Thursday, April 2, 2020

Last Night's Committee Meeting

The Common Council Housing and Transportation Committee met electronically last night, with three of the four members of the committee participating: Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward), who chairs the committee; Rebecca Wolff (First Ward); and Tom DePietro, Council president, who appointed himself to the committee a couple of months ago, replacing Malachi Walker. The fourth member of the committee, Shershah Mizan was absent from the meeting. The meeting was live streamed on WCXG. 

The meeting began with Garriga proposing that the committee draft a resolution calling for landlords to waive rent payments during the current health crisis. Many of her arguments in support of the action seemed to echo information presented that morning on NPR's Morning Edition: "Its the 1st of the Month. Renters Are in a Much Tougher Spot than Homeowners," but the specific motivation for the initiative was a letter that had been distributed to tenants at Bliss Towers.


Click on the image to enlarge, or read the transcription below.
Dear Residents,
At this time, no law has been passed either Federal or in New York State with regard to wavering [sic] of rent during the COVID-19 crisis. Tenants are expected to pay rent and landlords will be tracking this on a monthly basis for loss.
HUD in the recently released FAQ, addressed only evictions, not rent being waived, reprieved, suspended, or canceled as follows:
Q: Does the recently announced HUD ban on evictions apply to public housing and the HCV program?
A: The CARES act includes a temporary moratorium (120 days) on evictions for nonpayment of rent, as well as a moratorium on fees and penalties related to nonpayment of rent. HUD will issue additional guidance.
New York State has put a moratorium on evictions only, during the crisis and all courts will be abiding by that order.
We know that there are many kinds of rumors out there and we know that there have been talk and proposals, but nothing has materialized into legislation. At the end of the 120 days (Fed), 90 days (State) rent will still be due and payable.
We think it wise to address our tenant population with the information so as not to set anyone up for failure going forward. Additionally we would like to remind you that are you paying 30% of income for rent. If you have lost income you are eligible for a rent reduction. Please call the office to discuss changes in your income immediately. We will be waiving late fees this month due to the crisis.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation with all the changes going on at this time. If there is anything we can do for you or help with, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are all in this together.
Stay Well,
-Administrative Staff   
Wolff raised some questions about what Garriga was proposing. Would it be rent forgiveness or rent suspension? Would the request be directed to the governor or local landlords? It seemed to be decided that the resolution would ask landlords to forgive rent for 90 days. Wolff then questioned if this would apply to all landlords and all tenants, noting that some people were still working. Garriga responded, "We cannot make landlords do it. We are asking." Wolff suggested that the resolution specifically apply to tenants whose jobs have been suspended. Garriga wanted to include low-income tenants "who now have to feed their kids" because they aren't going to school where they get free breakfast and lunch. 

DePietro suggested that Garriga work with Jeff Baker, counsel to the Council, to draft a resolution in time for the informal Council meeting on April 13. Wolff balked at the notion of supporting a resolution that has not yet been drafted, protesting, "I don't see how we can vote on something we cannot see." She said she would support a motion to have Garriga confer with Baker on the matter but not a resolution because "we have no language." When Garriga appealed to DePietro for comment, he said he was trying to write a motion they could vote on. At that point, Garriga, abruptly and with obvious exasperation, called for a motion to adjourn. Although Wolff protested that she didn't want to meeting to end, DePietro made the motion, and Garriga declared the meeting, which had lasted just a little more than fifteen minutes, adjourned.
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3 comments:

  1. Tiffany still doesn't get it.... Landlords don't need money? How about waiving property tax payments? Why don't council members stop taking their pay? With some economists predicting an unemployment rate worse than the Great Depression, it's time for the Council to realize that the "business community" that it constantly criticizes won't have any money to pay its employees much less give away.

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  2. It is a noble idea, but giving a blanket cancellation of rent may not be the solution. Taxes, water bills, etc. all still have to be paid. I believe the State is waiving mortgage payments based on financial hardship, not across the board. The payments are not canceled, but added to the loan at the end, so they will still be paid.

    If someone is getting a $1200 check from the government, plus $500 for each child, two parents with two kids would be getting $3400. If they also collect unemployment with the additional $600 added, that is probably more than they were making at their job, so why should the rent be canceled? If someone is retired and living on social security, and they are getting the $1200 payout on top of that, they have more money not less. Each situation is different.

    Certainly if someone has lost their job, is sick, in the hospital, can't collect the payments or unemployment, and can't pay their rent, then something should be done about that. But to say all rents should be canceled for everyone across the board, when some people may be getting more money than they had when they were working, doesn't make sense. If rents are waived, or adjusted, it should be based on the individuals ability to pay and their financial hardship.

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  3. Why are they wasting their time with pointless and unenforceable resolutions when they should be working on plugging holes in the budget. They fiddle, Rome burns.

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