vote. If you plan to vote by mail, you must request an absentee ballot by October 27, but it is better not to wait. You can request an absentee ballot online & it only takes seconds. Waiting until the last minute to request an absentee ballot is unwise. Daily News editorial: Do not delay in requesting an absentee ballot: applying online only takes seconds

However you vote, Tenants PAC urges you to cast your ballot for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the Working Families Party ballot line. The WFP needs at least 150,000 votes for president on its line in order to maintain its automatic ballot line going forward; this is three times the old requirement of 50,000 votes.
Sign the Vote WFP pledge here and share widely with your friends.

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES:

Georgia Kromrei: Cuomo announces extension of moratorium on commercial evictions & ban on foreclosures through the end of the year (The Real Deal)

Georgia Kromrei: Landlords slam compliance legislation introduced by NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (The Real Deal)

McKee's Media - Oct. 12, 2020

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES

(excerpted from Michael McKee's TenantsPAC email)

EVICTIONS RESUME

Steve Wishnia: Evictions are happening in upstate New York; advocates call for a "true" moratorium (The Tenant) (VIDEO of news conference)

Georgia Kromrei: Administrative judge says evictions can resume October 11 (The Real Deal)

Georgia Kromrei: Census Bureau says 3.7 million tenants could lose their homes due to eviction (The Real Deal)

William Glaberson: In tiny courts in New York State, abuses of law and power (New York Times)  (An article from 2006 which is still relevant now that evictions are starting upstate)

Sylvan Lane: Advocates urge federal government to provide housing aid as eviction cliff looms (The Hill)

CITY COUNCIL

Daniel Cohen: Affordable housing is the key to New York's recovery (Gotham Gazette OpEd) - Cohen is a candidate for City Council. 

Molly Crane-Newman: Bill in New York City Council would bar landlords from conducting criminal record checks on prospective tenants (Daily News)

Greg Smith: New York City Council members slam NYCHA for failure to fix exhaust ventilation systems, creating a COVID health emergency (The City)

PROSECUTING LANDLORDS?Jarrett Murphy: Manhattan D.A. candidate Diana Florence wants to prosecute landlords who game the rent regulation system (City Limits)

ZONING
Emma Fitzsimmons: De Blasio announces proposed upzoning for SoHo & NoHo, triggering fight over density & affordability (New York Times)

McKee's Media 9/29/2020

 ​ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES

Tenant Safe Harbor Act will be effective at least till Jan. 2020

Sydney Pereira: Tenant advocates call Cuomo's new order postponing evictions "misleading" & light on details (Gothamist)

Sarina Trangle: Cuomo announces extension of moratorium on residential evictions to January 1 (Newsday)
Kathryn Brenzel: Andrew Cuomo extended the state's ban on residential eviction. Sort of. Not really? It is complicated. (The Real Deal)
Nick Reisman: Advocates call for broad eviction moratorium (NY State of Politics)

Landlords v. tenants

Warehousing: Georgia Kromrei: Rent-stabilized apartments sit vacant as landlords refuse to spend on upgrades (The Real Deal)

Harron Walker: Philadelphia agrees to transfer 50 vacant homes to a community land trust established by Philadelphia Housing Action (Jezebel/The Slot)

Predatory Equity: The Real Deal: Blackstone assembles biggest predatory equity fund ever, preparing to scoop up COVID-devalued properties

Zach Williams: Why billionaire Ronald Lauder is targeting state senate Democrats (City & State)

Tenants charge harassment: Peter Senzamici: Fort Greene tenants charge landlord with harassment, illegal lockouts. Tenant advocates say these tactics are becoming more commonplace (The City)

Housing discrimination: Matthew Desmond: How Trump's race-baiting lets liberals off the hook (New York Times Magazine)

Zoning

Sylvia Varnam O'Regan: Judge voids permit for Extell's luxury condo tower on Upper West Side (The Real Deal)Kathryn Brenzel: Here's how the controversial Industry City rezoning plan came undone (The Real Deal)

VOTE IN NY, STARTING OCT. 24, 2020

Ethan Geringer-Sameth: Efforts launched to encourage New Yorkers to take advantage of early voting, avoid absentee ballot headaches

Greg Smith: Brooklyn voters get absentee ballots return envelopes with wrong name & address (The City)

Rachel Holliday Smith: Backyard politics: New York City Council candidates want more affordable housing in rich neighborhoods (The City)