[0:06] Oh, I love

[0:50] Hallelujah.

[2:16] Are you

[3:28] Good one.

[4:13] » [clears throat]

[5:32] » It's fine.

[5:52] Good evening everyone.

[5:54] Thanks for coming.

[5:58] Glad to see everyone's doing well.

[6:07] » All right, we got to get started. Um,

[6:09] first thing, can everyone introduce

[6:10] theirel?

[6:15] » I'm Amanda.

[6:17] begin.

[6:17] >> I'm Amanda Yoda. I am a committee

[6:20] member.

[6:21] >> Monica Cook. I'm a real estate agent

[6:24] against city council, chair of the

[6:27] housing task force.

[6:28] >> M the city clerk,

[6:31] >> Carlen Andress,

[6:33] >> uh Lamar Council, originally from New

[6:35] York City and been here for a decade.

[6:38] Just trying to use my expertise to help

[6:41] out.

[6:43] >> Substance abuse counselor, choice

[6:46] recovery center, reintegration service

[6:48] coordinator.

[6:51] >> Sean Ryan, city assistant city operating

[6:55] council.

[7:03] » All right. I I'm I'm calling this

[7:06] meeting of the housing task house

[7:10] housing stability task force to order.

[7:13] I'm Kim Wiggins, chair. Thank you all

[7:16] for being here

[7:18] and for the work you do every day in the

[7:21] housing field.

[7:25] Okay, our agenda,

[7:29] we're going to recap over the April 10th

[7:33] um April 10th meeting

[7:36] reaffirming the expectations of this um

[7:39] meeting

[7:41] um professionalism

[7:43] and focused participation.

[7:48] Member assignment reports. Presentation

[7:50] of members updates including assigned

[7:54] focus areas. Key findings data and or

[7:58] identified challenges. Blend

[8:01] preliminary recommendations.

[8:05] Public testimonies.

[8:07] Invite speaker

[8:09] identifying what we bring to the table

[8:11] next. Actions items and adjournments.

[8:15] Okay. We're going to start with um two

[8:20] members want to talk about

[8:23] the information that was

[8:26] [snorts]

[8:28] 44

[8:31] for my last meeting the assignment

[8:33] everyone had. Want to start with you?

[8:36] >> Okay. So this information I obtained

[8:38] from a current um

[8:42] child protective services worker who's

[8:44] worked there for 36 years and he used to

[8:48] do the after hours pager to place

[8:51] individuals who needed housing after

[8:53] hours and this was the information that

[8:56] he provided to me. Um, okay. So, hotels

[9:00] are typically used only after available

[9:03] placements at local facilities have been

[9:05] fully exhausted, such as the Skenctity

[9:09] Mission, which houses single males. The

[9:12] Booth Home um houses single women, and

[9:15] the YWCA houses women and children. Um,

[9:19] but it's the hotels in the area are not

[9:22] just specific to Skenctity County. Other

[9:24] counties can call in like Albany. um to

[9:28] see if area hotels have um vacancies for

[9:33] them and it's basically due to capacity

[9:37] um and they fill up fast. Um and the

[9:41] hotels that he provided he said the

[9:43] Imperial Motel is being used to house

[9:45] single males, occasionally couples and

[9:48] individuals with sex offender status.

[9:52] the Empire Motel, the Skenctity in, the

[9:55] Belvadier, and the Executive Inn are

[9:58] generally used um to accommodate couples

[10:01] with children, women with children, and

[10:04] single females. Um but he did indicate

[10:06] that definitely the Department of Social

[10:08] Services has more in-depth stats that

[10:12] they could definitely provide, but

[10:13] that's what he gave me on.

[10:25] Oh yeah. Well, Kim had her own set of

[10:28] questions that we we asked uh

[10:31] Commissioner

[10:32] uh Brandy Hillard Balden about from DSS

[10:37] and I have my own questions. I wanted to

[10:40] know specifically because they were what

[10:44] the point was referenced here. What what

[10:46] were the basic reasons for evictions?

