STATEMENT: Rochester Housing Advocates Quit Mayor’s Housing Task Force Over Fairness Concerns

June 14, 2022 by Ritti Singh

Rochester tenants call on Mayor to scrap task force, replace with a community-driven process

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK – On Friday, June 10, Liz McGriff, representing the City-Wide Tenant Union, and Stacey Jerningan, appointed to represent the Rochester Homeless Union, withdrew from Mayor Malik Evans’s Housing Quality Task Force (HQTF). The representatives made the decision following growing concerns that the HQTF did not accurately reflect the needs of tenants and homeless residents of Rochester. In response, the City-Wide Tenant Union of Rochester, a grassroots organization of tenants fighting to make housing a human right, issued the following statement. The statement can be attributed to Liz McGriff, Campaign Coordinator for the CWTU:

“Rochester is in crisis. Slumlords have taken over our community. Rents are skyrocketing. Eviction court is overflowing with cases. Countless families are forced to live on the street. That’s why we must use every tool at our disposal to ensure all families in our city have access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.

We had hope that the Mayor’s Housing Quality Task Force could get us closer to this goal. Yet while we began the process with optimism, we cannot in good conscience participate in a task force that does not uplift the experiences and perspectives of tenants, low-income homeowners, and homeless Rochesterians. Two out of three Rochester residents are tenants, but landlords outnumbered tenants on the task force. Most of the recommendations that community groups brought up weren’t even brought to a vote. Policies that tenants overwhelmingly support - such as stronger protections for evictions - were diminished. We are concerned that the final recommendations of the task force will not reflect the needs of our community, nor create long-lasting solutions to our housing crisis.

While we can no longer support this task force, we maintain hope that Mayor Evans and the City of Rochester can implement a community-driven, resident-focused process. Our community must come together and make housing a human right in our city. But for any policy or process to truly address our housing crisis, it must center the people who are most directly impacted. We look forward to working together on a body that adequately represents the Rochesterians who will be most directly impacted by its work.”

Read the City-Wide Tenant Union’s full list of recommendations to the Housing Quality task force here.

New analysis finds that 37.8% of eviction hearings lacked valid Certificates of Occupancy since moratorium expiration

March 14, 2022 by Ritti Singh

Between the moratorium expiration and March 8, there have been 855 eviction hearings in Rochester City Court, demonstrating a massive destabilization across our community. 37.8% of the eviction hearings so far are for properties lacking valid Certificates of Occupancy, which are required for all rental properties by Rochester City Code. Essentially, landlords have been illegally renting out properties and then evicting tenants.

The City-Wide Tenant Union also mapped the eviction hearings, finding that tenants in Councilmember Patterson's district have had the most eviction hearings so far, though he is one of the most vocal opponents of the Eviction Reduction bill. He is followed by Councilmember Peo, another opponent of the bill. The Northeast District also has the highest percentage of renters in our City (66.1%) AND the second highest percentage of rent-burdened tenants (65.5%). This data, coupled with his opposition, raises serious questions as to whose interests Councilmember Patterson are really representing.

Some of the properties that tenants are being evicted from have lacked C of Os since 2014 or have 70+ code violations. The data shows that Rochester landlords are evicting tenants from properties, often for nonpayment, without complying with the law and meeting basic habitability standards.

More data on Rochester’s eviction crisis:

As of January 2022, U.S. Census Bureau estimates that over 15,000 households in the region are still behind on rent.
Pre-pandemic, Rochesters saw approximately 8,000 evictions filed each year, impacting almost 1/10 Rochester residents.
Pre-pandemic, 72% of the tenants represented by the Legal Aid Society of Rochester in eviction cases were women and 81% were people of color. For every ten eviction cases, Sthirteen children were facing eviction.
A 2017 study found that 59% of families of color in Rochester are rent-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income on rent.
Approximately 1 out of every 4 Rochester residents moves every year, demonstrating a high rate of displacement.

