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[0:26] Heat. Heat.

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[0:49] Heat. Heat.

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[1:13] Heat. Heat.

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[2:10] Hey,

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[2:28] hey, hey.

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[2:58] Heat. Heat.

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[3:18] Hey, hey, hey.

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[3:57] Heat. Heat.

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[4:05] Heat. Heat.

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[4:54] Hey, hey, hey.

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[5:20] Hey, hey, hey.

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[6:24] Hey,

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[6:37] hey, hey.

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[6:56] Hey,

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[7:02] hey, hey.

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[7:22] Heat. Heat. N.

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[7:47] Heat. Heat.

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[8:04] Heat.

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[9:15] Hey,

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[9:23] hey,

[9:29] Heat. Heat.

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[10:05] I see him. We won't know till he gets up

[10:07] here till we get if he's on there. You

[10:09] said

[10:12] I don't know. That's how last

[10:27] I said it

[10:29] about

[10:51] I'd like to call the city caucus meeting

[10:53] to order for Monday, June 23rd, 2025.

[10:57] We have one public hearing this evening.

[10:59] If the clerk could please read public

[11:01] hearing number one regarding an

[11:03] ordinance to amend article 7 trucks

[11:06] section 248-85

[11:08] of the Skynctity city code to exclude

[11:11] trucks tractors and tractor trailer

[11:14] accommodations over eight tons on Kings

[11:16] Road from Albany Street to the city

[11:18] line. Can you hear us back there? Okay,

[11:21] we might have to turn off the AC. Okay,

[11:23] we have to turn off the air

[11:24] conditioning. That's what that means.

[11:30] outside.

[11:33] We have 11 items for original

[11:35] consideration. If the clerk could please

[11:36] read item number one. Item number one

[11:39] for final consideration. An ordinance to

[11:41] amend section chapter 248-18 of the

[11:44] Skenctity city code to designate a

[11:47] portion of Chrysler Avenue as a one-way

[11:49] roadway. Discussed in committee without

[11:52] objection on consent. Item number two.

[11:54] for original

[11:56] consideration. A resolution authorizing

[11:57] the acceptance of the 2024 external

[12:00] audit. Discussed in committee with

[12:02] without objection and on consent. Item

[12:04] number three. Item number three for

[12:06] original consideration. A resolution

[12:08] authorizing the sale of a vacant lot at

[12:10] 317 State Street for $1,500.

[12:14] Discussed in committee without objection

[12:16] on consent. Item number four. Item

[12:18] number four for original consideration.

[12:20] A resolution authorizing the sale of a

[12:22] vacant lot at 529 Skenctity Street for

[12:25] $2,500.

[12:26] Discussed in committee without objection

[12:28] on consent. Item number five. Item

[12:30] number five for original consideration.

[12:32] A resolution authorizing the sale of 535

[12:34] Skenctity Street for $40,000. Discussed

[12:37] in committee without objection on

[12:39] consent. Item number six. Item number

[12:41] six for original consideration. A

[12:42] resolution authorizing the redemption

[12:44] and withdrawal of 30 Chromemer Avenue

[12:47] from foreclosure.

[12:49] discussed in committee without objection

[12:51] on consent. Item number seven is being

[12:53] pulled from the agenda. Item number

[12:56] eight is also being pulled from the

[12:58] agenda. Return to committee. Item number

[13:00] nine. Item number nine for original

[13:02] consideration. A resolution authorizing

[13:04] the settlement of a tax certiary action

[13:07] by the owner of property located at 1612

[13:09] Chrysler Avenue. Discussed in committee

[13:12] without objection on consent. Item

[13:13] number 10. Item number 10 for original

[13:15] consideration, a resolution authorizing

[13:17] the settlement of a tax certiary action

[13:19] by the owner of property located at 2037

[13:23] State Street. Discussed in committee

[13:25] without objection on consent. Item

[13:26] number 11. Item number 11 under contract

[13:29] and supply. A resolution awarding the

[13:30] bid and contract for the Franklin Street

[13:32] cycle tract New York State DOT pin

[13:35] number 1760.61 61 to Carver Construction

[13:38] Incorporated in the amount of 2,89,174

[13:46] discussed in committee with objection on

[13:47] consent. If there's nothing more to come

[13:50] before the city caucus, I'd ask for a

[13:51] motion to adjourn. Moved by Mr. Move,

[13:55] second by Mr. Williams. All those in

[13:56] favor? I. We are adjourned. I'd like to

[13:59] call to order the Skenctity City Council

[14:01] meeting for Monday, June 23rd, 2025.

[14:06] And I'd like to call on Pastor Francis

[14:08] Rigger of Zion Evangel Evangelical

[14:12] Lutheran Church for the prayer

[14:13] invocation.

[14:17] Shall we pray?

[14:22] Father in heaven,

[14:24] we come before you with humble hearts,

[14:27] seeking your guidance and wisdom. As we

[14:30] begin this city council meeting,

[14:34] grant our city council members clarity

[14:36] of thought and discernment.

[14:39] As they consider the matters before

[14:41] them,

[14:43] help them to approach each issue with

[14:45] open minds and compassionate hearts,

[14:48] seeking solutions that will benefit all

[14:51] members of our community.

[14:54] We ask for your blessing upon their

[14:56] deliberations

[14:58] that they may make decisions that

[15:00] reflect your will and promote the

[15:03] well-being of our city.

[15:06] May unity and understanding prevail

[15:08] among us and may our collective efforts

[15:12] lead to a more just and prosperous

[15:14] community for all.

[15:17] Thank you for being with us always.

[15:20] In Jesus's name we pray. Amen. I'd like

[15:24] to call on Corporation Council Maxine

[15:25] Barash for the pledge of allegiance.

[15:29] I pledge algiance to the flag of the

[15:32] United States of America and to the

[15:35] republic for which it stands, one nation

[15:39] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[15:43] justice for all. Thank you.

[15:48] [Music]

[15:56] If the clerk could please complete the

[15:58] roll call.

[16:00] Mr. Toro.

[16:04] Mr. Farley.

[16:08] Excuse me. Excuse me. In the

[16:11] chamber.

[16:16] Okay. All right. Listen,

[16:21] [Music]

[16:28] we we're going to

[16:31] do apologize. Thank you.

[16:34] Okay. Thank you.

[16:42] Okay. Listen, ma'am, but we're going to

[16:44] have to ask you to leave that that

[16:45] continues.

[17:02] Mr. Farley

[17:06] here. Mr. Mancini here. Mr. Muiveran

[17:10] present. Miss Patrick here. Mr. Williams

[17:14] here. Miss Porterfield here. We have one

[17:19] public hearing this evening and reminder

[17:21] that we've extended the comment the time

[17:23] for com public comment of the public

[17:25] hearing to four minutes and I also

[17:27] respectfully ask that each person

[17:28] comment only on the subject relevant to

[17:30] the public hearing. Thank you.

[17:34] If the clerk could please read the

[17:36] All right. Public hearing number one is

[17:38] regarding ordinance to amend article 7

[17:40] trucks section trucks section 248-85

[17:44] of the Skenctity city code to exclude

[17:47] trucks, tractors, and tractor trailer

[17:49] combinations over eight tons on Kings

[17:51] Road from Alb Street to the city line. I

[17:54] have one person signed up to speak.

[17:57] Crystal Dionis

[18:07] on the legislative agenda. Yeah. Okay.

[18:10] You're welcome. We do have one written

[18:12] comment from uh Tracy Collins.

[18:16] From Tracy Collins, an email in favor of

[18:18] the weight limit on Kings Road.

[18:21] That's it. All right. I So I have no one

[18:24] else signed to speak on public hearing

[18:26] number one. So I declare that public

[18:27] comment closed.

[18:29] I'd ask for approval of the minutes for

[18:30] June 9th, 2025.

[18:34] Moved by Miss Patrick, second by Mr.

[18:37] Mutiver. All those in favor? I. If the

[18:40] clerk could please read any

[18:41] communications and petitions.

[18:44] Communications to the city council for

[18:46] Monday, June 23rd, 2025. Under official

[18:49] from Mayor McCarthy, a list of

[18:50] appointments dated June 23rd, 2025.

[18:53] Under general, there was an email from

[18:55] Tracy Collins in favor of the weight

[18:57] limit on Kings Road. Under petitions,

[18:59] there were none. Thank you. I'd like to

[19:02] call on council members to provide any

[19:03] committee reports at this time.

[19:10] we'll have privilege of

[19:12] the floor related to the legislative

[19:15] agenda. And I just want to remind folks

[19:17] that

[19:21] at this point in time, it's only you can

[19:22] only speak on on items on the

[19:24] legislative agenda. And I only have two

[19:25] people signed up to speak.

[19:28] The first is Sean Ratigan.

[19:35] Um yeah, hi. I'm Sean Ratigan. Uh I just

[19:38] wanted to voice my support for the

[19:40] extension of the bike trail. Uh, I just

[19:43] think that's really great that that's

[19:44] moving forward and I'll keep it short.

[19:47] Thank you.

[19:49] Crystal Dion.

[19:54] I'm sorry. Okay. So, you don't want this

[19:57] one either. No. Okay. That's right. We

[20:00] only have one other one, so I know where

[20:02] you're going to want to speak. So, we're

[20:03] good.

[20:06] Okay.

[20:10] All right. I have no one else signed up

[20:12] to speak. So I declare the public

[20:13] comment on the legislative agenda

[20:15] closed.

[20:16] This time I'd ask for approval of the

[20:18] leg legislative consent agenda.

[20:21] Moved by Mr. Mudarin, second by Miss

[20:22] Patrick. All those in favor? I

[20:27] this time we will have priv privilege of

[20:29] the floor regarding general city

[20:31] business.

[20:34] And we have a number of people signed

[20:35] up. I just want to remind folks first

[20:36] and foremost that there are only three

[20:39] minutes. When you get to the end of your

[20:41] three minutes, if you're in the middle

[20:42] of your statement or your sentence, I

[20:44] will allow you to complete it, but then

[20:46] you will have to um summarize your

[20:48] comments and sit down so the next person

[20:51] can um speak. I want to remind everyone

[20:54] I know some of you don't come to our um

[20:57] council meetings often. So I just want

[20:58] to remind you if you signed up some of

[21:00] the things that you agreed to that um

[21:02] there will be no pro personal attacks on

[21:04] council members, the administration

[21:05] staff, other speakers or members of the

[21:07] public which are unrelated to city

[21:09] business and it shouldn't that will not

[21:11] be tolerated. We ask people to profane

[21:13] to refrain from profanity, vulgar,

[21:16] inflammatory, threatening or abusive or

[21:18] disparaging language. Should have read

[21:20] this earlier. um any or racial, ethnic

[21:22] or homophobic slurs, disruptive

[21:24] outbursts, and other conduct that

[21:26] disrupts or interferes with the orderly

[21:27] conduct of the business of the evening.

[21:30] Priv privilege of the floor should is

[21:32] not an opportunity for debate and shall

[21:33] not be the opportunity for a back and

[21:35] forth exchange with council members or

[21:37] other members of the public. Again, you

[21:39] have three minutes to speak and please

[21:41] direct all your comments to the chair.

[21:43] Thank you.

[21:49] The first person I have is Colin

[21:51] McNamera.

[22:00] Evening, city council. Um, I'm sure you

[22:03] know why I'm here. I've been here

[22:04] before. Uh, I just wanted to respond um

[22:07] specifically to a few things that were

[22:08] said at the last committee meeting uh

[22:12] just last week regarding good cause

[22:13] eviction. I went through and took some

[22:15] careful notes upon a few things that

[22:16] were said and I found some opportunities

[22:18] that I think I can respond to that might

[22:20] be helpful. Um, first, um, Mr. Williams

[22:23] had said at the meeting, uh, I wrote

[22:26] down, uh, I do not know the cost of

[22:28] having to move and refining the sky of

[22:30] Skenctity. Well, I did a little math to

[22:32] try to get an idea of what that would

[22:34] be. So, uh, according to Zillow, the

[22:37] average rent for a two-bedroom in

[22:38] Skenctity is $1,575,

[22:41] which is up $275 over last year.

