NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- With time running out on the 2022 New York legislative session, tenants, activists and politicians shutdown Broadway outside of City Hall on Friday in support of the Good Cause Eviction bill.
The bill, which is sponsored by State Sen. Julia Salazar and Assembleymember Pamela Hunt, would restrict rent hikes to either 3% of the current rent or 1.5 times the inflation rate that year, whichever is higher. It would also prevent landlords from denying lease renewal to tenants who hadn’t violated the terms of their lease.
About 100 demonstrators organized by VOCAL-NY, Housing Justice for All NY, Churches United for Fair Housing and Make the Road NY rallied around 12 p.m. in front of City Hall.
State politicians like Assembleymember Marcela Mitaynes and local politicians like City Councilmembers Alexa Avilés, Julie Won and Lincoln Restler spoke at the rally.
Candidates for the June 28 New York primary elections also showed up to voice support for the bill.
“Rents are skyrocketing and Albany must act NOW,” wrote State Senate candidate Kristen Gonzalez on Twitter.
The legislative session ends June 2, so if lawmakers don’t pass the bill in the coming days, proponents will have to wait until January of 2023 for another shot at implementing protections for tenants.
A recent poll found that 67% of New Yorkers support the premise of the bill. Fourteen unions have also endorsed the legislation, including powerful groups like 1199SEIU, the New York State Nurses Association and the Taxi Worker Alliance.
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