[10:49] and she told me the majority of

[10:51] evictions are non-payment. They also

[10:53] have landlords, she said that will call

[10:56] quote on themselves, which is new to me,

[10:59] uh in order to circumvent the eviction

[11:02] process. Um and she they would call po

[11:07] call because they had something that

[11:09] they knew code would not pass and then

[11:13] they would code would issue an order of

[11:15] vacate. That solved their problem. They

[11:18] got pretend to tell they didn't have to

[11:19] pay a lawyer and uh and then they would

[11:22] leave the apartment vacant. And I I for

[11:25] I neglected to say when we all were in

[11:28] shooting. So I own a property management

[11:30] company and my business is housing and

[11:34] leasing and working with tenants and

[11:35] landlords. So this is new to me that I

[11:39] had no idea this was done.

[11:40] >> I asked the

[11:42] you

[11:44] prevalent. Um,

[11:47] I guess I want the better landlords than

[11:50] ever. [clears throat]

[11:51] What role does city code enforcement

[11:54] play in the inspection of the

[11:55] facilities? And uh, Miss Helard Bolan

[11:59] told us that no role played. She said if

[12:02] there's an issue, we will notify them

[12:04] and they will come out when needed. This

[12:06] does not often happen often. So, I

[12:09] believe DSS must This still doesn't

[12:12] answer all the questions. How often does

[12:14] DSS go in there and actually do

[12:17] inspections themselves? That I don't

[12:19] know. Are there And I asked, are there

[12:21] ongoing periodic pest control treatments

[12:23] at these motel? She said, yes,

[12:26] >> this is a requirement and we verify

[12:28] that, but pointing to this

[12:33] terrific

[12:35] >> not doing a good job. Um, is there a

[12:37] point of contract a contact for motel

[12:40] residents to lodge concerns or

[12:42] complaints? I'm referring I'm referring

[12:45] to residents who feel that they've been

[12:46] mistreated slash disrespected or that

[12:49] the level of customer service they are

[12:51] experiencing is not equal to that of

[12:55] someone who might check into a hotel on

[12:57] a self-pay basis. and she said yes, they

[12:59] have two investigators that go out

[13:01] weekly in the evenings to the motel

[13:03] hotels to touch base with the recipients

[13:07] and receive complaints/ concerns that

[13:09] they may not have been comfortable

[13:11] sharing with a hotel motel staff. And

[13:14] she said DSSM follows up on those

[13:17] concerns to touch base with the

[13:20] recipient to close the loop. And she

[13:22] said she follows this process closely.

[13:25] And those were my questions in addition

[13:28] to the ones that Kim had. And Kim,

[13:30] you've got your own stuff that you you

[13:33] asked her about the hotel utilized, the

[13:36] stay, the reasons for the causes of

[13:39] homelessness,

[13:41] who conducts the inspections.

[13:44] Um, there are still a lot of questions

[13:46] to be asked and to be answered.

[13:51] » I'm going come back around. Okay.

[13:55] I'm sorry.

[13:56] >> Oh, you didn't have anything else?

[13:57] >> Go ahead. Okay. I got something else.

[14:00] >> Okay. Go ahead. [clears throat]

[14:01] >> I do. Are you ready?

[14:03] >> Yeah.

[14:03] >> Oh, okay. Um I just want to, you know,

[14:07] just do a little summary of the eviction

[14:10] data I got from Princeton University.

[14:14] And um uh they said come back if you um

[14:17] need more data on the um eviction and um

[14:21] other legal uh case that's going on in

[14:24] the uh housing court. It's connecting

[14:27] city court. Um it covers uh cases from

[14:31] 2017 through 2025. But um let's go over

[14:34] the key findings.

[14:37] Uh one of the key findings I found was

[14:39] the um high volume of nonpaint cases. Uh

[14:43] the most alarming figure in the uh sheet

[14:46] is from um December 2017

[14:50] uh which is um the cases were 1,122

[14:55] of non-payment cases which these are

[14:58] cold months and um Christmas uh holiday

[15:01] month. So that that was disturbing to me

[15:05] and it was um in 2022

[15:09] uh the numbers were around maybe two 300

[15:13] non-payment cases but came October it

[15:17] rises to 419

[15:19] and it just constantly rise and um just

[15:23] saw a pattern repeatedly um um exceeding

[15:27] 200 cases of nonpayment.