[22:44] Assuming that finding a new place

[22:46] requires first month's rent and security

[22:47] deposit, that would be $31.50 in order

[22:50] to move. If you needed a 15 foot U-Haul,

[22:53] that's $30 a day plus fees, mileage, and

[22:55] gas. We'll call that around $80. then

[22:58] another $20 for an apartment

[22:59] application, assuming that you apply to

[23:02] only one place and get it on the first

[23:03] try, which almost never happens. So, all

[23:06] told, best case scenario, you're looking

[23:08] at around 3250 to have to relocate on

[23:10] the fly. To say nothing of any lost

[23:12] wages you might suffer from having to

[23:14] take a day off work or what have you in

[23:16] order to move. So, uh, a cool 3,300

[23:19] laying around is something most folks

[23:21] don't have, especially when living

[23:22] paycheck to paycheck. And if that

[23:23] eviction can be avoided, it should be.

[23:26] Um, President Porterfield at the last

[23:29] meeting mentioned the there's a lot of

[23:31] talk over the fair market rent standard

[23:32] for the county. Um, I was slightly

[23:36] surprised at the amount that that was

[23:37] discussed, but I wanted to just point

[23:39] out that that applies within the law to

[23:41] a relatively narrow exemption. There are

[23:44] 15 exemptions from the good cause

[23:45] eviction law. Number 15 discusses uh

[23:48] exemptions for properties that are over

[23:51] 245% at baseline of the fair market

[23:53] rent. That is what I like to call the

[23:55] luxury exemption. So that's for very

[23:57] highpriced things. Uh in the city of

[23:59] Skenctity, 245% of the fair market rent

[24:02] for a two-bedroom would be apartments

[24:04] whose rent is over 364315 a month, which

[24:08] is not a lot of housing stock in

[24:09] Skenctity. I'm sure they exist, but that

[24:11] would apply to a relatively small trench

[24:13] of cases. Um, Miss Patrick said at the

[24:17] last meeting, uh, that under good cause

[24:20] eviction, this this really did jump out

[24:22] to me and it's worth responding to, that

[24:24] every eviction must go to court with

[24:26] good cause eviction. And as I believe

[24:28] Mr. Farley said, every eviction already

[24:31] has to go to court. You can't remove

[24:32] anyone from their home without getting a

[24:34] court order to do so. These cases are

[24:37] already in court. Any landlord who

[24:38] attempts to remove someone without going

[24:40] to court is not only circumventing the

[24:42] law, they are in fact committing a

[24:43] crime, a class A misdemeanor. So, uh,

[24:46] these are already in court. That doesn't

[24:47] change.

[24:49] Um,

[24:51] I would

[24:53] want I wanted to talk about the CURA

[24:55] study. Miss Dtora, you mentioned that

[24:57] last time, the Center for Urban and

[24:59] Regional Affairs research report. And

[25:02] the one that I found when I went looking

[25:03] into that was a Cura study from March

[25:05] 3rd, 2025 called the good case for good

[25:07] cause. Your time is expired. Absolutely.

[25:10] Um, that's all I have to say. Thank you

[25:13] very much.

[25:18] And also one other reminder, I noticed

[25:20] there are a number of signs in the

[25:21] audience. Your signs cannot block the

[25:23] view of the people who are seated behind

[25:25] you. Just want to remind you of that.

[25:28] Chris Morris

[25:33] That's right. That's where you go.

[25:38] Good evening, Mayor, Madame President,

[25:40] and city council members.

[25:43] As most of you know me, I'm Chris Morris

[25:46] and co-founder and director of Slick,

[25:48] Skinnctity Landlords influencing Change.

[25:52] We are Skenctity's only organized group

[25:54] of landlords, property managers, and

[25:56] realtors. And for 14 years of monthly

[25:59] meetings, it has always been Slick's

[26:02] mission to provide information and

[26:05] connections through guest speakers plus

[26:08] group research and interaction.

[26:10] We value our ongoing relationship with

[26:13] the many entities throughout the city

[26:15] that are involved with our business and

[26:17] we hope to continue on that path.

[26:20] It's important to note that we just

[26:23] can't do anything we want to, anything

[26:25] we we please. Small landslords are

[26:28] continually dealing with the financial

[26:30] impact of new laws levied by the state

[26:34] as well as everinccreasing restrictions

[26:36] and costly requirements levied by local

[26:39] legislation and code enforcement.

[26:42] Many feel the old adage, you can't judge

[26:46] a book by its cover, applies to the

[26:50] April 2024 New York good cause eviction

[26:53] law, article 614

[26:56] and the changes that are that have

[26:58] happened in that law since then are very

[27:00] important.

[27:02] So tonight, our focus is on the

[27:04] unintended consequences of good cause.

[27:07] You'll hear of the negative impact it

[27:10] will have on the very purpose of our

[27:12] business to provide affordable safe

[27:14] housing for tenants and a sustainable

[27:18] livelihood for landlords and investors

[27:20] in Skenctity.

[27:22] I want to share this little short

[27:24] statement that we had received from one

[27:26] of our longtime small rental prop senior

[27:30] owners uh who couldn't be here tonight.

[27:34] Quote, she said, "As a member of Slick,

[27:37] I'm forwarding this letter to you

[27:39] expressing my opposition and concern

[27:42] regarding could cause eviction. Please

[27:45] understand that the profit margin is

[27:48] tiny to begin with and would put me in

[27:51] the red and in a deep financial crisis

[27:54] leading to the potential of having to

[27:57] big letters walk away from my property

[28:00] which is something I would never have

[28:02] dreamed of to have to deal with. Thank

[28:06] you she says for your attention in this

[28:08] matter. So with that brief poignant

[28:12] perspective on this issue, ladies and

[28:14] gentlemen, I urge you to consider all of

[28:17] the up andcoming arguments against this

[28:19] legislation. And I want to thank you for

[28:21] listening. Bye-bye. Thank you.

[28:26] [Applause]

[28:34] Harleen Andress. Harleen Andress.

[28:47] Good evening, Mayor McCarthy, Council

[28:49] President Porterfield, and council

[28:51] members. I am Harleen Andress, a member

[28:54] of Slick, a licensed real estate broker

[28:56] who owns a property management company.

[28:59] In my role as property manager, I

[29:01] represent the landlord, but I feel a

[29:03] sincere responsibility to every person I

[29:06] rent to to ensure that they will

[29:08] experience safe, affordable, and quiet

[29:11] enjoyment of their apartment home.

[29:14] Sometimes, despite requests and

[29:17] warnings, there are tenants who continue

[29:19] to be chronically loud, disorderly, and

[29:21] disruptive.

[29:23] Finally, the only recourse is to end the

[29:25] tenency either by eviction or by

[29:27] non-renewal of the rental agreement.

[29:29] Under the good cause eviction law, I

[29:32] would have to prove my reasons for

[29:34] seeking eviction. How do I prove that?

[29:38] Do I ask the other tenants to appear in

[29:40] court and testify against the offending

[29:42] tenant? Should I put the tenants who are

[29:45] being disturbed at risk by asking them

[29:47] to do this? Should I expect them to lose

[29:49] time from work to appear in court? And

[29:52] what about after court? Since they all

[29:54] live at the same address, they have to

[29:56] return home and confront the people that

[30:00] they testified against. I think what

[30:03] will happen more realistically is that

[30:05] these people will not go to court. The

[30:08] tenants who are being disturbed will

[30:09] simply begin to look for another rental

[30:12] unit. And as a result, many lives will

[30:15] be disrupted and the bad behavior will

[30:17] be allowed to continue. I implore you to

[30:20] say no to good cause eviction. There is

[30:23] no good cause for bad behavior and we

[30:26] need to protect all of the tenants, not

[30:28] just a few.

[30:31] Thank you,

[30:36] Hillary Snare. Please, with the signs.

[30:38] Hillary Snare.

[30:47] Good evening, Mr. Mayor and members of

[30:49] the council. Um, can't hear me. I'll go

[30:53] closer. I'm Hillilary Snare and I'm a

[30:56] tenant in downtown Skenctity. I

[30:59] understand the intent of this law. We

[31:01] all want to protect vulnerable tenants.

[31:05] But let's be clear, good cause eviction

[31:07] is not the right tool.

[31:10] Instead of helping, we will make

[31:12] landlords become stricter.

[31:15] Landlords will raise rents faster and

[31:17] they'll avoid renting to anyone who who

[31:20] seems like less like more of a risk

[31:23] because once the tenant is in, they may

[31:25] never get their unit back. And even when

[31:28] the lease ends, I believe the people who

[31:31] will suffer the most will be the ones

[31:32] with low credit scores and the ones who

[31:34] need a second chance. the law will shut

[31:37] the door on them before they even get a

[31:39] key. If you truly want to help others,

[31:42] support rent assistance programs, tenant

[31:45] education, and mediation,

[31:48] not program, not laws that drive housing

[31:51] providers to create higher

[31:52] qualifications and ultimately drive them

[31:55] out of the city. Good cause might sound

[31:58] like justice, but in bad practice, it's

[32:01] just bad policy for all of Skenctity.

[32:04] Thank you. Thank you,

[32:11] Canon Ryan.

[32:23] Uh, good evening, council members and

[32:26] mayor and others. Uh, my name is Canyon

[32:28] Ryan. I'm the executive director at

[32:30] United Tenants of Albany. Um the reason

[32:33] that I'm here is to talk about good

[32:35] cause eviction where we have it in

[32:37] Albany. Um we were the first to pass it

[32:39] in 2022. It got struck down by the state

[32:43] um due to preeemption and um in 2024 the

[32:47] law was finally formalized in the state,

[32:50] you know, the legislature during the

[32:51] budget to allow municipalities opt into

[32:53] good cause eviction. Since Albany has

[32:55] opted in, 16 municipalities have also

[32:58] opted in, including a Republican town

[32:59] called the town of Fishkill. Um, it's

[33:01] not a partisan issue. Um, unless we're

[33:04] just thinking of partisanship in terms

[33:06] of tenants and landlords. The reason

[33:08] that Albony Pass could cause eviction is

[33:10] because rents have been increasing

[33:12] exponentially and wages have not. Um,

[33:15] when we passed the law, two things that

[33:17] a city can consider and and alter are

[33:19] the fair market rent exemption, which

[33:21] Colin has already talked about, the

[33:23] 245%. In Albany, we did 345% just to

[33:27] ensure that the maximum number of

[33:28] tenants were um eligible for the

[33:30] protection. And the other thing that a

[33:31] municipality can consider is the

[33:33] definition of a small landlord. In the

[33:35] city of Albany, we defined a small

[33:36] landlord as those with one rental unit

[33:38] being a single family home where

[33:40] tenants, you know, where there's a

[33:41] tenant. Um but if the landlord had two

[33:43] rental units, then they were no longer

[33:45] considered a small landlord. I just want

[33:47] to clarify too any um owner occupied

[33:50] unit any any owner occupied building of

[33:52] less than 10 units is already exempt. So

[33:55] this has to be particular to the rental

[33:57] portfolio. And that may seem hard on

[33:59] small landlords, but the reason that we

[34:01] qualified it as those with one rental

[34:03] unit is because it's difficult for a

[34:05] city without a very strong and robust

[34:08] code system for tenants to know whether

[34:09] or not they have these protections or

[34:11] attorneys to know if they have these

[34:12] protections. um especially with limited

[34:15] liability corporations which are

[34:16] intended to obiscate actual ownership.

[34:18] So tenants are going to have a really

[34:20] difficult time determining if they have

[34:21] these protections. And what these

[34:23] protections do is set a rubric and

[34:25] expectation for landlords and tenants

[34:27] when they enter into an agreement that

[34:28] the landlord will make repairs and the

[34:30] tenant doesn't have to fear being

[34:31] evicted. Um it's really difficult for

[34:33] tenants to raise a retaliation claim if

[34:35] they feel like when they raised the code

[34:36] enforcement issue, they were then

[34:38] immediately offered an eviction notice.

