Our Platform
Our Campaign to #HouseNY
Housing policies that serve people, not real estate
Even before the pandemic, Black and brown mothers and children were losing their homes at alarming rates — but now the eviction crisis has reached historic levels, destabilizing our communities. We believe that two things are at the root of New York’s housing crisis. First — the real estate industry has too much power, and the people have too little. Second, the public sector has failed to invest in real solutions. The results are devastating.
We have a solution:
Right to Remain
All people deserve safe and stable housing. But right now in New York State, a tenant can be evicted for any reason: a loophole that is often used to evict families in retaliation for fighting for decent living conditions.
The right to remain would keep families in their homes and help them organize for the living conditions they deserve. It would protect tenants from exorbitant rent increases – as good as an eviction.
Related Bills
Good Cause Eviction (Salazar/Hunter) (S3082/A5573)
- Good cause eviction grants every tenant in New York State protections against unjust eviction and unreasonable rent increases.
- It prevents arbitrary or retaliatory evictions by requiring landlords to have “good cause” to terminate a tenancy.
- Yearly rent increases over a certain threshold – 3% or 150% of the consumer price index, whichever is larger – could be challenged by the tenant, requiring the landlord to justify the increase. The rent increase could be found to be “unreasonable” under certain conditions.
Eliminate Homelessness
We can eliminate homelessness in New York State. It is unconscionable that in one of the wealthiest states in the county, we have more than 92,000 New Yorkers without a home. We are fighting to house every New Yorker permanently and sustainably.
Related Bills
Housing Access Voucher Program (Kavanagh/Cymbrowitz) (S280A/A3701)
- Creates a rental assistance program for New Yorkers who are currently homeless or are at risk of homelessness, including undocumented New Yorkers and those who are not currently on public assistance
Social Housing For All
We are fighting for housing for people, not for profit. Social housing is protected from the private market, democratically controlled by residents, and is the only housing that is capable of solving the homelessness crisis.
Related Bills
Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) (Myrie/Mitaynes) (S3157/A5971)
- Establishes a framework to make it easier for New York tenants to organize, buy, and convert their buildings to low-income cooperatives, community land trust, or even public housing when landlords decide to sell.
- Gives tenants a right to organize and collectively purchase their building together.
- Protects existing tenant rights to stay by enacting permanent affordability and eviction protections regardless of whether a tenant is an owner.
- TOPA helps curb real estate speculation and provides tenants with critical leverage and additional tools for organizing.