Get your seat on the bus: https://goo.gl/forms/VIE3gKS2QEH4cb6i2
Why go to Albany? Because that is where the politicians are!
Why are we doing a lobby day?Rent Stabilization is supposed to limit rent increases and keep our homes affordable. But landlords in NYC and surroundings are taking advantage of two major loopholes in the law, preferential rent and the vacancy bonus, to exploit tenants.
266,279 NYC families live in a rent stabilized apartment with a preferential rent - a discount that can be taken away at lease renewal leading to a sudden increase of hundreds of dollars. The vacancy bonus gives landlords a 20% increase in rent each time an apartment turns over, incentivizing harassment of long term tenants.
These bills must be passed at the state level. The NYS Assembly has passed two of these bills and will pass the third easily. The NYS Senate however has yet to act.
What do we want?We want these bills to passed as part of the budget package this year. We are asking the full democratic conference in the senate to co-sponsor the bills. We are also asking for the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) to include the bills in their proposed budget.
Who will you be meeting with?We will be meeting with Senate Democrats that have yet to co-sponsor, Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) leadership, and Republican members of the Housing Committee.
Each team will be given at least two scheduled meetings to attend with legislators or their aids. It is likely that groups will be meeting with legislators that they are not a constituent of who still needs to co-sponsor the bills. Meeting will be held in offices and “off the floor”.
Logistics:
We will be providing transportation, light breakfast, and lunch. This is being paid for via groups R3 dues.
Bus pick-up locations: Brooklyn, Upper and Lower Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. You will be notified of the exact location closer the date.
Overview of the day:Please note this is subject to change. We ask for everyone’s flexibility and cooperation.
- We will be providing transportation that leaving NYC at approximately 6am to arrive in Albany at 9am. We will provide coffee and a light breakfast on the bus.
- When we arrive we will split up into lobbying teams of 4 or 5 people.
- At around 1pm, we will join the People’s Budget Action in the Empire State Plaza and eat lunch.
- We expect to leave Albany around 3pm and arrive back in NYC around 7:30pm
Preparation:We are telling our stories about what is happening to us and our neighborhoods. We also want everyone attending to be as comfortable and informed with the process and facts. We will be sending out materials and doing trainings. There are two lobby day trainings scheduled that all groups are welcome to send their members to:
- Queens - Tue March 13th
- Manhattan - Wed March 14th.
We will also be reviewing everything on the bus as well.
Questions: Andrea 718-207-2439
Andrea@metcouncilonhousing.org