[34:40] Um before the city of Albany opted into

[34:42] Good Cause Eviction, I was renting from

[34:45] a trust and this big management company

[34:47] was overseeing, you know, the entire

[34:49] ordeal and they didn't renew my lease

[34:52] and there's no reason for that. I've

[34:53] never been behind on my rent before and

[34:55] so I ended up pulling my back, which my

[34:57] back is still messed up. If you could

[34:58] see me walking up today, it's this like

[34:59] continual issue. Um, but my lease wasn't

[35:02] renewed and there was no cause. And so

[35:04] what we had to do is I had to move in

[35:05] with my partner who I I like them, but I

[35:08] liked having my own space, too. And we

[35:10] had to pay 3,500 each to move into a

[35:12] three-bedroom, which we didn't need, but

[35:14] I had to move. And they were living with

[35:16] me at the time in our one-bedroom. Um,

[35:18] so it's very difficult, you know, for tenants to not know what's coming

[35:21] next. And I think that the reason that I

[35:24] was served a non-renewal was because I

[35:26] had raised the issue of a non-functional

[35:27] stove for three months in a row. Um, I

[35:29] think that I was just considered a

[35:30] problem tenant for trying to stand up

[35:32] for my rights. And good cause eviction

[35:34] allows tenants to bring these issues to

[35:35] their landlord without fe fearing a

[35:37] retaliatory eviction. I need you to

[35:38] summarize, please.

[35:41] Am I out of time? Yes. Okay. Um, good

[35:43] cause eviction empowers tenants to

[35:45] utilize the protections that they have

[35:46] without fearing a retaliatory eviction.

[35:48] It's a basic rubric for landlords and

[35:49] tenants to understand what kind of

[35:51] agreement they're entering into. Thank

[35:52] you.

[35:53] [Applause]

[35:58] First initial B, last name Francis.

[36:05] Good evening. My name is Bevon Francis.

[36:07] I am a tenant organizer at United

[36:09] Tenants of Albany. Um, I work with the

[36:12] tenants across Albany uh to form unions

[36:15] and fight for their rights. Uh, two

[36:17] unions that I worked with were Danker

[36:19] Village and Bleecker Terrace Apartments

[36:22] where tenants were receiving rent

[36:24] increases in ranging from 2003, $300,

[36:27] $400 increases. But fortunately, because

[36:30] we have good cause eviction, which um

[36:33] put the cap at 8.38%,

[36:36] we were able to keep those tenants in

[36:38] their home and give them a fair rent

[36:40] increase. I personally am a tenant. I

[36:43] pay 50% of my income to rent and back in

[36:47] October, my landlord wanted to raise my

[36:49] rent by 10%. Um, I was able to use good

[36:53] cause eviction as a defense and get the

[36:55] 8.38%

[36:57] which saved me $15 a month, uh, a little

[37:00] over $150 for the year. But when you're

[37:03] living paycheck to paycheck, that kind

[37:05] of money actually really matters. Um,

[37:08] good cause eviction is a a law that says

[37:13] that you have to have a good cause to

[37:15] evict, right? What is a good cause to

[37:17] evict? If somebody's not paying the

[37:19] rent, that is a good cause. If somebody

[37:21] is being a nuisance, that is a good

[37:23] cause, right? If you're having police

[37:25] activity at your house, that is a good

[37:27] cause. A judge is going to rule that you

[37:29] have to you have to leave. What is not a

[37:31] good cause is you don't like the way I

[37:33] look. You don't like the music I listen

[37:35] to. um you don't like that I've been

[37:37] calling code because there's mice in my

[37:39] apartments, right? Or because you just

[37:41] want to raise the rent. You get me out

[37:43] and then you can raise that rent to two

[37:45] grand a month. Then you're not violating

[37:47] a good cause eviction law that way,

[37:49] right? Um good cause keeps people in

[37:52] their home. It kept me in my home. It

[37:53] guaranteed my lease renewal. Um because

[37:56] once I challenged my landlord against

[37:59] the rent increase, he did not want to

[38:00] renew my lease. And then I had to remind

[38:02] him that good cause allowed me a

[38:04] guaranteed me a lease renewal um as long

[38:07] as I was obeying the terms of my lease,

[38:09] paying my rent on time, and being a good

[38:11] tenant, which I am. Uh we get calls on

[38:14] our hotline at United Tenants of Albany

[38:16] from people in Skenctity. We get calls

[38:17] from people down in Queens, New York. Uh

[38:19] we're very um unique in the services

[38:23] that we provide and we hear from folks

[38:26] all over the state. We get a lot of

[38:28] calls from Skenctity, hundreds of calls

[38:30] from Skenctity where people's rent has

[38:32] been increased by two three $400 and

[38:35] they can't afford the rent. They want to

[38:37] know if we can help them pay their rent.

[38:38] And unfortunately we can't help folks

[38:40] pay rent in Skenctity. Um our

[38:42] organization can only help in Albany

[38:44] County. And I don't have anything I can

[38:46] tell them other than I'm sorry. But

[38:48] there is absolutely nothing that we can

[38:50] do. Your landlord has no law preventing

[38:54] them from raising your rent that much.

[38:56] Um, and then we see people losing their

[38:58] homes and having to move. We've seen

[39:00] quite a few people actually have to go

[39:02] into a homeless shelter because they

[39:04] could not afford rent here in Skenctity.

[39:06] Um, and that is all. Thank you,

[39:14] Mina Badu.

[39:22] Good evening, Mayor McCarthy, President

[39:25] Porterfield, city council members. I am

[39:28] Mina Buddhu, a member of Slick. I'm not

[39:32] a big landlord or a corporation. I'm a

[39:35] small property owner. I rented out an

[39:38] apartment. I take care of the building

[39:40] and I know my tenant personally. I I

[39:44] keep the rent low. I want to be a good

[39:46] landlord. The good cars eviction law

[39:49] portrays me as the enemy. It assumes

[39:52] that if I want to end a lease, I must be

[39:56] doing something wrong. It give tenants

[39:59] the power to stay indefinitely, even if

[40:02] the relationship between us stop working

[40:06] or if they begin damaging my property. I

[40:09] got into this business to build

[40:12] financial security for my family. If

[40:15] this proposal passes, I may be forced to

[40:18] stop renting altogether. I know many

[40:21] other small learners who feel the same.

[40:24] Please think about the real people who

[40:26] have a financial stake in the community.

[40:30] We the property owners don't have the

[40:33] option of packing up, leaving a mess

[40:36] behind, are moving on onto the next

[40:39] apartment where in many instances the

[40:43] new landlord was never told about the

[40:45] last rental and why it is ended. Please

[40:50] say no to good cause eviction. Thank

[40:52] you. Thank you,

[40:55] [Applause]

[40:58] Laurian Gagny.

[41:04] Good evening, Mayor McCarthy, President

[41:07] Council Marian Porter and city council

[41:09] members. My name is Laurian Gier and I'm

[41:12] a real estate broker here in Skenctity.

[41:14] I want to focus on the economic impact

[41:16] of the good cause eviction law. These

[41:20] rules may seem tenant friendly in the

[41:22] short term, but they are disastrous in

[41:24] the long-term housing market. When you

[41:27] restrict a landlord's ability to manage

[41:29] their property or raise rent reasonably,

[41:32] you discourage investment, developers

[41:34] and landlords and small business owners

[41:36] start pulling out. Properties are sold

[41:38] or left vacant. New housing is never

[41:41] built. That leads to one thing, fewer

[41:43] apartments, higher rents.

[41:46] If we want to be and have affordable

[41:48] housing, we should make it easier, not

[41:50] harder, to build and maintain rental

[41:52] units. This law sends the opposite

[41:54] message. It says to investors, don't

[41:57] come here. Please oppose this bill and

[42:00] support policies that grow, not shrink,

[42:03] our housing market in Skenctity. Thank

[42:05] you. Thank you,

[42:10] Pearl Hawk.

[42:16] Good evening everyone. My name is Pearl

[42:19] Ha. I am a broker in the city of

[42:22] Skenctity.

[42:25] Yeah,

[42:27] I'm also a longtime Slick member. I

[42:30] appreciate the opportunity here to share

[42:32] some thoughts and concerns on the good

[42:36] cause eviction.

[42:38] First, New York has already had strong

[42:42] tenant protection laws. Evictions

[42:45] require court approval and tenants have

[42:49] legal remedies when tenants are treated

[42:53] unfairly. You just heard representatives

[42:56] from some organizations. They are having

[43:00] protecting and representing the tenants.

[43:04] Okay.

[43:06] Adding more layers of regulation, no

[43:09] matter how well intended, can lead to

[43:12] unintended consequences, such as higher

[43:16] rent to offset risk and stricter

[43:21] screening that can shut out the very

[43:24] tenants that you're trying to protect.

[43:28] Second, we've seen what happens

[43:30] elsewhere. In Kingston, the policy

[43:33] triggered lawsuits and delays in

[43:36] implementation. In Peripsy, landlords

[43:40] raised credit and income requirements,

[43:44] making housing harder to access for

[43:47] those who need it the most.

[43:50] Third, our court system is already

[43:55] overwhelmed. Implementing good cause

[43:59] eviction would likely mean longer

[44:02] delays, more legal expense and slower

[44:07] resolution of dispute, hurting both good

[44:11] tenants as well as good res re

[44:16] responsible landlords.

[44:18] Skynctity deserves policy that strike a

[44:22] fair balance. Let's work together on the

[44:25] resolutions. Please no good cause

[44:28] eviction.

[44:32] Thank you,

[44:34] Sean Ratigan.

[44:43] Um, yeah. Hi, I'm Sean Ratigan. Um, and

[44:46] I want to thank the city council for

[44:49] bringing up good cause for discussion

[44:50] last week. Uh, one of the discussion

[44:52] points that kept coming up was

[44:55] additional costs that landlords need to

[44:57] bear that might cause them to raise the

[44:59] rent. And while city taxes are accounted

[45:01] for in good cause as a reason that

[45:04] landlords might raise the rent, it made

[45:07] me upset how big of a part of the

[45:09] discussion this was. Oh. Oh. Uh, sure.

[45:14] Um, try putting the microphone closer to

[45:16] your mask. Oh, yeah. Actually, I can

[45:19] pull that down, too. Is that is that

[45:21] better? Yeah. All right. Should I just

[45:23] start from the top? Well, quickly. All

[45:25] right. I want to thank the city council

[45:27] for bringing good cause up for

[45:29] discussion last week. One of the

[45:30] discussion points that kept coming up

[45:32] was additional costs for landlords. Um,

[45:34] well, city taxes are accounted for in

[45:36] good cause as a reason that landlords

[45:38] might raise the rent. It made me upset

[45:41] how big of a discussion point that was.

[45:44] Um, I'd like to share some numbers from

[45:47] my mortgage uh payment. in contrast. So,

[45:50] I bought a house in 2023 and I pay the

[45:53] bank uh $1,975

[45:56] a month or $23,700

[45:59] a year. Of that payment, my city taxes

[46:02] are only $3,600 a year and my school

[46:05] taxes are $2500 a year. From 2023 to

[46:09] 2024, my city taxes went up 2% or $71.

[46:14] Uh, from 24 to 25, my my taxes went up

[46:18] 4.3% or $150.

[46:22] I don't know about you, but like if I

[46:24] could find an apartment where the rent

[46:25] only went up by $150 a year, that would

[46:28] be amazing. Instead, I have to buy a

[46:31] house because every year my landlord

[46:33] wanted to increase the rent by 10%,

[46:35] which was over $150 per month. I really

[46:40] don't think that the city taxes are the

[46:42] reason that landlords are raising their

[46:43] rent.

[46:45] There was also a lot of talk about how

[46:47] small landlords are small businesses and

[46:49] part of the economy. I just like to

[46:51] point out that the tenants who live in

[46:52] Skenctity are arguably a larger point

[46:55] part of the economy. Sorry, I just

[47:00] um if the tenants can't afford to live

[47:03] here, then the people that makes Skaki a

[47:05] great place will have to move. And that

[47:07] just sounds super boring.

[47:09] Good cause isn't radical. Good cause

[47:11] already has carveouts for small

[47:13] landlords, city taxes, large

[47:15] improvements to the buildings. City

[47:17] taxes are really a drop in the bucket

[47:19] when it comes to my budget. Uh housing

[47:21] is by far my largest burden. And since

[47:23] I'm lucky enough to have a mortgage, at

[47:25] least I get equity out of that huge

[47:27] chunk of my paycheck, which is 50% of

[47:30] it. Um tenants need protections, and

[47:33] good cause is protections. I'm pleading

[47:35] with you all to please put the majority

[47:37] of people's interests forward and

[47:39] protect the tenants who live here. Help

[47:41] tenants stay in their homes. Thank Thank

[47:44] you,

[47:45] [Applause]

[47:50] Robin English.

[47:59] My apologies.

