Hundreds Rally for Affordable Housing

NEW YORK CITY-Organized as the Campaign to Preserve Affordable Housing, hundreds of residents representing more than 15 tenants associations from Mitchell-Lama buildings across the city participated in a rally at City Hall before the first hearing on the Mitchell-Lama Conversion Protection Bill.

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.