KINGSTON – The City of Kingston has successfully defended a lawsuit against the 2022 Vacancy Study, and the city’s subsequent Housing Emergency Declaration, which allowed Kingston to opt into the Emergency Tenant Protect Act (ETPA).
The State Supreme Court justice ruled in favor of the city and the validity of its 2022 Vacancy Study.
“Thousands of ETPA tenants here in Kingston can sleep a little better tonight knowing that Kingston’s Declaration of a Housing Emergency, the first in Upstate New York, has withstood judicial review. We all know that Kingston is in a housing emergency that our well-managed and professional vacancy survey clearly documented.”
The court’s decision allows for the 1,200-plus housing units to continue to receive benefits from the Emergency Tenant Protection Act. While the Rent Guidelines Board and the State Division of Homes and Community Renewal will likely have to meet again to reconsider the “look back period” and what, if any, rental increases will be awarded in the future, this decision firmly protects the city’s most vulnerable residents and remains an important tool that we will continue to utilize in the future, said the mayor.
Noble recommended that other communities that have had similar issues to move forward with housing emergency legislation to ensure their residents can have these same protections.
The group that took the city to court, the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association released a statement from Executive Director Rich Lanzarone:
“While we agree with the court that the Kingston Rent Guidelines Board’s actions were illegal, we are disappointed that the decision did not strike down what we continue to believe is a flawed vacancy survey. On that matter, we believe the judge was wrong on the case law and disregarded the facts.”
Lanzarone said his group will be appealing the decision.
“Profiteering landlords have chosen to wage a war between private property and people’s essential right to a home,” said Assemblywoman Sarahana Shrestha (D, Esopus). (The baseless challenge to the City of Kingston’s ETPA status was a vulgar display of power, and I’m glad to see it fail. I’m disappointed that the Rent Guidelines Board’s recommendation for a rent reduction has been denied, but I know that that fight isn’t over yet.”