BREAKING: Rochester introduces Good Cause Evictions, No C of O No Eviction Law

February 25, 2022 by Ritti Singh

In the midst of an eviction crisis, Rochester is set to become the largest city in New York to pass Good Cause Eviction Protections

Rochester, NY -- On Thursday evening, Rochester City Council took urgent action to stop Rochester's eviction crisis by introducing the Eviction Reduction Law, Introductory 94: Local Law to Prohibit Eviction Without a Certificate of Occupancy or Good Cause. Rochester City Council Vice President Mary Lupien, Councilmember Kim Smith, and Councilmember Stanley Martin co-sponsored the legislation. Rochester has had 3,000 over eviction cases filed since the start of the pandemic, impacting approximately 6,870 residents.

Good Cause Eviction Protections give tenants the right to renew their tenancy, protect against retaliatory evictions, and protect against unconscionable rent increases. The measure requires landlords to show that there is a "good cause," such as non-payment or violating the lease, in order to evict a tenant. No Certificate of Occupancy, No Eviction prohibits evictions from properties lacking a valid Certificate of Occupancy, which is required for all rental properties by Rochester City Code.

"Our neighbors who rent live in constant fear because no matter how responsible they are as tenants, or how long they've lived in their homes, their lease could be terminated without cause, forcing them to relocate with as few as 30 days notice," said Rochester City Council Vice President Mary Lupien. “Good Cause eviction protections can lead to improved living conditions and thriving neighborhoods simply by stipulating that landlords must show they have a good cause to evict, stabilizing our neighborhoods and stopping retaliatory evictions against tenants who speak up against poor living conditions."

Rochester is now the largest city in New York State to introduce Good Cause. Four cities in New York, Albany, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, and Hudson, passed the legislation in 2021. The introduction of these protections comes just over a month after the expiration of the New York State Eviction Moratorium on January 15, 2022. Rochester Mayor Malik Evans had pledged to reduce evictions in his mayoral campaign.

Rochester had been in an eviction crisis since prior to the pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted tenants of color. Before 2020, Rochester saw approximately 8,000 evictions filed each year. Between April 2017 and March 2020, 72% of the tenants represented by the Legal Aid Society of Rochester in eviction cases were women and 80% were people of color. Evictions have been shown to contribute to crises in violence, education, and public health. Rochester residents are also experiencing record rent increases.

"As a member of the Housing Task Force, I have faith we will accomplish our charge for a 90 day recommendation on housing," said Councilmember Kim Smith. "As a member of this community who has witnessed the impact of evictions amongst our most vulnerable, I must respond to the immediate need to pass Good Cause Evictions and the No Certificate of Occupancy, No Eviction now."

The measure has the support of over twenty Rochester legal service providers, social service agencies, neighborhood associations, churches, and community groups, including Catholic Family Center, Spiritus Christi, 1199 SEIU, Legal Aid Society, JustCause, Empire Justice, PLEX Neighborhood Association, Free the People Roc, and Citizen Action. Rochester tenants are looking forward to the passage of these protections, which will come after years of advocacy.

"This proposed legislation goes a long way towards establishing a more equal playing field between landlords and tenants, improving the city's housing stock, and reducing unnecessary housing instability, “ said Mike Furlano, Senior Housing Attorney at Empire Justice Center.

"The time is now to stand up on the side of what's right. Far too many families have been pushed out or forced to live in homes that are adding trauma to their lives.," said Clianda Florence, a tenant and mother who was evicted from her home without cause and without a valid Certificate of Occupancy on the property in December 2020. After her eviction, Florence and her family were homeless for over six months. “The time is now to change the seats at the table: accountability has to beocme the main course. Let’s not stop applying pressure!”

"Many landlords that evict tenants do not have a Certificate of Occupancy for their properties. This law will give tenants an opportunity to stay in their communities and hold their landlords accountable," said Liz McGriff, Campaigns Coordinator for the City-Wide Tenant Union of Rochester. “People have built roots into their community. This measure will relieve the trauma and stress of eviction especially for Black and brown folks.”

Click here to join the fight to get this legislation passed.