[15:30] Um and this is like indicating that a

[15:33] widespread issue of tenants unable to

[15:35] meet their rent obligations

[15:38] and um other legal uh proceedings were

[15:42] hold over cases

[15:45] um

[15:47] hold over cases were substantial as

[15:49] well. Uh for instance in December 2022

[15:53] there were 151 hold over cases.

[15:57] >> What do you mean by holdover?

[15:58] >> I have hold over cases. Um when the

[16:01] tenants uh lease expires then um the uh

[16:04] landlord wants a possession of the uh

[16:06] property back sometime the tenants

[16:09] monthto month and um

[16:11] >> so there's no lease and

[16:13] >> sometime sometimes six months lease

[16:15] sometime one year lease uh from my

[16:17] experience they only give you month

[16:20] >> state is only supposed to land

[16:23] >> um well it's supposed to be one or two

[16:25] year leases

[16:27] um but a lot of depend month on month

[16:31] and [clears throat] they can kick out

[16:32] the tenant at any time.

[16:34] >> Okay.

[16:35] >> And

[16:37] I'm sorry lost where it's all right.

[16:40] >> No, because I saw the article 7D and I'm

[16:42] not familiar with that.

[16:43] >> I'll get to that. I'll get to that. I'm

[16:45] sorry.

[16:46] >> Yeah. All right. In some months, the

[16:49] hold over cases reached uh over 100

[16:53] >> uh reflecting ongoing disputes over what

[16:56] I just said um uh tendency status. um

[16:59] where the landlord wants his property

[17:01] back since the tenants lease it has

[17:03] expired and doesn't want to renew it.

[17:07] And

[17:08] just um while I was looking over the

[17:11] data, the the volume of cases fluctuated

[17:15] but remained constantly high over the

[17:17] years, especially in 2023 and in 2024.

[17:22] The numbers remain high with monthly

[17:24] non-payments uh frequently exceeding 300

[17:28] and hold over cases often surpassing 80

[17:32] and um I saw in August 2025 which is

[17:36] last year's uh there was cases of 448

[17:40] nonpayment cases

[17:43] uh this is uh in August and you know

[17:45] children trying to get back to school

[17:48] and um that um you know affects the

[17:51] children and it's um housing instability

[17:54] for them as it affects their school

[17:56] enrollment attendance

[17:59] and uh even their learning

[18:02] and um most times it's the causes of

[18:06] widespread economic challenges affecting

[18:08] families such as unemployment, low

[18:11] income and further ex excavated the

[18:14] difficulties of children attending

[18:17] school and um there was other cases

[18:21] Whereas article 7D where the tenants um

[18:26] well was just a single margin not much

[18:28] cases cuz uh this is when the tenant

[18:31] could uh start legal proceedings on the

[18:34] land but not being a compliance with

[18:36] like not doing repairs

[18:39] maybe um um just rent heights for no

[18:43] reason and not updating the uh property

[18:47] and um any harassment. the tenant feels

[18:50] the landlord is doing. Uh there's been

[18:54] like um only maybe three, four, six

[18:57] cases. If you go look uh do out in here

[19:02] in the uh chart, that's probably because

[19:05] of tenants lack awareness of their

[19:08] rights, unable to afford uh legal fees

[19:12] or court course and um just not having

[19:16] um um a shortage of legal aid lawyers to

[19:19] defend them and don't have the money to

[19:22] or pay attorney. And just a recap what I

[19:26] just uh went over. Uh there was over

[19:29] 100,000 nonpayment cases in uh 2017 in

[19:34] the month of December

[19:36] and um

[19:39] and monthly nonpayment cases just

[19:41] exceeded 300 which peaked over 400 in

[19:45] the months of u uh 2022 and 2023.

[19:50] Those years were uh for non-payment

[19:52] cases

[19:54] and and during those uh years you've

[19:57] seen several months peing over 400

[20:00] non-payment cases uh consistently uh

[20:04] present or over 80 hold over cases

[20:07] monthly indicate ongoing legal disputes

[20:10] and in August 2025 there was a 448

[20:14] nonpending cases when kids are about to

[20:17] attend school and just in Um these figures to be um there's a

[20:24] pressing problem with tenants and non

[20:27] with non-payment um uh situations and

[20:30] sketches and the volume of cases

[20:33] especially non-payment highlights

[20:35] ongoing economic and social um um excuse

[20:38] me uh struggles faced by tenants and

[20:42] underscores the urgent need for this

[20:43] policy intervention and support system

[20:46] to address housing insecurity and at

[20:50] this moment.

