Affordable Housing is a Right - Event Recap

On Saturday, Sept. 25, the PLGNA Housing Committee hosted an appearance by the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, 57th Assembly District, speaking on “The Right to Affordable Housing.”  Addressing an audience of about 50 people in the Grace Church chapel, Assemblyman Jeffries outlined the reasons for his strong advocacy for improved rent regulation laws.  As important as it is to have better schools and community services, he said,

we must recognize that without support for affordable housing, the entire composition of the community will change and the long-time residents who worked so hard to create a vital and attractive area will be driven out.

The Assemblyman made a strong pitch for rent reform legislation as a means of keeping the diversity that we cherish in the communities of Central Brooklyn.

Because of the vacancy decontrol provision under the current law, which allows landlords to charge any rent they wish after an apartment’s rent reaches $2,000, building owners have incentives to get rid of longstanding, rent-regulated tenants, and many are acting accordingly.

Despite Jeffries’s strenuous efforts to aid individual tenants who are suffering abuses, the overall climate won’t improve until the laws are changed. He said that

keeping the Legislature under Democratic control in the upcoming election and standing by to lobby and rally in support of rent law reform will be keys to creating a more balanced situation for low- and middle-income renters.

Comments in the question and answer period that followed the Assemblyman’s presentation revealed the urgency with which many audience members are experiencing the housing crunch.

Jeffries stayed to speak individually with his constituents. Representatives from Metropolitan Council on Housing and Tenants and Neighbors also provided information on tenants’ rights and how to form a tenants’ organization.

The PLGNA Housing Committee announced that its next public event will be held on Saturday, November 6, at Church of the Evangel, starting at 3:30 p.m. The focus will be a recording of interviews about local experiences with housing in connection with the National Day of Listening sponsored by StoryCorps.

Those wishing further information may e-mail info@plgna.org.