Housing Will Never Be Affordable Until There’s a Living Wage

December 5, 2013 by Leave a comment

strike

Today, thousands of fast food workers are striking in over 100 cities to demand $15/hour wage and the right to organize! We were going to write a long, passionate article about the connections between today’s fast food strikes and the housing justice movement.  We were going to talk about how the same people who are struggling for better conditions and affordable homes are the same people who are forced to work in sub-standard conditions and get paid below living wages.  We believe all this strongly, but Eviction Defense already published it in an article titled “Fight Forward: Why Fast Food Strikes are Important for Housing Justice.” 

Here’s what we think is one of the most important point:

The struggle to make housing affordable and available is the struggle to eliminate class barriers to it. On the one side we struggle to take housing out of the marketplace and a good controlled democratically by the people, but on the other end we still live in an economy ruled by capital and if wages are too low to afford anything we cannot meet in the middle just by focusing on the housing sector independently. Instead, this is a multi-front fight that needs to be engaged in a number of sectors simultaneously, and the ability for low-wage workers like fast food employees to see a living wage opens up their access to housing almost immediately. This empowers us in the housing justice movement since it means that workers who are now seeing moderate housing financially accessible can begin finding stable communities, and we can then fight to keep rents and mortgages within financial reach and to protect people who lose their jobs or are still finding it difficult to make ends meet.

And also

What these strikes really remind us is that the housing justice movement is not centered on the issue of housing on its own, though things like rampant fraud and discrimination are rampant on their own. Instead, this is a fundamental issue of class struggle that roots itself in the unequal distribution of resources and economic power. Fast food stands as a beacon of an exploited workforce, where people are underpaid and does not allow people to engage equally in the things we all need. If we are really to target the unequal distribution of housing in this country, then it is always going to come down to the fundamental inequalities inherent in capitalism. To really confront this we need movements that take direct action in multiple sectors, where workplace struggles are one of the most important ways to target the sources of this oppression right at the point of production. Labor struggles are an indispensable part of the economic project we need to target if we are to ever get close to our dreams of equal access to housing and community control over the sector as a whole.

Preach it!  To support the fast food workers, and the struggle for better conditions and access to resources for low-income people everywhere, join us today at 4:00 in Foley Square!  See you in the streets!

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7A Program Fades from Relevance, to Tenant Dismay

December 4, 2013 by Leave a comment

Yesterday, tenants gathered at 755 Jackson Avenue with newly elected Public Advocate (takes office January 1st) Letitia James to demand that the owner of their building, Stabilis Capital Management, walk away from the property. (Read about it in the Mott Haven Herald.) Tenants are hoping that Harry DiRienzo of Banana Kelly be appointed as a 7A manager of their building. The property is extremely distressed and effectively abandoned. That the city would appoint a 7A administrator for this building seems like a no-brainer.

However, tenants have reason to be wary. In order to secure a 7A, they have a long fight ahead of them. Last year, tenants from 1058 Southern Boulevard traveled from their homes in the Bronx to Mill Basin to evict their landlord. They were living in serious slum conditions: fuzzy black mold coated the walls of their apartments, their ceilings leaked and it was so cold inside the building that the water leaks froze. One apartment was so terrible that a reporter visiting the building to cover the tenants’ fight began to cry.

Tenants at 1058 Southern Boulevard were hoping to “evict” their landlord through the same 7A program. Unfortunately, the City and the Housing Court did not heed their plea, and slumlord Miriam Shasho still runs the building. (The building eventually got repairs though the City’s Alternative Enforcement Program, but the repairs are patchwork the building is already returning to a state of squalor.)

This morning, City Limits published an article detailing this same experience, but at different buildings, in the Bronx. In the buildings profiled by City Limits, the failure to bring a 7A action baffles even HPD. The 7A program is an amazing opportunity for organized tenants to hit landlords where it hurts the most: in their checkbooks. However, if the City and the Courts are unwilling to invoke this power, it takes a serious tool away from tenants. City Limits talks about how this changed:

In earlier years, when judges ruled in favor of 7As for troubled properties, landlords frequently stayed out of the way and new managers made critical repairs. Owners may even have been glad to have someone else worry about their building. But now, because of the sweeter financial prospects of most Bronx buildings, landlords don’t want to hand their profitable properties over even temporarily. So it takes an even greater push from activists and HPD, particularly when judges seem more reluctant to rule in favor of 7As when buildings that could benefit from the designation are not part of a community crisis.

Tenant leader Lisa Ortega of 1058 Southern Boulevard speaks of her experience fighting for a 7A bitterly:

Its quite obvious that Judge Klein is on the side of the landlords. Landlords with long histories of neglect to buildings are allowed to do and giving financial help and incentive. If a parent neglect or abused their child, the court would remove them immediately. Slumlords control the health and well-being of some of the city’s most vulnerable populations — Why is this not the same for them??

