KINGSTON – As the sun was fading Tuesday, activists and city and Ulster County lawmakers gathered outside of the Ulster County Courthouse to lobby for action on Good Cause Eviction legislation on the state and county levels.
“It’s to help the millions of renters who do not have any protection from eviction at the moment,” said Jonathan Bix, executive director of For the Many, an activist group calling on state and county lawmakers to pass this legislation. “If the landlord wants to skyrocket the rent for a new tenant, they can evict the current tenant – even if they have done nothing wrong. This legislation is saying they have to have good reason to evict them.”
This type of legislation has already passed in the cities of Kingston, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. It was introduced in the Ulster County Legislature at the end of 2021, but it has been held up because of an ethics recommendation to legislators, who are landlords, advising them to recuse themselves from voting or discussing this type of legislation
“That caused a delay at that time,” said. Abe Uchitelle, Ulster County Legislator for District 5. “My intention is to reintroduce Good Cause eviction, but first we have to resolve this issue of recusals, and that’s something that will done through our ethics rules.”
The Hudson Valley has always been a desirable place to live because of its natural beauty and cultural opportunities, but it also a region with expensive housing costs. And the pandemic, mitigated by technology that enables remote learning and working, made the region more expensive as New York City dwellers and others found it affordable here, notes Uchitelle.
“At this point, if a landlord wants to sell the building and clear out all the tenants and once the lease ends, they’ll be able to do that. If they want to raise the rent to take advantage of increased interest in our community from folks moving here, that can afford to pay higher rent, a landlord will able to do that,” said Uchitelle. “Under Good Cause eviction, those tenants who will displaced today, won’t be displaced tomorrow.”
And if Uchitelle and state lawmakers are unable to solve this problem, Bix predicts there will be problems throughout the state.
“It’s going to be a huge crisis for working people, people of color, and exacerbate the public health crisis and the economic crisis people are facing, too,” said Bix.