[48:01] Good evening, mayor, madame president,

[48:03] and city council. My name is Robin

[48:06] English. I have been a tenant in

[48:07] Skenctity for 20 years. Chris Morris,

[48:10] director of Slick, was my next door

[48:11] neighbor. We lived in a beautiful little

[48:13] complex where she was property manager

[48:15] for 17 years. I began attending monthly

[48:18] Slick meetings with Chris and took on

[48:20] the job of hospitality. I hear all about

[48:23] the re rental business and its

[48:26] challenges. Last year, my complex was

[48:28] sold to a new owner with their owner

[48:31] property management. Unfortunately,

[48:33] there is minimal attention to the

[48:35] property and it has changed

[48:37] dramatically. Although I'm not all happy

[48:40] with the lack of upkeeping, I have

[48:42] considered moving. I'm very concerned

[48:44] about what will happen to me. I know I'm

[48:48] sorry. I know how close I am to having

[48:51] my life disrupted if I feel that I have

[48:54] to move, but I cannot find a place that

[48:56] fits my particular needs. Since I've

[48:58] heard all the discussions on the law on

[49:01] this law, I'm aware of the unintended

[49:04] consequences of the good cause eviction

[49:06] law and how it can actually hurt

[49:08] prospective tenants. When landlords know

[49:11] they won't be able to raise rents or

[49:14] remove a tenant without legal battle,

[49:16] they start screening more aggressively.

[49:19] That means more applicant rejections

[49:22] impacting lower income tenants,

[49:24] students, and those with lower credit

[49:26] scores and others. Landlords may raise

[49:29] rents sharply between tenants and

[49:31] protect themselves from future

[49:33] limitations. Ironically, a law meant to

[49:36] protect renters should make it harder

[49:39] for new renters to find housing. I'm

[49:42] really worried about my own future.

[49:44] Thank you very much. Thank you,

[49:50] Muhammad Haz.

[49:53] Muhammad Hz.

[49:58] Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Madame

[50:01] President, council members. My name is

[50:03] Muhammad Hafes. I'm a landlord's connect

[50:05] in Skenctity.

[50:07] I'm here to speak about the uh about in

[50:09] opposition to the good cause eviction

[50:11] claw. If the law passes in Skenctity, it

[50:14] will result in the following.

[50:16] One, the increase in operating cost

[50:18] because eviction will take a lot longer

[50:21] to complete. Two, rent will increase

[50:24] because of the operating cost increase

[50:26] to the landlord. We're not talking about

[50:28] 2% taxes that he was gentleman was

[50:31] talking about here. Talking about the

[50:33] material costs. If you go to the Home

[50:34] Depot,

[50:36] things have quadrupled. Things have

[50:38] quadruple in price. Talking about labor

[50:40] costs. Talking about legal costs. Try to

[50:42] hire a lawyer to to do an eviction for

[50:44] you. It cost you hundreds of dollars,

[50:47] maybe thousands.

[50:49] Uh number three, evicting problem tenant

[50:52] will become more difficult, prolonging

[50:54] the suffering of the neighboring tenant

[50:56] in the building. and further result in

[50:58] the increase of police and fire

[51:00] department calls. I experienced that

[51:01] myself. I had a problem tenant that was

[51:03] there during corona and after corona it

[51:06] took us months and months and so many

[51:08] calls to the police and fire department

[51:09] phony calls to the police and fire

[51:11] department or when they ca when they

[51:13] came they basically couldn't do

[51:14] anything. Number four, landlord will

[51:16] start leaving more rental unit vacant

[51:18] decreasing the number of rent of uh of unit available to rent in the city.

[51:24] Five, some landlords will stop renting

[51:26] altogether and that will that they will

[51:29] start talking about uh unit conversion

[51:32] further reducing the number of available

[51:34] units for rent uh making it even harder

[51:37] for renter for renter to find apartment

[51:39] in skenctity. Six, if skenctity

[51:42] landlords stop selling their properties,

[51:44] absentee landlord would take over

[51:46] impacting the rental market in

[51:48] Skenctity. Uh number seven, the higher

[51:52] cost of rental business will cause fewer

[51:54] investment in new housing development in

[51:56] Skenctity.

[51:58] Though it may appear to be helping

[52:00] tenant, the law make makes it makes the

[52:02] law will make it finding affordable

[52:04] housing a lot harder for the tenant. So

[52:07] please do not vote for the good cause

[52:09] eviction in Skenct. Thank you. Thank

[52:11] you.

[52:15] Holly Law. Holly Law.

[52:24] Good evening, city council members. Mr.

[52:27] Mayor, I am a Skenctity resident and

[52:29] homeowner of 17 years. The apartment in

[52:32] my home is currently occupied by my mom.

[52:34] And while I hope that arrangement goes

[52:36] on forever, it is entirely possible that

[52:38] I will end up renting at some point to

[52:40] someone who didn't give birth to me. I'm

[52:43] here tonight because I feel strongly

[52:45] that good cause eviction is a win-win

[52:47] for Skenctity. The criticism of good

[52:50] cause seems to me to fall largely into

[52:52] two buckets. One, predictions of dire

[52:55] outcomes for the city, including

[52:57] renters, and two, a conviction that

[53:00] whatever benefits renters must

[53:02] necessarily hurt landlords. So, first,

[53:06] the predictions of dire outcomes. You've

[53:08] heard them from other people. I'm not

[53:10] going to list them all, but good cause

[53:12] has been adopted by more than a dozen

[53:14] New York municipalities, and it's been

[53:16] the law in New Jersey since the 70s. So,

[53:20] if these dire outcomes were going to

[53:22] happen, surely critics would be able to

[53:25] provide clear and compelling evidence of

[53:27] them. Without actual evidence of these

[53:30] bad outcomes from these other places, I

[53:32] would like to suggest that these

[53:33] arguments be disregarded.

[53:36] Second, the idea that anything that

[53:38] benefits renters will necessarily harm

[53:41] landlords. This is called zero sum

[53:44] thinking and it's a particularly

[53:46] corrosive mindset when it comes to

[53:48] making decisions for a whole city where

[53:50] we are interconnected in so many

[53:53] complicated ways. There is social

[53:55] science research that supports the idea

[53:57] that some people are hardwired to zero

[54:00] some thinking. that if you present

[54:02] people with a situation that is

[54:04] objectively beneficial to all parties,

[54:06] like for instance, John sells his car to

[54:09] Mary for a price that he is happy with

[54:12] and Mary buys John's car for a price

[54:14] that she is happy with. And social

[54:17] science researchers will then ask people

[54:20] who won that interaction and there are a

[54:23] significant number of people who will

[54:24] say John. John won that interaction.

[54:28] John definitely won. Mary definitely

[54:30] lost. Even though objectively they both

[54:33] won, that interaction was beneficial to

[54:35] both. And I mentioned this research just

[54:38] to point out that just because certain

[54:40] people believe they will lose when

[54:42] others gain doesn't mean that's

[54:44] necessarily objectively accurate. I

[54:47] think some landlords may be stuck in

[54:49] this zero sum mindset and it makes them

[54:51] unable to see the benefits that would

[54:53] acrue to all of us, landlords included,

[54:56] if the whole city were to have more

[54:58] stable housing, a friendlier and more

[55:01] welcoming rental culture, and therefore

[55:03] more demand for rental units. Good cause

[55:06] eviction would be a win-win for

[55:08] Skenctity. Thank you. Thank you.

[55:12] [Applause]

[55:16] Ed Laven Jr. Ed Leven Jr.

[55:21] This is city business, but it's not

[55:22] about rentals. I beg your pardon. This

[55:25] is city business, but it's not about

[55:27] rentals. Okay. You talk about whatever

[55:29] you'd like. Well, I was involved in a

[55:31] small claims court case. I won a default

[55:34] judgement on 1016, 2019. I get one piece

[55:37] of paper in regular mail with a court

[55:39] date and time of 9:10 2020 9:00 a.m.

[55:42] There is no affidavit or proof of

[55:44] service. Defendant cannot come back to

[55:47] the court without valid reason why she

[55:49] did not appear on 101619.

[55:55] Also, she must show some proof of why

[55:57] she should win case. This must be in

[55:59] motion. No judge can act on a motion

[56:02] without proof of service. This is

[56:03] obstruction of justice and most

[56:05] certainly no judge can vacate a default

[56:07] judgment and say lean was satisfied 11

[56:10] days before a trial. Frost signed the

[56:13] two motions first waited out by clerk.

[56:17] Need proof of service.

[56:22] Frost signed the second motion also

[56:24] without affidavit or proof of service.

[56:26] With Frost signing improper motions and

[56:29] Falotico acting on improper motions,

[56:32] which no judge can act on a motion

[56:33] without proof of service, this makes it

[56:35] a conspiracy to deprive me of my

[56:37] constitutional rights of due process and

[56:40] crime 18 USC 242.

[56:44] Belico goes further and vacates default

[56:46] judgment in committing the crime of 18

[56:48] USC 1509, obstruction of courts. No one

[56:52] vacate or dismiss another judge's

[56:54] decision without a proper hearing and

[56:56] evidence to do so. I've been before this

[56:58] mayor and city council several times.

[57:01] They are complicit after the fact

[57:02] because I have left them the proof and

[57:04] nothing has been done to these two

[57:06] corrupt judges. Mayor, county attorney,

[57:08] district attorney, US attorney, all know

[57:11] about the crimes of these two judges.

[57:13] The mayor has kept me out of the

[57:14] newspaper and off the news channels. The

[57:17] mayor pays very well for corruption.

[57:19] Valico tears down a building on State

[57:21] Street. proper authority to do so and

[57:23] mayor makes him a judge.

[57:26] You also appointed TP Frost. I went to

[57:29] John D. Augustine, Miles Reed of the

[57:31] Gazette. The Augustine was publisher and

[57:33] president. Miles Reed was editor. As I

[57:36] said, mayor pays well for corruption.

[57:38] The CBTA paid 300,000 for parking spaces

[57:41] to the Gazette. John D. Augustine now

[57:44] owns the Gazette. Commission on Judicial

[57:46] Conduct threw my paperwork away after I

[57:49] told them they must base their decisions

[57:51] on the rules of court and the laws of

[57:53] the Constitution or they too could be

[57:55] charged with obstruction of the

[57:56] governmental administration.

[58:00] I've been to city police, sheriff, state

[58:03] police, found one of state trooper that

[58:05] filed my complaint. The DA told him

[58:07] there was no crime. You could go no

[58:09] further. FBI and US attorney's office

[58:11] both said the exact same thing to me.

[58:14] This is not something we're going to

[58:15] look into. When they refused to file my

[58:18] complaints, you do realize you live in

[58:20] New York. When you have mayor running

[58:22] for a fourth term, Fatika was running

[58:24] for Supreme Court. I went to the

[58:26] attorney grievance committee regarding

[58:28] DA, County Attorney Gardner, and US

[58:30] attorney Barnett. They could find no

[58:32] misconduct.

[58:34] I also went to election board letting

[58:36] them know how you were covering up for

[58:38] Falatico. Not uh surprisingly, they

[58:41] could find nothing wrong. No response.

[58:44] Oh, your time is expired. Please

[58:45] summarize.

[58:47] It's time to go to Pan B.

[58:51] Thank you.

[58:55] Paty Dio Prasad.

[59:10] I am short.

[59:12] Good evening, Mayor McCarti, city

[59:15] president for the field and city council

[59:17] members. My name is Patio Prasad. I'm a

[59:20] Skenct City resident. Skenctity is a

[59:23] city that's rebuilding. We've seen

[59:26] growth downtown and neighborhoods come

[59:28] back indeed. But that progress depends

[59:31] on investment, on people like me

[59:34] choosing to put our money, time, and

[59:36] energy into restoring housing. Stop.

[59:40] Good cause eviction sends the opposite

[59:42] message. This tells that would be

[59:46] investors and landlords that even if you

[59:48] follow the law and keep rents fair, the

[59:51] city will make it very difficult for you

[59:53] to remove a tenant from your property.

[59:56] Why would anyone invest under those

[59:58] conditions?

[1:00:00] Why would they t take a risk on that

[1:00:02] property downtown that is a block away

[1:00:05] and needs $50,000 in repairs?

[1:00:09] This law will co would cause

[1:00:12] good local law landlords to walk away.

[1:00:15] Guess who will move in? Predatory out of

[1:00:18] town buyers who don't care about the

[1:00:20] community only profit. If you care about

[1:00:23] revitalizing skinnity,

[1:00:26] don't cut off the people that is doing

[1:00:28] the work. Say no to good cause eviction.

