KINGSTON – Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan said he formed a tenants protection unit because of landlords abusing local tenants.
Under a governor’s COVID-19 executive order, tenants do not have to pay rent for three months and Ryan revealed on Thursday tenants in his county have reported abuse to him.
“We have been hearing multiple reports of landlords harassing tenants to try to force them out of their homes at this moment in crisis, which frankly really pisses me off, and it should, you too,” he said. “At Tech City, we actually heard that locks were changed on a commercial tenant there, which was a small business actually working to make protective face masks for frontline workers and healthcare workers. We have heard from tenants who have had their heat turned off, their electric shut off, their belongings removed from their apartment, and sent to the dump.”
Ryan’s tenants’ abuse task force with be staffed by a battery of legal aid attorneys.