Lisa mentions an important point, one that UHAB has been fighting legislatively for some time. A landlord licensing program could prevent bad landlords and negligent property managers from buying up extremely distressed housing and treating like an ATM. How could something like that work? Only qualified developers would be able to purchase housing that meets a certain level of physical distress. The 7A program could be expanded, and automatic: one’s license to manage property could be immediately revoked if building’s level of distress meets a certain threshold. If a restaurant owner is serving up unsafe food, the Department of Health shuts them down immediately. Bad landlords are allowed to keep their property no matter what psychological or physical warfare they are taking out on their tenants. This doesn’t make sense.

Make sure to check out the article in City Limits, and stay tuned!

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Public Advocate-elect Letitia James, Members of the New York City Council, Bronx and Queens Tenants, and Advocates Demand that Investment Firm Stop Putting NYC Affordable Housing at Risk

December 3, 2013 by Leave a comment

IMG_4806For Immediate Release

Contact:
Kerri White (UHAB), (212) 479-3371, (520) 507-5863 (c), kwhite@uhab.org
Ian Davie (Legal Services NYC-Bronx), (718) 928-2889, (917) 751-5992 (c), idavie@ls-nyc.org

Fed-up tenants, sick of Stabilis Capital Management speculating on their homes while conditions worsen, call for the firm to transfer distressed properties to capable owners.

December 3, 2013, Bronx, New York — Public Advocate-elect Letitia James and tenants from eight buildings across New York City gathered this afternoon outside 755 Jackson Ave in the Bronx to demand that Stabilis Capital Management transfer various buildings to city-approved preservation developers. The tenants were also joined by the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) and Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) and representatives from the offices of Council Members Maria del Carmen Arroyo and Diana Reyna.

Stabilis Capital Management (Stabilis), a private equity company which holds the mortgages on, or owns, the eight deteriorating buildings, has been acquiring distressed debt on multifamily buildings in foreclosure across the City. Tenants residing in the buildings, many of whom are elderly or disabled, have struggled to endure hazardous, substandard living conditions because Stabilis has neglected to complete repairs or assist with court orders to address housing code violations.

“I am incredibly concerned not just for the safety of the families in these buildings, but for tenants throughout New York City who find themselves facing deplorable housing conditions as winter sets in,” said Council member and Public Advocate-elect Letitia James. “We will continue to fight to ensure that residents are not the victims of such dangerous lending practices.”

Conditions at 755 Jackson Avenue have declined dramatically since Stabilis took ownership in June of this year. Residents suffer from lead paint contamination, asbestos exposure, rodent infestations, and chronic water leaks. In October, the stairwell collapsed, injuring two tenants. The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) has identified 221 open code violations, an astounding number for an 11- unit building. The building is in such poor condition that it has been placed into HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program, which is reserved for the 200 most distressed and hazardous buildings in New York City. Tenants plan to advocate for Harry DiRienzo of Banana Kelly to be appointed as an administrator to manage the building.

The announcement came the same day that tenants at 836 Faile Street, also in the Bronx, filed a motion in Bronx Supreme Court demanding that Stabilis provide funds to complete repairs in their building. Stabilis purchased that 36-unit Hunts Point building’s mortgage in March 2012; the building currently has 138 code violations.

“These buildings exhibit the worst effects of predatory equity in New York City,” said Ian Davie, an attorney with Legal Services NYC-Bronx. “Stabilis manages over $500 million in investments, but somehow continues to ignore and evade common standards of decency, to the detriment of all New Yorkers. These brave tenants are taking a stand to protect their families and maintain their right to live in safe homes.”

“It is horrible that my young children and I have had to contend with rat infestations, mold contamination, water leaks, and spotty heat and hot water during the winter,” said Joanna Paulino, a longtime tenant at 836 Faile Street. “Nobody should have to live with these conditions for one day, let alone the months and years that we have endured. We are ready to put a stop to this.”

The Bronx tenants were joined by tenants from other buildings who have experienced the detrimental effects of Stabilis’s lack of management. Stabilis also purchased the mortgages on a 36-unit Queens portfolio in February 2012 – 1821 and 1894 Cornelia Street, 18-14 Linden Street, and 1673, 1675 and 1726 Woodbine Street – which currently list a total of 380 code violations. Tenants fear that if Stabilis continues its involvement as a lender or landlord, it will continue to neglect and mismanage the buildings until they become uninhabitable. These tenants have appeared in bankruptcy court to hold Stabilis accountable, with the assistance of Queens Legal Services (a program of Legal Services NYC) and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

Tenants in all eight Stabilis buildings face serious health concerns, including cancer, asthma, and injuries caused by falling staircases. Those health problems are exacerbated by their living conditions. The tenants are working with responsible developers who are interested in preserving the properties and are attempting to negotiate with Stabilis. They hope that Stabilis will sell the debt or the buildings to these preservation developers, who would prioritize the health and safety of residents.