[1:00:31] Thank you. Thank you.

[1:00:39] Jamaica Miles.

[1:00:47] So, let's get quick with some

[1:00:49] clarification. The Kingston Pikipsy

[1:00:51] lawsuits that were referenced were about

[1:00:53] rent control, not about good cause. It's

[1:00:56] completely unrelated. Um, by the way,

[1:00:58] going to court is the law, so we're

[1:01:00] supposed to do that. And good cause

[1:01:02] would reduce the number of court cases

[1:01:04] because it eliminates frivolous filings

[1:01:06] and holds landlords accountable to real

[1:01:09] standards. I am not just a lifelong

[1:01:12] skenkity resident. I am also someone who

[1:01:14] has been impacted by renting in the city

[1:01:17] of Skenctity. Forced out of apartments,

[1:01:19] afraid to call code enforcement, needing

[1:01:22] to relocate every year for multiple

[1:01:24] years, and experiencing extremely high

[1:01:26] rent. Let's start with me being born on

[1:01:29] Hamilton Hill in 1974. By 1980, my

[1:01:32] parents had to move to 953 Albany

[1:01:34] Street. By 1988, at the age of 14 years

[1:01:38] old, it was the first time that I was

[1:01:40] homeless. But let's jump ahead. 1881

[1:01:43] State Street, I actually was able to

[1:01:44] live there for 7 years from 20 from 2002

[1:01:48] to 2009. Then I had to move to Cutler.

[1:01:51] That was less than a year. Plymouth A,

[1:01:53] less than a year. Rugby Road. I lived

[1:01:56] there almost a year, but there was a rat

[1:01:58] infestation and they wouldn't take care

[1:02:00] of it. So, I moved to another apartment

[1:02:01] on Rugby Road less than a year. Then

[1:02:04] over to Brandy Wine A and we've only

[1:02:06] made it to 2015. Do I need to go on? How

[1:02:09] many of you currently rent in the city

[1:02:11] of Skenctity? How many of you have ever

[1:02:14] rented in this city? Which neighborhoods

[1:02:17] do you currently live in or have you

[1:02:18] ever lived in? Mine span almost the

[1:02:21] entire city. How many young people at

[1:02:24] Seat Center live in rentals right now?

[1:02:26] How many attendees of our public

[1:02:28] libraries are housing insecure? Is every

[1:02:31] senior that is living in the city of

[1:02:33] Skenctity living in a safe, stable,

[1:02:35] affordable, and secure housing unit? I'm

[1:02:38] not just someone who lives there. I'm

[1:02:40] also someone who has been on the ground

[1:02:41] speaking to residents for years being

[1:02:43] told that the number one issue is and

[1:02:45] continues to be housing safety,

[1:02:47] security, and affordability. I am here

[1:02:50] to urge this council to opt into New

[1:02:52] York State's good cause eviction law

[1:02:54] because this legislation is not just

[1:02:56] necessary. It is long overdue. Our

[1:02:58] housing isn't being wellmaintained right

[1:03:01] now. It is already difficult to get an

[1:03:04] apartment right now. So, if folks are

[1:03:05] worried about whether or not it's going

[1:03:07] to get more difficult, y'all ain't

[1:03:08] rented in this city. We already have

[1:03:11] absentee landlords. We already have

[1:03:13] apartments that aren't being inspected

[1:03:15] and don't have rental certification. We

[1:03:17] already have tenants who are being

[1:03:19] illegally evicted without going to

[1:03:22] court, which is against the law to a

[1:03:24] body that likes to be law in order. And

[1:03:27] the worst part, many tenants don't even

[1:03:29] know their rights. So yes, we do need an

[1:03:31] education piece. Good cause can help us

[1:03:33] to fix this. It brings clarity. It

[1:03:35] brings standards. It empowers tenants to

[1:03:38] speak up and holds neglectful property

[1:03:41] owners accountable. For those of you

[1:03:43] that are good property owners, God bless

[1:03:44] you and thank you for what you do. There

[1:03:46] is zero evidence that the tax base has

[1:03:48] suffered in any good cause community.

[1:03:51] What has suffered is community stability

[1:03:53] when we fail to act. New Jersey since

[1:03:56] 1974, where's the evidence? So the

[1:03:59] question is not should we wait. The

[1:04:01] question is how many more people will

[1:04:03] you allow to suffer while we do nothing?

[1:04:06] So make process make the process

[1:04:08] forward. Move the process forward to opt

[1:04:11] into good cause. Don't let fear and

[1:04:13] misinformation guide this city's

[1:04:15] decision-making. You summarize, please.

[1:04:17] I am summarizing right now. Don't let a

[1:04:19] good policy die because of political

[1:04:21] games. And don't ignore the people who

[1:04:24] need strength, compassion, and

[1:04:26] leadership right now. Thank you,

[1:04:33] [Applause]

[1:04:37] Kathy Sullivan.

[1:04:40] Down with the signs. Kathy Sullivan.

[1:04:44] She must have left. Trisha Pedro.

[1:05:04] Hello everyone on the city council. I'm

[1:05:06] Trisha Pedro. I had signed up to speak

[1:05:08] about um 317 State Street. Just wanted

[1:05:11] to introduce myself. Um it's not about

[1:05:14] this. So I just wanted to say that I am

[1:05:18] a mother of eight and I live here in

[1:05:20] Skenctity for over 20 years. I am a

[1:05:22] business owner. I love Skenctity. I came

[1:05:25] here just doing my own little thing and

[1:05:27] Skenctity have embraced me. I do a lot

[1:05:29] of community events and just I love the

[1:05:31] people in Skenctity. So, I wanted to use

[1:05:34] the space so that I can have business

[1:05:36] owners like myself just get together and

[1:05:40] make money in the city of Skenkity and

[1:05:42] just just work with the foot traffic

[1:05:44] that's already going through downtown

[1:05:46] Skenctity. So, I just wanted to let you

[1:05:48] guys know that I'm trying to give you

[1:05:50] like a face to the name, introduce

[1:05:51] myself. That's all. Thank you. Thank

[1:05:53] you,

[1:05:56] [Applause]

[1:05:58] Valerie Triano.

[1:06:06] Good evening, city council members. I'm

[1:06:08] here today in support of connected opt

[1:06:11] into the good cause eviction law. As a m

[1:06:14] me member of this community, as a

[1:06:17] neighbor, and as someone who believes

[1:06:18] that housing is not just a commodity,

[1:06:20] it's a human right. First, I want to

[1:06:23] thank council member Farley for

[1:06:24] introducing the good cause eviction

[1:06:27] resolution to committee this past Monday

[1:06:29] and to thank council members Farley,

[1:06:32] Williams, and Porterfield for bringing

[1:06:34] such thoughtful facts and statistics to

[1:06:36] the conversation.

[1:06:38] Your leadership matters

[1:06:40] because right now in connectity, there

[1:06:42] are families living in fear. Fear of

[1:06:45] being pushed out of their homes, not

[1:06:46] because they did something wrong, but

[1:06:49] because they dared to speak up about

[1:06:50] mold, broken heat in winter, or leaking

[1:06:53] ceilings. Fear that if they ask for

[1:06:55] repairs, they'll find a notice taped to

[1:06:58] their door telling them they have 30

[1:06:59] days to get out. That is not justice.

[1:07:02] That is abuse of power. The good cause

[1:07:05] eviction law is our opportunity to say

[1:07:08] no more. No more retaliatory evictions.

[1:07:12] No more families torn apart by greed. No

[1:07:14] more mothers lying awake at night

[1:07:16] wondering where their children will

[1:07:17] sleep next month. This law doesn't

[1:07:19] punish good landlords. It protects them

[1:07:22] and ensures that small local landlords

[1:07:25] can continue offering affordable housing

[1:07:28] without being crushed by corporately

[1:07:29] owned buildings jacking up rent

[1:07:32] citywide.

[1:07:35] It keeps housing fair, competitive, and

[1:07:38] rooted in our comm community in the

[1:07:39] community. This law does not allow

[1:07:42] tenants to abuse the system. Landlords

[1:07:44] will still be able to evict for

[1:07:46] non-payment,

[1:07:49] destruction of property, or illegal

[1:07:50] activity. They can still raise rent so

[1:07:53] long as those increases are fair and

[1:07:55] based on actual costs. Owner occupied

[1:07:57] homes with 10 or fewer units are exempt.

[1:08:01] Let's be clear, good cause isn't

[1:08:02] radical. It's reasonable. It's humane.

[1:08:05] It's overdue. And it works. New Jersey

[1:08:08] has had a version of this law for nearly

[1:08:10] 50 years and not only has it protected

[1:08:12] renters renters. It's outpaced New York

[1:08:16] in housing construction. This law is not

[1:08:18] anti- landlord, it's

[1:08:21] pro community. It's pro- stability. It's

[1:08:24] pro dignity. Let's lead with compassion

[1:08:27] to put people over profit. Let's make

[1:08:29] connectity a city where no one loses

[1:08:30] their home just for speaking up. where

[1:08:33] housing isn't a constant fight but a

[1:08:35] foundation to build our lives upon.

[1:08:37] Thank you for your time for listening

[1:08:39] not just with your heart. I mean not

[1:08:41] just with your ears but with your

[1:08:42] hearts. Thank you. Thank you

[1:08:49] Rach.

[1:08:59] Hello. I came to uh speak on behalf of

[1:09:01] Trisha Pedro. Um she's been an amazing

[1:09:05] community member who is well loved um by

[1:09:08] the Skenctity community and as the uh

[1:09:11] director of the Hamilton Hill Arts

[1:09:13] Center, we've worked together often to

[1:09:15] put on community events and I just

[1:09:17] wanted to support her purchase of the

[1:09:18] property. Thank you. Thank you,

[1:09:21] [Applause]

[1:09:25] Ellie Pepper.

[1:09:34] Good evening, Mayor, Madame President,

[1:09:36] city council members. I've lived in the

[1:09:38] city of Skenctity for 30 years as a

[1:09:40] homeowner. Uh, I'm here to urge you to

[1:09:43] opt into New York's good cause eviction

[1:09:47] law because our city's renters urgently

[1:09:49] need this protection and responsible

[1:09:52] landlords have nothing to fear from it.

[1:09:55] 15 cities in the state have already done

[1:09:58] it. So, let's do it. More than half of

[1:10:03] all households in Skenctity and in

[1:10:06] neighborhoods like Mount Pleasant and

[1:10:08] downtown.

[1:10:09] Um, so there's more than half of all

[1:10:11] households in Skenctity are renters. And

[1:10:14] in neighborhoods like Mount Pleasant and

[1:10:16] downtown, it's more than 75 or even 90%.

[1:10:20] That's a lot of people who are renters

[1:10:23] in this city. The majority of those

[1:10:25] buildings are owned by absentee

[1:10:27] landlords, many of whom don't live in

[1:10:29] Skenctity and some don't even live in

[1:10:31] the state.

[1:10:34] And something that started all the way

[1:10:36] back in 2018 and finally we've seen um

[1:10:40] what it led to just this past year, but

[1:10:44] that's seven years later. I just want to

[1:10:46] point that out.

[1:10:50] The city fined one absentee landlord,

[1:10:53] Alh Hawk LLC, more than 665,000

[1:10:58] for dangerous conditions across multiple

[1:11:00] properties, homes with no heat, no

[1:11:03] maintenance, no regard for the people

[1:11:05] living there. And still many attend many

[1:11:08] tenants are afraid to speak up because

[1:11:10] right now they can be evicted for any

[1:11:13] reason or no reason at all. good cause

[1:11:17] eviction would change that. It doesn't

[1:11:19] stop landlords from evicting tenants who

[1:11:21] don't pay rent or break their lease. It

[1:11:24] just says if you're doing everything

[1:11:26] right, you can't be thrown out without a

[1:11:29] valid reason. And it protects tenants

[1:11:32] from retaliation if they report unsafe

[1:11:35] conditions.

[1:11:37] It also puts a check on unreasonable

[1:11:40] rent increases.

[1:11:42] So, just to put a clear point on the

[1:11:45] amount that can be increased right now,

[1:11:49] inflation in our region is 3.4%.

[1:11:53] Under good cause, a rent increase is

[1:11:56] presumed unreasonable

[1:11:58] if it is higher than 5% plus the

[1:12:02] consumer price index.