[20:57] » No problem.

[20:59] >> Yeah.

[21:01] Thank you.

[21:06] » And I had talk. Did you have anything

[21:07] you wanted to say or share?

[21:09] >> I got to this. I'm just I'm listening

[21:12] though. I'm have

[21:14] >> Okay.

[21:17] All right. I had spoke to the

[21:18] commissioner. I spoke to her and sent

[21:21] her some questions and these were the

[21:24] answers to my question. Um, I asked her,

[21:28] "What was the longest that a family has stayed in a hotel shelter

[21:33] hotel/shelter

[21:34] before getting housed?" And her response

[21:37] was, "The longest we have housed a

[21:39] family is 2.5 years and that was a

[21:43] family of nine. The second largest was a

[21:48] family of 10, and that was two years."

[21:51] And I asked what were the requirements

[21:55] towards housing stability and job

[21:57] placement

[21:59] or and her reply was all re all

[22:02] recipients of the THAA has to comply

[22:06] with the regulations as defined by OTDA.

[22:11] There is not a one-sizefitit all to the

[22:14] questions as not everyone who gets THAA

[22:18] temporary assistance and

[22:21] um temporary assistance to the needy and

[22:24] elig elig eligible families.

[22:28] And I asked the second question, another

[22:31] question, what goals are in place to

[22:33] help people

[22:35] help get the people the clients

[22:37] self-sufficient?

[22:39] And she says, um DSS set goals for

[22:43] clients to become self-sufficient. And

[22:46] we refer to job programming and case

[22:49] management for apartment searches.

[22:54] I asked I also asked you know what was

[22:56] some incentives and they don't have

[22:59] incentives.

[23:01] Um, and I asked like what was the cap? I

[23:04] wanted to know like what is the length

[23:07] that they give people to get their act

[23:09] together and move forward or to see if

[23:13] people making progress to want to move

[23:15] forward and she said she didn't

[23:17] understand the question. So, I'll get

[23:20] back to her on that. Wow.

[23:24] >> Well, the thing about it is the

[23:25] requirements are changing with the new

[23:27] administration in place, right?

[23:28] >> [clears throat]

[23:29] >> the six-month rule is going into effect

[23:31] for housing and for food stamp. So,

[23:34] OTAA, they have to meet those

[23:35] requirements now. So, that's something

[23:38] that's coming into play and a lot of

[23:41] these consumers

[23:44] are not may not meet the eligibility

[23:47] requirement to get the support they need

[23:50] through DSS and OTAA.

[23:54] that comes from that you know it change

[23:57] it will have some sort of effect and it

[23:59] will change the numbers

[24:03] >> and I think that goes into effect in

[24:05] June

[24:06] >> in June

[24:06] >> I think so many things are going into

[24:08] effect I'm losing track of what is what

[24:11] >> yeah they're also doing a cut with um

[24:14] the food stamps what people can buy what

[24:16] they can't buy supposed to be all

[24:18] healthy stuff no soda

[24:20] >> no sugary stuff

[24:21] >> no sugary yeah So, a lot's going to change.

[24:28] >> I have a question for you. If you were

[24:30] able to come across it with your data,

[24:32] did is there any way to tell based on

[24:35] these data how many of these tenants

[24:39] have been evicted multiple times like

[24:42] maybe they were evicted in 2018 then in

[24:47] 2021 and now we 2021 would have happened

[24:50] because of the THE. But then it's

[24:52] hypothetically spike and then 2024 are

[24:56] these numbers are they repeated tenants

[24:59] that is because there are some just like

[25:02] the landlord is doing these things.

[25:03] There are some tenants that have these

[25:05] habitual behavior and they will pay the

[25:09] first month rent and the deposit get

[25:11] into the apartment and live there and go

[25:15] through the whole process not pay a

[25:18] dime.

