The bill, Intro 523, if passed, carries a two-fold purpose. First, it would give tenants more power to require landlords to comply with the Mitchell-Lama program regarding repairs and upkeep. The second aspect would require the negotiation of fair deals with landlords who want to get out of the program by providing meaningful incentives for owners to negotiate fair deals with tenants.

City Council speaker Gifford Miller, who with an additional 35 council members including Alan Gerson and Gale Brewer, is co-sponsoring the legislation. Miller said that since July, thousands of tenants in two more Mitchell-Lama buildings have been served with conversion notices, and residents of another Mitchell-Lama building have been served with eviction notices.

"Instead of standing and watching while our city's housing crisis grows, we should be making every effort to solve it," he told the crowd. "That's why the council will do all that it can within state and federal law to stem the loss of any more Mitchell Lama homes. Now is the time that must say clearly that enough is enough."