[1:12:05] So, if you put that together with the

[1:12:08] inflation rate right now in this region,

[1:12:10] you're looking at an 8.4%

[1:12:13] increase as being reasonable.

[1:12:17] That doesn't um block rent increases. It

[1:12:20] just ensures that they're fair. If a

[1:12:24] landlord has rising costs and needs to

[1:12:26] raise rent more than that, they can

[1:12:29] still do it. They just need to justify

[1:12:33] it if it leads to eviction for

[1:12:35] non-payment.

[1:12:37] Now, I want to speak directly to

[1:12:39] concerns about small landlords. Is that

[1:12:41] my time up already? Wow, God, that went

[1:12:43] so fast. Um, I know many of them care

[1:12:46] deeply about their tenants and are part

[1:12:47] of the communities they're they serve.

[1:12:50] And good cause does not prevent them

[1:12:51] from making a living. It doesn't stop

[1:12:53] evictions for valid reasons. Doesn't

[1:12:55] freeze rents. In fact, many of the worst

[1:12:57] violations and most aggressive evictions

[1:12:59] in Skenctity come from large absentee

[1:13:01] owners, not local landlords. It's about

[1:13:04] targeting abuse, not punishing

[1:13:06] responsible property. I need you to

[1:13:07] summarize. We already have strong

[1:13:10] enforcement tools, but those don't mean

[1:13:12] much if tenants are afraid to file a

[1:13:14] complaint. Good cause gives renters the

[1:13:16] confidence to speak up, and it helps

[1:13:18] stabilize neighborhoods by stopping

[1:13:20] unjust evictions before they happen.

[1:13:21] Thank you. Thank you.

[1:13:26] Dean Nabado,

[1:13:34] I will try to speak fast. Uh, good

[1:13:38] evening, uh, madame president, city

[1:13:41] council members, and mayor. Uh, my name

[1:13:43] is Dean Morabo, and I live in the city

[1:13:46] of Skenctity. After listening to the

[1:13:49] discussion last Monday by members of the

[1:13:51] council regarding opting into or out of

[1:13:55] good cause eviction,

[1:13:57] uh it appeared to me that those voices

[1:14:00] uh against good cause had very

[1:14:02] unconvincing arguments

[1:14:04] uh to vote for opting out. Um I'll give

[1:14:08] some examples.

[1:14:10] uh

[1:14:11] landlords will be rushing to sell their

[1:14:14] properties leading to corporation

[1:14:16] corporations buying up properties and

[1:14:19] creating uh absentee landlords. This is

[1:14:23] uh only speculation

[1:14:28] and word of mouth and it's a form of

[1:14:30] fear-mongering.

[1:14:32] Uh also landlords suffered during COVID.

[1:14:36] Well, tenants did as well. Where is the

[1:14:39] compassion for them?

[1:14:41] Small landlords are small businesses

[1:14:44] trying to create generational wealth.

[1:14:48] Uh will that be on the backs of the

[1:14:50] tenants? Is that what it's about? Uh

[1:14:53] this sounds a lot like colonialism to

[1:14:55] me.

[1:14:58] Uh it was stated landlords are part of a

[1:15:00] solution. Taking people into their

[1:15:03] properties to give them a place to live.

[1:15:06] I thought that I heard that landlords

[1:15:08] are small businesses.

[1:15:11] Landlords are building a skenctity we

[1:15:14] can all be proud of.

[1:15:16] Is this to the exclusion of an already

[1:15:19] disenfranchised population of the city?

[1:15:23] Uh landlords were compared to other

[1:15:26] small businesses in the city. People

[1:15:29] need to feel safe and secure in their

[1:15:31] properties they rent um which should be

[1:15:34] affordable, clean and properly

[1:15:37] maintained by landlords.

[1:15:41] These are not things small businesses in

[1:15:44] other small businesses in the city are

[1:15:47] uh required to provide.

[1:15:50] It's not fair that landlords should lose

[1:15:52] money for owning rental properties.

[1:15:56] Well, good cause isn't about taking

[1:15:58] money away from landlords. It's about

[1:16:00] providing perfection protections for

[1:16:02] tenants. So, in conclusion, I'd like to

[1:16:05] say that people who become landlords do

[1:16:09] so as a choice. Uh people need a place

[1:16:13] to live. It's not asking too much for it

[1:16:16] to be affordable, clean, and

[1:16:18] appropriately maintained by the people

[1:16:20] that own the property. Thank you. Thank

[1:16:22] you.

[1:16:23] [Applause]

[1:16:28] First name looks like Laurel and the

[1:16:29] last name starts with a G.

[1:16:40] I beg you pardon.

[1:16:42] It sound it looks like it.

[1:16:48] And could you just please your state

[1:16:50] your full name because I am unable to

[1:16:52] read your last name. No problem. My name

[1:16:54] is Laurel Barnes. Good afternoon, good

[1:16:57] evening, mayor, madame president, and

[1:17:00] city council. Um, I was going to speak

[1:17:02] about something different, but now that

[1:17:04] I heard about this good cause uh

[1:17:07] eviction,

[1:17:09] I've been a resident of Skenki for over

[1:17:12] 20 years. I've been in different

[1:17:14] apartments. Um, I've been in my last one

[1:17:17] right now for going on 12 years.

[1:17:20] I have never been late on my rent.

[1:17:25] Our apartment building got bought by an

[1:17:28] LLC after our landlord who was just a

[1:17:33] single landlord owning a few places who

[1:17:35] was actually compassionate and kind.

[1:17:39] Someone else bought it. Now he calls me

[1:17:42] a troublemaker.

[1:17:44] I was telling him about what was going

[1:17:47] wrong with my neighbor downstairs

[1:17:51] and the other neighbor on the other side

[1:17:54] of the building. He has threatened to

[1:17:57] not reloom my lease next year. And his

[1:18:00] lease, all it is is a piece of paper

[1:18:04] saying, "Do you still want to live here?

[1:18:06] Sign here." No rules, no nothing.

[1:18:10] I don't think it's fair. I'm telling him

[1:18:14] something that's happening. I'm not

[1:18:16] trying to be a troublemaker.

[1:18:18] It's just the truth. And he hardly ever

[1:18:23] comes by.

[1:18:25] I'm also under section 8. He's also

[1:18:27] raised the rent because of section 8

[1:18:32] uh over $150 the first time. I rent a

[1:18:36] one-bedroom apartment and now it's $900.

[1:18:40] I'm afraid to tell him that my bathroom

[1:18:44] sink is leaking. I'm afraid to ask him

[1:18:47] for another refrigerator because it's

[1:18:49] starting to go.

[1:18:51] I'm afraid to tell him about the heat.

[1:18:54] The the radiator starts leaking like

[1:18:56] crazy and I have it's ruined the rug

[1:19:00] that I have in my kitchen. I'm afraid to

[1:19:03] tell him anything because I'm afraid

[1:19:05] he's going to get me out and not renew

[1:19:07] my lease. And it's not fair. They should

[1:19:11] not have the right to just say, "You're

[1:19:13] a troublemaker. Time to get out. I can't

[1:19:16] afford to move anywhere. I have to live

[1:19:19] where I'm living. It's it's a great

[1:19:21] area. I feel safe there."

[1:19:25] And it's it will not help also my mental

[1:19:28] health. I suffer from severe depression

[1:19:32] and that will make me go downhill.

[1:19:35] Not a good idea.

[1:19:38] Because back in 2009,

[1:19:41] I left my house in Scotia. And this was

[1:19:44] 5 years after my mother passed away, who

[1:19:47] I took care of till the day she died.

[1:19:51] I walked towards the Scotia Bridge

[1:19:54] intending on jumping.

[1:19:57] Two police officers, who I still don't

[1:19:59] know their name,

[1:20:01] saved me from doing it. I went to Ellis

[1:20:04] for a month and a half. I have no memory

[1:20:06] of what was going on and I'm happy where

[1:20:10] I am, but I'm afraid to say anything.

[1:20:13] Thank you. Have a good night.

[1:20:17] [Applause]

[1:20:19] [Music]

[1:20:21] [Applause]

[1:20:24] Chris Petro Carly.

[1:20:33] Good evening, esteemed members of the

[1:20:34] council. My name is Chris Petra Carly. I

[1:20:37] actually have never encountered someone

[1:20:38] who pronounced it right the first time

[1:20:39] correctly. So

[1:20:42] uh I am as connected resident. I am

[1:20:44] actually not a tenant. I am a homeowner.

[1:20:45] But I was once a tenant and I was able

[1:20:48] to stably live in an apartment for 7

[1:20:50] years before I was able to afford my

[1:20:51] house. I was only able to afford my

[1:20:54] house because of that stability. And I

[1:20:57] implore you to vote yes on good cause so

[1:21:00] that we can maintain stability for our

[1:21:02] tenants in this time of economic strife.

[1:21:05] We need to understand that everybody who

[1:21:07] contributes to the community, everybody

[1:21:09] who works, everybody who's a barista,

[1:21:11] who works at a Lowe's as a salesman, who

[1:21:15] makes entertainment online, whatever,

[1:21:17] anybody who works for a living needs to

[1:21:19] be able to call someplace their own, to

[1:21:21] be able to live somewhere without the

[1:21:23] threat of randomly being pushed out on

[1:21:25] the street because the landlord

[1:21:27] suspected they might be gay or because

[1:21:30] they just don't vibe with the person in

[1:21:32] there. Good cause will prevent people

[1:21:34] from just being thrown to the wolves.

[1:21:40] Thank you for your time. Thank you.

[1:21:46] [Applause]

[1:21:47] Bridget Bridget Savage Spice.

[1:21:57] Hello. Uh my name is Bridget Savage

[1:21:59] Spees. Um I am with the capital district

[1:22:02] DSA um and I work on the housing

[1:22:04] committee um helping to bring um

[1:22:07] legislation like this to places

[1:22:09] throughout the capital district um uh

[1:22:12] including Skenctity. So, um I wanted to

[1:22:14] talk a little bit about the um the way

[1:22:18] that good cause has existed in not only

[1:22:20] the places in New York that have passed

[1:22:22] good cause, but also in California, in

[1:22:25] New Jersey, and in um other

[1:22:27] municipalities in which they have um

[1:22:29] similar protections to good cause or,

[1:22:31] you know, verbatim good cause

[1:22:33] protections. Um, a little while ago, the

[1:22:36] University of Minnesota Center for Urban

[1:22:39] and Regional Affairs published a report

[1:22:41] um because several of their professors

[1:22:43] were wondering, you know, I keep hearing

[1:22:44] this thing from landlords where they say

[1:22:46] that if we pass good cause um then there

[1:22:49] will be no new housing development and

[1:22:51] that will drive up rental prices. Um,

[1:22:53] and that's something that I have heard

[1:22:54] here today a lot. Um, and so they did

[1:22:56] this study because they wanted to find

[1:22:57] out is that true. Um they looked in

[1:22:59] California, in New Jersey. They compared

[1:23:02] um the they compared areas with good

[1:23:05] cause to areas without good cause that

[1:23:07] have similar, you know, that are similar

[1:23:09] in their geographic area, similar in

[1:23:12] their income and their GDP, all sorts

[1:23:14] of, you know, um similarities. And they

[1:23:18] determined that it did not have any

[1:23:21] effect on new construction. Um so with

[1:23:23] that study in mind I think um we can

[1:23:26] determine that it's unlikely that it

[1:23:28] would in skenctity if it hasn't anywhere

[1:23:30] else. Um I would also like to um lay out

[1:23:34] the idea that I want to make it

[1:23:36] extremely clear that good cause eviction

[1:23:38] protections do not impact landlords who

[1:23:40] are in the business of providing safe

[1:23:43] and affordable housing. Um, if that's

[1:23:45] what your goal is as a landlord, then I

[1:23:47] commend you for that. And this law

[1:23:49] should not impact you because you

[1:23:53] um you will not be

[1:23:55] uh you if you are not trying to evict

[1:23:57] tenants retal in a retaliatory manner,

[1:24:00] you will not be impacted by good cause.

