Tenants PAC's Michael McKee sends Articles of Interest to Tenant Advocates. Get on the email list (scroll down the page to the bottom)!
Excepted from Tenants PAC emails:
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10/16/2021
RENTS SURGE, CO-OP & CONDO MARKETS RECOVER
Jake Offenhartz: NYC tenants are waging bidding wars on vacant apartments as rental demand surges (Gothamist)
Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Brooklyn's co-op, condo real estate market steadily recovers from the pandemic
Emily Davenport: NYC files suit against company accused of unlawful advertising of illegal short-term rentals (amNY)
GOOD CAUSE EVICTION (Eviction only for good cause)
Sam Raudins: Mayor of Hudson vetoes good cause eviction bill to allow Common Council to amend it (HudsonValley360)
Kate Ham: Good cause legislation would protect 1.6 million households, nearly 50 percent of tenants statewide (Community Service Society)
Will Parker: Mass evictions didn't result after U.S. eviction ban ended; rental assistance, local policies helped (Wall Street Journal)
CREATING MORE HOUSING
Rochester City Newspaper: Activists, Jumaane Williams call for Cadillac Hotel to be converted to permanent housing for homeless Rochester residents
BASEMENT UNITS
Beth Finkel: The right way to legalize accessory dwelling units (Daily News Opinion)
GOV. HOCHUL
Nick Reisman: Gov. Hochul announces that the state has settled the long-standing lawsuit over funding for public schools (NY State of Politics)
Zach Williams: Why is Kathy Hochul calling Cynthia Nixon? (City & State)
New York Post: Gov. Hochul meets with families of nursing home COVID victims, offers apology
Nick Reisman: Judicial panel forwards its list of possible candidates for top court to Gov. Hochul (NY State of Politics)
New York 1 News: Cuomo's "wrong way" LaGuardia AirTrain project halted as Port Authority reviews possible alternatives
FEDERAL BUILD-BACK-BETTER BILL
Todd Gitlin: Look what's inside the bill, please: the details of the $3.5 trillion package (Daily News Opinion)
INFLATION
Jeanna Smialek: Consumer prices surge in September, worrying Washington & Wall Street (New York Times)
Larry Rulison: Upstate consumers fear inflation as holidays approach (Albany Times Union)
New York Times: Everything is getting more expensive
Dan Burns: Social security payments for 2022 will increase by 5.9 percent, highest since 1982 (amny/Reuters)
Stan Choe: Heating bills set to soar as inflation hits energy prices (AP)
Beth Adams: Consumer confidence nose-dives amid inflation and supply chain problems (WXXI)
BUFFALO MAYOR RACE - Dem. India Walton
Bob McCarthy: India Walton campaign says 1/3 of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown's contributions are from Republicans or Conservatives (Buffalo News)
John Nichols: Why won't New York's top Democrats Kathy Hochul & Jay Jacobs support the Democratic nominee for Mayor of Buffalo? (The Nation)
Bill Mahoney: Buffalo's unprecedented mayoral race tests New York Democrats (Politico NY)
REZONING
Mark Hallum: Proponents of Cuomo's Penn Station redevelopment project urge Hochul to proceed with its implementation (amNY)
Raanan Geberer: Opponents of Gowanus rezoning hire prominent environmental lawyer (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
NY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Nick Reisman: Citizens Union opposes constitutional amendment on redistricting (NY State of Politics)
LOOPHOLES FOR THE RICH
David Wessel: Opportunity zones: Another tax loophole for the rich (New York Times Opinion)
Caleb Melby: Loophole allows young people from affluent families to buy HDFC apartments intended for low-income NYC residents (Bloomberg Businessweek)
DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Ezra Klein: Sleepwalking into catastrophe: David Shor is telling Democrats what they don't want to hear (New York Times)
Thomas Edsall: Democrats can't simply give the people what they want (New York Times Opinion)
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9/28/2021
RENT REGULATION WORKS
Cea Weaver: There's no denying the data: rent control works (The Hill Opinion)
Kenny Stancil: Fed up with rent insanity, Berliners vote overwhelmingly to expropriate 240,000 apartments from corporate landlords, convert them to social housing (Common Dreams/Portside)
Reuters: Berliners vote to expropriate apartments held by large landlords in non-binding referendum
EVICTIONS
Finger Lakes 1 News: Westchester County has highest number of eviction filings outside NYC; Suffolk, Monroe, Erie Counties next highest
REZONING
Kirstyn Brendlen: NYC Planning Commission approves Gowanus rezoning (Brooklyn Paper)
Gabriel Sandoval: NYC Planning Commission rejects proposed Franklin Avenue towers that would cast shadows on the Brooklyn Botanical Garden (The City)
NYCHA
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer: NYCHA needs big money for major progress; Congress should double the funds (City & State Opinion)
STATE REDISTRICTING
Gabriel Poblete: Redistricting is on the November ballot. Here's what voters will be considering (City & State)
Advance Media: New York's experiment with independent redistricting is an epic flop (Brooklyn Daily Eagle Opinion)
GOV. HOCHUL CLEANS HOUSE
Zach Williams: So, about that Assembly Cuomo impeachment report ... (City & State)
New York Post: Gov. Hochul cleans house: several Cuomo cronies to resign
Susan Arbetter: State senator Gustavo Rivera says resignation of Cuomo's Health Commissioner Howard Zucker is warranted (Capital Tonight) (VIDEO)
Empire Report: Gov. Hochul appoints Dr. Mary T. Bassett as new health commissioner
Nick Reisman: Gov. Hochul tells business leaders she is willing to break with Cuomo's economic development policies (NY State of Politics)
Brendan Lyons: Gianaris seeks overhaul of judicial selection process, seeks more diverse candidates for top state court as vacancy nears (Albany Times Union)
POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS
New York Post: Jumaane Williams mulls run for governor against Kathy Hochul in June 2022 Democratic primary
Hunter Walker: Jumaane Williams exploring 2022 bid for governor (New York Magazine Intelligencer)
Katie Glueck: Jumaane Williams exploring run for governor in Democratic Party litmus test (New York Times)
Rebecca Lewis: Tish James addresses business leaders, sounding as if she is planning to run for governor (City & State)
Brigid Bergin: "It was a stump speech": Letitia James tests waters at power breakfast while defending Cuomo report (Gothamist/WNYC)
David Pikus: Ousting Andrew Cuomo was a coup, orchestrated by socialists and his political competitors (Newsday Opinion)
Morgan McKay: Attorney General Tish James rebuts claim by longtime Cuomo supporter David Pikus that her report on sexual harassment was politcally motivated (NY State of Politics)
David Cruz: Cordell Cleare, advocate against lead poisoning, wins Democratic Party nod for Brian Benjamin's state senate seat (Gothamist)
David Cruz: Bronx Democratic Party chooses Yudelka Tapia for special election to fill Victor Pichardo's state assembly seat (Gothamist)
Jeff Coltin: Socialist Alana Sivin plans to challenge incumbent Brian Kavanagh for state senate in 2022 (City & State)
Jasmine Sheena: NYC progressives raise funds for India Walton, Democratic candidate for mayor of Buffalo (City & State)
Steve Hughes: State minimum wage to increase to $13.20 per hour upstate on January 1, to $15 in Westchester and Long Island (Albany Times Union)
ERIC ADAMS, DEM. CANDIDATE FOR NYC MAYOR
Greg Smith: Eric Adams misses city inspectors again after illegal apartment complaint on his Brooklyn building (The City)
New York Times: Eric Adams gets cozy with Mike Bloomberg
NYC NEWS
David Brand: NYC severing ties with troubled homeless service provider Aquila, Inc. (City Limits)
Jon Lentz: New York City Council will have more Latino members after November 2 election (City & State)
The City: New York City Council passes landmark protections for food delivery workers
Jim O'Grady: Uncertain future for NYC's program to bring dangerous basement apartments up to code (Gothamist/WNYC)
Katie Honan: Google continues expansion in NYC but will not take building tax breaks that Amazon pursued for its aborted Long Island City headquarters (The City)
Akiko Matsuda: Bronx project-based Section 8 development sold for $91 million (The Real Deal)
Stefanos Chen: Residents of super-tall luxury condo sue developers for $125 million, citing construction defects (New York Times)
Jake Offenhartz: Costly broker fees, scourge of NYC renters, are back with a vengeance (Gothamist)
Kathleen Culliton: Applicants who were denied apartments because they had vouchers sue Chestnut Holdings, claiming illegal discrimination based on source of income (Patch)
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9/8/2021
State Extends Eviction Moratorium
Jason Linkins: The end of the federal eviction moratorium highlights the Democratic Party's staggering legislative impotence (New Republic Soapbox)
https://newrepublic.com/article/163548/democrats-midterm-elections-eviction-moratorium
Morgan McKay: NYS lawmakers extend New York's eviction moratorium in an extraordinary session (NY State of Politics) (VIDEO)
Joshua Solomon: Albany legislators extend eviction moratorium to January 15, 2022 (Albany Times Union)
Dan Clark: Albany lawmakers extend ban on evictions, with new exceptions (Rochester City Newspaper)
Nick Reisman: Small landlords face struggles as NYS eviction moratorium extended (NY State of Politics) (VIDEO)
Federal Aid Ends
Alicia Adamczyk: Advocates warn of "perfect storm" as eviction bans, unemployment benefits end (CNBC)
AP News: Two anchors of COVID safety net are ending, threatening millions
New York Post: Hochul says state will not cover COVID-related unemployment benefits for 1.6 million New Yorkers when fed program ends (VIDEO)
Bill Mahoney: Hochul's first bill suspends Open Meetings Law (Politico NY)
Nick Reisman: Analysis: A new governor's busy first week (NY State of Politics)
Nick Reisman: Hochul names Kathryn Garcia director of state operations (NY State of Politics)
Chris Bragg: Two more Cuomo appointees to JCOPE resign (Albany Times Union)
Eric Lach: Andrew Cuomo left behind a rent relief debacle (The New Yorker)
Albany Times Union editorial: Andrew Cuomo should not be allowed to use $18 million campaign fund for revenge
Illegal Basement Apartments
Note: The current requirements for a legal basement apartment might not have saved the 11 who died in Hurricane Ida. Those requirements protect against fire, rather than flooding - which would be helped if tenants had egress to a higher floor.
New York Times: NYC storm deaths highlight shadow world of illegal basement apartments
Daily News: Ten drowning victims in NYC lived in illegal basement apartments
New York Times: Queens homeowners devastated by Hurricane Ida floods
The City: In aftermath of drownings, advocates renew call for legalization of basement apartments to make them safe
Jeffery Mays: De Blasio plan to evacuate basement apartments in rainstorms not adequate, say critics (New York Times)
Michael Gartland: New York City Council considers bill to prohibit criminal background checks for prospective tenants (Daily News)
Boston Globe: Boston Mayor Janey and health officials ban evictions (Portside)
Rebecca Lewis: TThe race to replace State Sen. Brian Benjamin is on (City & State)
Ese Olumhense: Brian Benjamin's elevation to lieutenant governor leaves his state senate open. What happens now? (City Limits)
Abby Fridmann: State Senator Sean Ryan endorses India Walton in Buffalo mayoral race, calls for end to subsidies for luxury development (WIVB) (VIDEO)
The City: NYC state senators refuse to commit to voting for commission redistricting maps
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