“This isn’t investment, this is disinvestment and it harms New York City,” said Kerri White, Director of Organizing and Policy at UHAB. “Stabilis should stop this destructive ‘business’ model and transfer these buildings to a responsible developer who can maintain them and keep them affordable for the families who call them home. We’re standing here today – tenants, advocates, and elected officials – to reiterate that we cannot continue to permit this predatory behavior to exist in our city.”

“For the past 12 years, I have seen too many unscrupulous and predatory real estate investments severely undermine the livelihoods of working families throughout New York City,” said Queens Council Member Diana Reyna. “Stabilis Capital Management must understand that we won’t accept more predatory speculation of land in our communities. I urge Stabilis to consider a bid from a non-profit developer that will ensure the affordability of the properties in question and provide security to the current tenants.”

“The residents of these buildings deserve better,” said Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo. “No individual or corporations financial interest should depend on the suffering of children and families in our community. Stabilis must allow a preservation developer to take over as soon as possible and complete much needed repairs.”

“There shouldn’t be a place in our community for neglectful landlords,” said Assemblyman Eric Stevenson.

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Public Advocate-Elect Letitia James, Council Members Maria del Carmen Arroyo and Diana Reyna, Bronx and Queens Tenants and Advocates Demand that Investment Firm Stop Putting NYC Affordable Housing at Risk

December 2, 2013 by Leave a comment

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR PLANNING PURPOSES

Contact:

Kerri White (UHAB), (212) 479-3371, (520) 507-5863 (c)

Ian Davie (Legal Services NYC-Bronx), (718) 928-2889, (917) 751-5992 (c)

What
Government leaders, tenants from eight distressed buildings across New York City, attorneys, and advocates will call on Stabilis Capital Management to stop speculating on rent regulated housing and transfer the properties to capable owners.

When
Tuesday, December 3rd, 3PM

Where
755 Jackson Avenue, Bronx, NY (Map) 

Why
Stabilis Capital Management is a private equity company that has been acquiring distressed debt on multifamily buildings in foreclosure across New York City. Many of these buildings are suffering from extreme neglect, yet Stabilis has refused to complete meaningful repairs to protect the well-being of tenants and their families. Conditions at 755 Jackson Avenue have declined dramatically since Stabilis took ownership of the mortgage in June 2013. Stabilis’s practice of speculating on properties to the detriment of the tenants is known as predatory equity.

Tenants at 755 Jackson Avenue have invited elected officials including Public Advocate-elect Letitia James and Council Members Maria del Carmen Arroyo and Diana Reyna on a tour of the building to demonstrate deplorable housing conditions and tenants’ concerns about Stabilis’s inability to manage these properties. The tenants are also inviting residents from seven other distressed New York City properties controlled by the firm. The tenants are calling for Stabilis to sell the debt and/or buildings to preservation developers who will prioritize the health and safety of the current residents.

Photo, video, and press availability.

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Documentary Release: “Faile St: The Human Cost of Foreclosure”

November 26, 2013 by Leave a comment

We are excited to announce the release of a powerful documentary by Elaisha Stokes and John Light highlighting UHAB’s Organizing and Policy Department’s work in the Bronx. The documentary highlights two buildings, 836 Faile Street and 553 E. 169th Street, both in the Bronx. UHAB has been organizing and working with tenant associations for a preservation outcome in these properties since 2011. At the making of the documentary, both buildings were in foreclosure, trapped in the cycle of predatory equity, and tenants were living in deplorable conditions.

Almost 2 years later, tenants at 553 E. 169th St. have a new landlord. 836 Faile St., however, remains in foreclosure with private equity company, Stabilis Capital Management as mortgage holder.  Tenants at Faile St. continue to organize, and are demanding that Stabilis transfer their building to Community Development Inc., a city-approved preservation developer.  They are are being supported by Bronx Legal Services, who will soon be filing a motion to enter tenants into the foreclosure case, and their Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo. Recently, UHAB has begun to build tenant associations in 7 other Stabilis-related buildings. 836 Faile Street tenants are working with tenants across New York City to demand that Stabilis Capital get out of the rent regulated multifamily housing business. 

Click here to watch the Earth Focus documentary about how tenants can come together to fight for quality affordable housing, and stay tuned to this exciting fight.

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