[1:24:02] Um good cause has a number of um a

[1:24:06] number of carveouts in it as well that

[1:24:08] address some of the concerns that I've

[1:24:10] heard. Um so any building that's built

[1:24:12] before 2009 uh that's built after 2009

[1:24:15] is exempt from good cause which is one

[1:24:17] of the reasons why it doesn't impact new

[1:24:18] development. Um it doesn't impact um

[1:24:21] owner occupied buildings. So small

[1:24:24] landlords renting out their apartment

[1:24:26] attached to their garage or anything

[1:24:27] like that are not impacted. Um it does

[1:24:31] not impact um

[1:24:34] landlords with a portfolio under a

[1:24:36] certain size which can be determined by

[1:24:38] the council. In Albany, we set that as

[1:24:40] one um because of the LLC loophole in

[1:24:43] which landlords frequently own uh many

[1:24:45] buildings under all different LLC's. And

[1:24:47] so it is hard to determine um how many

[1:24:50] units they really have, but um that is

[1:24:53] up to you to determine. The um good

[1:24:57] cause in Albany when it was passed

[1:24:59] decreased the number of eviction cases

[1:25:01] going to court. Um so for the reasons

[1:25:04] that it will decrease eviction burden,

[1:25:06] it will decrease the burden on our

[1:25:07] eviction courts, it will not um impact

[1:25:10] increases in housing stock and it should

[1:25:11] not impact any landlord who's providing

[1:25:13] safe and affordable housing. I urge you

[1:25:16] to pass good cause. Thank you. Thank

[1:25:17] you,

[1:25:23] Rocky Palmer.

[1:25:28] Hi council members, Mr. Mayor, and

[1:25:30] council president.

[1:25:32] Sorry.

[1:25:35] Um, I've been a a small-time landlord

[1:25:38] for most of my life. I've been doing

[1:25:40] this since I was a kid with my

[1:25:41] grandfather and my father. Um, very

[1:25:44] against this um proposed optin to the

[1:25:48] good cause. Um, just going to be very

[1:25:50] concise. Uh, I think it will dis

[1:25:53] disroportionately affect small

[1:25:55] landlords, not these big large corporate

[1:25:58] outfits. Um it's going to be longer

[1:26:01] court times, more expenses, lost rent,

[1:26:03] and will discourage uh new landlords to

[1:26:05] enter the business. Um there are already

[1:26:08] protections in place to protect tenants

[1:26:11] uh New York State. Um

[1:26:14] and we also have the rental certificate

[1:26:16] program as well in the city. I really

[1:26:18] believe the uh the true um

[1:26:25] uh the true intention of this law is to

[1:26:27] usher an arcane New York City New York

[1:26:29] City style rental regulation and

[1:26:31] control. Uh I think it's kind of like a

[1:26:34] soft start and from there more laws can

[1:26:37] be added or more laws can be introduced

[1:26:39] or this law can be you know adjusted or

[1:26:43] made worse. Um, and again, I I really

[1:26:46] believe if we wanted to lower rents, uh,

[1:26:49] we should invent in incentivize building

[1:26:51] new units and not buy these big

[1:26:53] corporate outfits whose rents are going

[1:26:54] to be out of reach for mo most, uh,

[1:26:56] people in Skenctity, but, uh, just

[1:26:59] normal small-time investors, and we

[1:27:02] could do this by reducing regulations,

[1:27:04] fees, red tape, and generally just

[1:27:06] encourage new construction. Thank you.

[1:27:15] Crystal Dwayne.

[1:27:24] Hello. Hello. If you don't mind, I'm

[1:27:26] just going to set a timer. It's 3

[1:27:29] minutes. It is three minutes. Okay. Can

[1:27:31] everybody hear me?

[1:27:33] No. Can you hear me now? Okay. I just

[1:27:36] want to make sure everybody can hear.

[1:27:38] That's all. It's very hard to hear in

[1:27:40] the back. So, okay, I set my timer. Um,

[1:27:43] I am here just asking for transparency

[1:27:46] within the community in regards to the

[1:27:50] uh lack of clean drinking water, a basic

[1:27:55] human right. I have been a resident for

[1:27:59] my entire life basically in Skenctity,

[1:28:01] born and raised. Um, this is a bag of

[1:28:04] medication. This is just some medication

[1:28:07] that I have to take on a regular basis.

[1:28:10] Um, it's appalling to me that in the

[1:28:14] city of Skenctity that we are only

[1:28:17] required to actually sample our water

[1:28:21] once per calendar year. And in 2024, I

[1:28:26] don't know if everybody has had a chance

[1:28:27] to actually read what the contaminants

[1:28:30] are in there. In 2024, we had 48

[1:28:33] contaminants alone, which cause cancer,

[1:28:37] leukemia,

[1:28:39] respiratory effects on your body, brain

[1:28:42] cancer, soft tissue problems, a plethora

[1:28:45] of problems that some you can't even

[1:28:49] fix. these two that I just happened to

[1:28:53] look up. Benzene, which is the first on

[1:28:55] the list of the actual 2024

[1:28:59] uh drinking water report, can cause

[1:29:02] blood disorders, leukemia, cancer. Uh

[1:29:06] our male population, believe it or not,

[1:29:09] is at a higher risk from for uh

[1:29:11] contaminated water. Um, and then females

[1:29:15] uh inevitably suffer from hormonal

[1:29:18] problems, breast cancer, and so on and

[1:29:21] so forth. What I'm asking that we do as

[1:29:24] a community, I don't know about you, but

[1:29:27] everybody in my family has been a

[1:29:29] lifelong resident of Skenctity and in

[1:29:32] one facet or another has been affected

[1:29:34] by health problems. If I could just do a

[1:29:37] little demonstration here. How many

[1:29:39] people here in this room take more than

[1:29:42] one medication?

[1:29:46] Okay, another thing. How many people

[1:29:49] remark? How Okay, I'm sorry. How many

[1:29:51] people in this room by yourself, your

[1:29:56] family member or someone has been

[1:29:57] diagnosed with cancer recently?

[1:30:02] There is a statistic out here on the

[1:30:04] national uh cancer institute that uh

[1:30:09] Skynctity is actually getting 580 more

[1:30:12] cases on a yearly basis and that is

[1:30:15] stating that that is actually stable for

[1:30:18] us. While granted that's not in the

[1:30:20] thousands, 580 is way too many. 580 is

[1:30:24] affecting people's, you know, long-term

[1:30:28] jeevity of their life. It's cutting it

[1:30:30] shorter. We need to do something

[1:30:35] in our community to assist the people

[1:30:38] and by giving and providing clean

[1:30:41] drinking water. Chloroform itself is in

[1:30:44] there and that was listed as not a

[1:30:46] violation. I know that your timer went

[1:30:49] off. So, yep. Thank you. You're welcome.

[1:30:55] I have no one else signed up to speak,

[1:30:57] so I declare the public comment of city

[1:30:59] business closed.

[1:31:02] At this time, any miscellaneous business

[1:31:03] of the council.

[1:31:09] Everyone had an opportunity to sign up.

[1:31:11] I'm sorry. Everyone had an opportunity.

[1:31:15] to sign up at the beginning of the

[1:31:16] meeting. This that I've called every

[1:31:19] name that's on the list.

[1:31:23] I've called every name that was on the

[1:31:24] list.

[1:31:29] I called every name on the list. We

[1:31:31] asked people to sign up at the beginning

[1:31:32] of the meeting.

[1:31:37] Miscellaneous business of the council.

[1:31:41] Mr. Mr. Williams.

[1:31:50] Thank you. I uh initially just wanted to

[1:31:53] uh appreciate and tell everyone that uh

[1:31:56] took the courage to come up here and

[1:31:57] speak regardless of your position and

[1:31:58] what issue you're speaking to. It is uh

[1:32:01] definitely something that uh takes

[1:32:02] people back. Uh it is a form of speaking

[1:32:04] that people aren't usually used to but

[1:32:06] it shows your passion towards your

[1:32:07] issues which is why I take a lot of

[1:32:09] notes because I value that time that you

[1:32:11] spend with sharing your candid thoughts

[1:32:12] with us and sincerely I present myself

[1:32:15] as someone that's objective. Uh so with

[1:32:17] respect to the conversation of good

[1:32:18] cause eviction, uh sincerely looking at

[1:32:21] it from a standpoint of the lived

[1:32:23] experience that I had throughout my

[1:32:24] life, not just within the city of

[1:32:25] Skenctity, but just as uh um

[1:32:29] as someone that grew up not with a

[1:32:31] stable home, um but also looking at the

[1:32:33] merits and hearing both sides of the

[1:32:35] facts and also hearing uh some candid

[1:32:37] conversations from people that I

[1:32:38] consider very close to me, I can't seem

[1:32:41] to get away from the fact that I I'm a

[1:32:43] huge supporter of it. Uh on this very

[1:32:46] context, good cause eviction keeps good

[1:32:49] tenants in homes and holds poor

[1:32:52] landlords accountable. And

[1:32:55] my understanding of that is that with a

[1:32:59] marginal administrative cost to

[1:33:01] landlords, it ensures that your actions

[1:33:03] taking place, the morality of the

[1:33:05] decisions that you can impact

[1:33:07] individuals over. Uh we heard from uh

[1:33:10] two individuals who I'm not going to

[1:33:11] name speak from their hearts about their

[1:33:14] lived experiences and what unstable

[1:33:16] housing does for the community. In a few

[1:33:19] months, we are going to have the

[1:33:20] conversation of how much overtime do we

[1:33:22] allow to increase police and fire

[1:33:26] departments. And in very few instances

[1:33:29] do we have the ability to be proactive

[1:33:31] instead of reactionary. Stable housing

[1:33:34] improves the quality of life of a

[1:33:36] community. And it has been said

[1:33:37] abundantly

[1:33:39] that this is something that is good for

[1:33:40] the city of Skenctity. I urge everyone

[1:33:43] regardless of what side of the

[1:33:44] conversation we're on to look at the law

[1:33:47] because as I hear a lot of the

[1:33:48] misinformation, there are protections in

[1:33:51] place for illegal behavior, for breaks

[1:33:54] and lease. Um there are protections in

[1:33:56] place for maintenance costs above the

[1:33:59] 10% number that you are uh that was

[1:34:01] cited multiple times with justifiable

[1:34:04] reasoning and that is where I think a

[1:34:07] lot of the the the headache and

[1:34:08] knee-jerk reactions come come from. It

[1:34:10] is now having to justify your actions.

[1:34:13] But we continue to hear from tenants

[1:34:16] since I've been an elected official year

[1:34:18] after year of the struggles of having

[1:34:20] instable housing in a city where rents

[1:34:23] are continuing to rise. We tried to have

[1:34:25] the conversation of rent stabilization

[1:34:27] that was met with an utter no. We are

[1:34:29] trying to bring the conversation of good

[1:34:31] cause eviction that is also met with an

[1:34:34] fervorable no. What are we to say to the

[1:34:37] majority of this community who is

[1:34:39] sitting on the tenant side of this who

[1:34:41] is crying out for help.

[1:34:43] We continue to hear that New York has

[1:34:45] some strict protections for tenants. But

[1:34:47] looking at the case study of connectity,

[1:34:49] you are also hearing about tenants that

[1:34:50] are saying, "Were those protections for

[1:34:52] me?" And that is not something that is

[1:34:55] debatable. These are lived experiences

[1:34:57] that we hear meeting after meeting and

[1:34:59] then we hear from our advocacy groups

[1:35:02] event after event. Housing continues to

[1:35:04] be the number one priority for not just

[1:35:06] city of Skenctity residents, but for

[1:35:08] residents within the state of New York.

[1:35:10] I applaud the legislature for passing

[1:35:12] this type of law. The only push back

[1:35:14] that I have was making it opt-in. I

[1:35:16] think it is a requirement for us to have

[1:35:18] this conversation. I thank Mr. Farley

[1:35:19] for presenting it. And I look forward to

[1:35:21] having a candid factual discussion next

[1:35:24] week about the merits of where each of

[1:35:26] my peers stand because sincerely this is

[1:35:28] impacting lives. It truly is. Um housing

[1:35:33] is a fundamental right. I have had the

[1:35:36] luxury due to my military um experience

[1:35:40] and military career to have had the

[1:35:42] ability to use the VA home loan. If not

[1:35:44] for that, I guarantee you I would be

[1:35:46] sitting on that side of the room as a

[1:35:49] tenant. sincerely uh saying the right

[1:35:53] thing sometimes is unpopular, but

[1:35:56] looking at the case studies that we've

[1:35:57] seen from the municipalities that have

[1:35:59] opted in, looking at the proven records

[1:36:02] from states that are continuing to do

[1:36:04] this work based on the logic that we've

[1:36:07] heard, those communities should be in

[1:36:09] disarray.

