“Drouin’s comments expose the lengths the landlord lobby will go to defend unjust evictions and wanton rent-gouging…[showing] blatant disregard both for survivors victims of the Holocaust and tenants struggling to stay in their homes.”
ROCHESTER – Today statewide tenant coalition Housing Justice for All condemned the President of Rochester landlord lobby group Freedom First Real Estate Investors Association, Matt Drouin, for his remarks comparing ‘Good Cause Eviction’ to the Holocaust.
Rochester City Council introduced legislation to opt into Good Cause Eviction Protections in June. Good Cause Eviction Protections protects renters from rent hikes and unfair evictions, as well as guarantees lease renewals to tenants who’ve been paying rent and following their lease. Over half of Rochester renters are rent-burdened, paying 30% or more of their income on rent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and Monroe County has the fourth highest eviction rate in the state.
In a Facebook post this weekend, Drouin wrote, “[Good Cause Eviction is] the HOLOCAUST for naturally occurring affordable housing in our community.” When he received pushback for these remarks, Drouin doubled down, writing “Some of my friends were offended by my use of the word ‘holocaust’ and suggested that I edit it. I’m not going to. I would rather defile myself by using disgusting language that offends people rather than see a policy get passed that creates homelessness and death…Analogous to the ghettos.”
The statement below can be attributed to Housing Justice for All Coalition Director Cea Weaver:
“Matt Drouin’s comments expose the lengths the landlord lobby will go to defend unjust evictions and wanton rent-gouging. The Holocaust was a genocide—a systemic campaign of violence, hatred, and annihilation that claimed the lives of six million Jews and millions of others. To compare it to legislation designed to provide tenants with basic protections shows a blatant disregard both for survivors and victims of the Holocaust and tenants struggling to stay in their homes.
“This gross comparison shows just how far removed the landlord lobby is from the experiences of Rochester families facing displacement and housing insecurity every day. Good Cause Eviction will make Rochester more safe, stable, and fair – as it has in every city that has opted-into Good Cause Eviction across the state, such as Albany, Kingston, Ithaca, Poughkeepsie, Beacon, Newburgh and Nyack. Rochester tenants will continue to fight until they have the protections they deserve.”