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Gov. Hochul deflects when asked about 'good cause' eviction bill
By
Jon Campbell
Published Mar 1, 2023
Modified Mar 1, 2023
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Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
By
Jon Campbell
Published Mar 1, 2023
Modified Mar 1, 2023
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul won’t be lending her support to an ongoing effort to cap annual rent increases and ban most landlords from evicting tenants without good cause.
The Democratic governor was in Albany on Wednesday to push her proposed housing plan, which she said would help create 800,000 new units in a state that has long been in desperate need of housing. Hochul’s plan would require each city, town and village to meet certain new-housing targets — or risk ceding local approval over new developments to the state.
However, tenant advocates and some Democrats have criticized the plan for not offering more protections to those already facing exorbitant rent costs. Some of those advocates were at the state Capitol on Wednesday to push for what’s known as the good cause eviction bill, a measure that, in many cases, would limit rent increases to 3% annually and restrict building owners from evicting tenants unless they have a legitimate reason, like the tenant failing to pay rent.
Hochul doesn’t seem to be on board with the bill. When a reporter asked the governor whether she supports the “good cause” measure, she was decidedly brief.
“Well, we put forth the [housing] plan that we’re going to be working on this year already,” Hochul said.
The reporter, Nick Reisman of Spectrum News, followed up: “What do you think of that [good cause] proposal, though? What are your thoughts on it?”
“Right now, I am focused on getting over the finish line all of the initiatives I’ve put forth,” Hochul responded.
Hochul’s housing plan, which also places an emphasis on developing housing near transit stations, is included in her $227 billion state budget proposal, which she will negotiate with legislative leaders before the April 1 start of the state’s new fiscal year.
On Wednesday, the governor spoke at the Albany Barn, a former school that sat empty for decades before it was repurposed into a housing complex and an arts incubator for artists. Later this week, she’ll head to Long Island, where suburban leaders have helped organize opposition to her housing plan, arguing that it would effectively dismantle local control over housing projects.
Hochul said her plan would help provide enough housing to ensure people will have a place to live when they relocate to New York for work, and also ensure that native New Yorkers can live near their parents and grandparents if they so choose — in contrast to the current reality for some.
“That is what's going on right now in the state of New York, because we have not kept up with building at the same pace as they have in other states,” Hochul said. “I want to break that logjam. I want to make some progress.”
As Hochul wrapped up her appearance Wednesday, tenant-rights advocates joined workers-rights advocates for a rally near the governor’s office in the Capitol, where they urged her to support the good cause eviction bill and another that would supply state-funded housing vouchers for low-income New York residents.
“If we want New York to be a place where everybody can make it – not just a playground for the rich – we need to pass real tenant protections like Good Cause and the Housing Access Voucher Program that can help all New Yorkers pay the rent, stay in their homes, and have access to safe and stable housing,” Cea Weaver, coordinator of the Housing Justice for All campaign, said in a statement.
Among those opposing the good cause bill are the Real Estate Board of New York, a lobbying group representing New York City's biggest real estate interests, which has joined with other groups representing builders, landlords and realtors to create a coalition known as Homeowners for an Affordable New York.
"Despite attempts by far-left socialists to make it seem otherwise, Good Cause Eviction is in direct conflict with the governor's goal of adding 800,000 units of housing because it does nothing to address the housing supply shortage and would, in fact, make finding an apartment more difficult and impossibly expensive for new renters," said Greg Drilling, a spokesperson for the coalition.
The good cause bill has support from the progressive wing of legislative Democrats, including the bill's sponsors, Sen. Julia Salazar of Brooklyn and Assemblymember Pamela Hunter of Syracuse. The bill, which has dozens of co-sponsors, would prevent landlords from evicting tenants or failing to renew their lease except for a handful of reasons, including if the tenant failed to pay rent or was using the home for illegal activity.
But the legislation didn’t get a vote in the Legislature last year.
So far this year, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said her conference has not yet had a formal discussion on Hochul’s housing plan. But she signaled the Senate will likely push for some sort of tenant protections.
“We all agree that housing is an issue,” Stewart-Cousins said on Tuesday. “We also agree that affordable housing is an issue. And we also agree, in our conference, that tenant protection is important. So I believe that we’ll have a holistic approach.”
The article has been updated with comment from the Homeowners for an Affordable New York.
Tagged
new york state
Politics
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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