[1:36:10] So sincerely as we look at the facts and

[1:36:14] as we looked at the lived experiences

[1:36:15] from tenants in our community, I truly

[1:36:17] believe that this ensures that good

[1:36:19] tenants remain in place and it still

[1:36:22] provides landlords the rights that they

[1:36:24] are demanding that they still have um to

[1:36:28] provide themselves a quality of life

[1:36:30] that they are looking forward to as

[1:36:31] well. Thank you. Thank you,

[1:36:37] Mr. Farley. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um,

[1:36:42] thank you, Mr. Williams, for your

[1:36:43] comments. Uh, I I um agree with

[1:36:45] everything you said. Um, and I just

[1:36:49] think that this is something that's not

[1:36:50] that complicated. It really isn't. And I

[1:36:53] think sometimes people over complicate

[1:36:56] things so they can hide in the

[1:36:58] confusion. I've read through this front

[1:37:00] and back. I've had real candid

[1:37:03] conversations with landlords and

[1:37:06] tenants. Um, and I am someone with

[1:37:09] presented with new information is

[1:37:11] willing to change my mind based on that.

[1:37:14] I think that that is something that you

[1:37:15] must be willing to do as a leader

[1:37:18] whether it's popular or not. Um, I've

[1:37:21] heard the stories about how these

[1:37:24] horrible uh uh situations that landlords

[1:37:27] are placed in from tenants not paying

[1:37:29] their rent um through COVID and damaging

[1:37:32] their property and being nuisance and

[1:37:35] just doing things that where someone has

[1:37:38] uh invested their life's savings into a

[1:37:41] property and now the landlord has become

[1:37:44] a victim of this unruly tenant. Um, and

[1:37:48] those are things that I know happen.

[1:37:51] Those are real things that happen. And

[1:37:54] in good cause eviction, there are

[1:37:58] provisions for every single thing that

[1:38:00] people have been talking about.

[1:38:03] I would just stress to people to please

[1:38:05] go back, read this legislation, and ask

[1:38:07] yourself,

[1:38:09] would I do any of these things that are

[1:38:11] on this list? And if your answer is no,

[1:38:15] then not only should you not be against

[1:38:17] this, but you should be coming out to

[1:38:18] support it. I also want to say that, you

[1:38:22] know, we on city council, I do believe

[1:38:24] that we all are homeowners and sometimes

[1:38:27] your proximity or lack thereof to an

[1:38:29] issue can really impact how you receive

[1:38:33] messaging. And I want us all to be

[1:38:34] mindful of the people who are not in the

[1:38:37] very uh privileged uh position that Mr.

[1:38:40] uh Williams talked about.

[1:38:42] I've been born and raised connectedity.

[1:38:44] I've been here all my life and I always

[1:38:46] heard a saying that might have not been

[1:38:48] originated here but um first time I

[1:38:50] heard it was here and that's all money

[1:38:52] isn't good money. So when people talk

[1:38:55] about you know the investments and

[1:38:58] investments that people are making into

[1:39:00] the city. I'm happy to hear about

[1:39:03] investments but again all money isn't

[1:39:05] good money. And if you're not going to

[1:39:08] come here and provide a safe uh

[1:39:11] respectable housing for people, then our

[1:39:14] commitment to basic human dignity is not

[1:39:18] and should not be for sale. Thank you,

[1:39:28] Miss Patrick.

[1:39:30] Thank you.

[1:39:33] Yeah, I actually um was only able to buy

[1:39:35] a home having worked in nonprofit all my

[1:39:37] life um because I had an uncle that died

[1:39:40] and very generously gave each of his

[1:39:43] nieces and nephews uh money and that was

[1:39:46] how my husband and I were able to come

[1:39:47] and buy a home in Skenctity. But other

[1:39:49] than that, I was mic closer. I can't

[1:39:50] hear you. Can't hear it. Now I can now.

[1:39:53] The mic's closer. Yeah. Okay. I was

[1:39:55] saying that I only was able to buy a

[1:39:57] home here um a after renting my entire

[1:40:00] life because of my nonprofit career. Uh

[1:40:03] because I had an uncle that passed away

[1:40:05] and uh generously gave all of his nieces

[1:40:08] and nephews. Uh he didn't have any

[1:40:11] children. Uh so that was how we were

[1:40:13] able to buy our house. So um I

[1:40:15] definitely spent most of my life renting apartments. Um I wanted to thank

[1:40:21] the school district for an incredible

[1:40:23] event the other day. Skin Equity um

[1:40:26] which they sponsored in the parking lot

[1:40:28] over at their uh headquarters um which

[1:40:31] was just a wonderful event. Lots of

[1:40:33] community resources um that were there

[1:40:37] um and it was a lot of fun dancing even

[1:40:39] though it was really hot. Um but it was

[1:40:41] great to see the community come out for that event. I also wanted to thank I

[1:40:45] see I think Rachel's still here. Uh I

[1:40:47] wanted to thank the Hamilton Hill Arts

[1:40:48] Center uh for the Junth celebration uh

[1:40:51] over the weekend. And that was also it's

[1:40:54] just great to see people come out, but

[1:40:56] also um you know all the resources that

[1:40:58] are available from the people that table

[1:41:00] at these events. Um it's it's really a

[1:41:03] great a great opportunity for folks to

[1:41:05] come and celebrate our community. Um I

[1:41:09] wanted to uh give a little bit of

[1:41:12] information. We really need those pools

[1:41:14] that we have in our splash pads,

[1:41:16] especially with the weather these days.

[1:41:17] So, I wanted to mention that the

[1:41:19] sheriff's department is going to be

[1:41:21] doing IDs um over at the Central Park

[1:41:25] pool uh this Friday, June 27th, from 12

[1:41:28] to 300 p.m. Um if you don't have a

[1:41:31] driver's license, if you need if you

[1:41:33] don't have a school ID, um come and get

[1:41:35] a a sheriff's ID. So, you'll be able to

[1:41:38] uh come and use the pool. The Central

[1:41:40] Park pool is going to open on Saturday,

[1:41:43] June 28th at noon. Um, it's open Monday

[1:41:46] through Friday, 8:00 am to 9:00 am for

[1:41:49] lap swim only and then Mondays through

[1:41:52] Fridays 12:30 to 6:30 for open swim and

[1:41:55] Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 6. Um,

[1:41:58] our front street and quacken bush pools

[1:42:01] are going to be open starting Monday,

[1:42:03] June 30th, and they're going to be open

[1:42:05] Mondays through Saturdays, uh, 12:30 to

[1:42:07] 6:30. All of the splash pads at all of

[1:42:10] our parks that have them are up and

[1:42:12] running now. So get out there and cool

[1:42:15] down in a splash pad. Um our parks

[1:42:18] director also um this is a report from

[1:42:20] our parks director. Um uh all the summer

[1:42:23] activities that we'll be having in our

[1:42:25] parks are going to start on July 7th. Um

[1:42:29] I wanted to mention that uh music haven

[1:42:31] concerts in Central Park start on

[1:42:34] Sunday, July 13th. All of those shows

[1:42:36] start at 7 p.m. and the concession stand

[1:42:39] opens at 6:00 p.m. And you can get a

[1:42:42] list of all the concerts, all the films

[1:42:44] at musichavenstage.org.

[1:42:46] Um, and then finally, we are doing the

[1:42:48] Declaration of Independence reading

[1:42:50] again on the steps of city hall from

[1:42:52] 10:30 at 10:30 on July 4th. There are

[1:42:55] other activities happening uh that day

[1:42:58] around the city as well. I think

[1:42:59] Elizabeth is here as well and uh has put

[1:43:02] together some other activities for that

[1:43:04] day also. And that's all that I have.

[1:43:07] Anybody else? Thank you,

[1:43:09] Mayor.

[1:43:14] Thank you, Madame President. Appreciate

[1:43:16] everyone coming out. It's always good to

[1:43:18] have uh discussions

[1:43:20] uh different perspectives. Hopefully, it

[1:43:22] drives public policy to a uh higher and

[1:43:26] better outcome than we we've gotten

[1:43:28] without the discussion. Want to correct

[1:43:31] uh any misimpression. The one speaker

[1:43:33] tonight said city water is only tested

[1:43:36] once a year. That is absolutely

[1:43:39] incorrect. The water system, the city is

[1:43:42] tested daily. We have a certified lab

[1:43:45] here that tests not only the city water

[1:43:48] but other municipalities. That's both

[1:43:50] water and wastewater. Uh everything uh

[1:43:55] meets or exceeds uh New York State

[1:43:58] Department of Health standards and also

[1:44:01] uh EPA standards. Uh again, Council

[1:44:05] Member Patrick outlined the swimming

[1:44:07] pools and the splash pads going through

[1:44:10] a period of uh some extreme heat. Uh

[1:44:14] would encourage people make sure you

[1:44:15] stay hydrated. Uh don't do things that

[1:44:19] are overexerting. Take it easy for the

[1:44:21] next few days as the temperatures come

[1:44:23] down. And if you have a neighbor who

[1:44:25] might be a senior citizen or somebody

[1:44:27] that uh uh might have a little bit of

[1:44:30] difficulty getting through the high

[1:44:32] temperature, check in on them, say

[1:44:34] hello, make sure that they're doing all

[1:44:35] right. Thank you, Madam President. Thank

[1:44:38] you, Mayor. I'd also like to thank

[1:44:40] everyone that came out this evening,

[1:44:41] regardless of what side of the issue

[1:44:43] that you're on today. I also appreciate

[1:44:46] your respectfulness of each other uh as

[1:44:48] you were speaking. um you know because

[1:44:50] we all have different positions but

[1:44:53] doesn't mean that we have to be enemies.

[1:44:54] We just see things from a different

[1:44:56] place. So I appreciate um how you how

[1:44:58] things were handled this evening. Um I

[1:45:00] do want to make a statement though at

[1:45:02] our last committee meeting it was stated

[1:45:04] that SCAP uh was was in favor of good

[1:45:07] cause eviction and Scap put on their

[1:45:10] city on their Facebook page that they

[1:45:12] were neutral in this on in terms of this

[1:45:14] legislation. So, I just want to make

[1:45:16] sure that everyone if you haven't seen

[1:45:17] it know that that is that is uh what

[1:45:19] Scap has said.

[1:45:21] Um I also want to uh remind Oh, let me

[1:45:25] just tell you about Declaration Day.

[1:45:26] Miss Patrick did mention the declaration

[1:45:29] um of the reading of the Declaration of

[1:45:31] Independence, but there are a number of

[1:45:33] activities that are going on that day.

[1:45:35] Uh it's called Declaration Day, Speak

[1:45:36] Life into Liberty and Justice for All.

[1:45:38] There'll be an 8:30 event um at

[1:45:42] Riverside Park, uh 9:00 am at Yog Bliss

[1:45:45] Yoga, the 10:30 reading of the

[1:45:48] independent uh Declaration of

[1:45:49] Independence on City Hall, and 11:30

[1:45:52] Declaration Day down in Gateway Park

[1:45:54] with Lady Liberty. Um uh 3:00 somatic

[1:45:58] dance at Governor's Lane behind 17 Front

[1:46:00] Street. And 4:30 there's a Fourth of

[1:46:02] July cookout and potluck at Riverside

[1:46:05] Park in Governor's Lane. So, for those

[1:46:07] of you who um don't have other plans for

[1:46:10] Fourth of July, here's an opportunity to

[1:46:12] just have some fun with neighbors.

[1:46:15] And uh just want to remind folks there

[1:46:17] is no meeting next Monday. It is our

[1:46:19] fifth Monday, what I always call the

[1:46:21] city council's holiday, but um but I

[1:46:24] there's also a meeting that day

[1:46:26] regarding housing. So, if you're if

[1:46:29] you're not going to be here, you can

[1:46:30] also you could attend that meeting

[1:46:32] that's regarding housing.

[1:46:35] If there's nothing else to come before

[1:46:36] the city council, I ask for a motion to

[1:46:38] adjurnn. Moved by Mr. uh Farley, second

[1:46:42] by Mr. Mancini. All those in favor? I We

[1:46:45] are adjourned. Thank you.

[1:46:56] not letting me speak. Thank you.

[1:47:04] The very beginning

[1:47:22] [Music]

[1:47:30] The sign system.

[1:47:36] [Music]

Schenectady City Council Meeting, June 23, 2025

Transcript