[25:19] So,

[25:20] >> kind of like abusing the system and

[25:22] taking advantage as well. So, there's

[25:23] that double-edged sword.

[25:25] >> Well, possibly they just couldn't afford

[25:28] it. I mean,

[25:30] >> I I helped a client of mine. Um, he's a cook and, you know, they started

[25:36] out as with good hours, then all a

[25:39] sudden they just sliced down his hours,

[25:41] but he just couldn't make up the rent.

[25:44] And then he called me to see if I could

[25:46] reach out to Pedesta House. There's a

[25:48] lot of red tape. So, we used to high ups

[25:51] and they were able to pay us back on,

[25:54] but um started a new job at another cook

[25:57] place at another restaurant. Same thing.

[26:00] And this time he wasn't able to um you

[26:04] know get the assistance with Pedesta

[26:06] House or any other could say cuz didn't

[26:09] have the funds and um now he's just uh

[26:11] living with his friend now.

[26:13] >> Well, that's that's the thing, right?

[26:14] Because people are barely making ends

[26:17] meet, especially with the utility cost

[26:19] and every other things that's going up.

[26:22] If you're barely making minimum wage,

[26:24] how are you supposed to survive when

[26:26] your rent is double your salary? I

[26:29] >> I don't know where electric bill comes

[26:31] where it's a,000,000

[26:33] or more cuz coming from New York, we we

[26:35] only pay about 300 maybe not even less

[26:38] than $300 an electric bill.

[26:41] that nobody has a large besides the

[26:45] person who owns a large ambience.

[26:50] » It would be interesting though to know

[26:52] how many of these people

[26:54] >> are, you know,

[26:57] have been evicted multiple times.

[26:59] >> But that's now you're getting into names

[27:01] and personal information. I will look it

[27:03] up.

[27:05] Still have that information

[27:08] >> and they they kept it and now then I

[27:11] believe in 2019 when everything tenant

[27:14] protection act was uh passed

[27:16] [clears throat] that stopped but that you could see that here's

[27:21] >> the Jones family whatever

[27:24] >> have been I wasn't really looking for

[27:27] specific I was just looking for like an

[27:29] average figure.

[27:30] >> Yeah. I don't know where that exists.

[27:33] >> I didn't know if that's something they

[27:34] checked in the stats.

[27:36] >> Yeah. I don't think the eviction lab

[27:37] would have that like people name like

[27:40] she just

[27:41] >> still have to keep track of names

[27:43] ultimately to know who was repetitive.

[27:46] >> Yeah. They just keep track of numbers.

[27:48] >> Yeah.

[27:49] >> Okay. I have some um information cuz

[27:53] Jacqueline wasn't able to be with us

[27:55] tonight.

[27:56] Um he did some

[28:01] talking to her, you know, the clients

[28:03] that comes to food pantry or whatever

[28:06] and got some information from them.

[28:10] And um she was supposed to get us

[28:13] information about the various hotels and

[28:16] what people thought. And um 27 State

[28:20] Street

[28:22] um hotel is um very drug infested.

[28:26] um blatant prostitution, drama, lights

[28:29] almost every day, not clean. The

[28:32] executive end 759

[28:35] state

[28:37] um hotel is very strict. They're doing a

[28:40] good job of keeping the drugs out and no

[28:43] visitors allowed,

[28:45] not cleaning them.

[28:47] Um,

[28:49] Empire Empire Hotel 1616 stage fe

[28:55] um people are told these rule told she

[28:59] said people are told these rules in the

[29:02] um they're saying that it comes from DSS

[29:04] which they know better. Um, women and

[29:07] children have to vacate

[29:09] from the property at 10:00 a.m. until

[29:12] 100 p.m. so the hotel can be clean.

[29:15] Summer or winter makes no difference.

[29:18] >> Is this the hotel across from the OTB by

[29:20] itself?

[29:21] >> Yes.

[29:21] >> Okay. So, this I see going by I see this

[29:26] and they are there after 1:00. They're

[29:29] there at 3:00 in the afternoon, 4:00 in

[29:31] the afternoon. Dead of winter. I've

[29:33] witnessed this myself. I always wonder

[29:35] why they were there.

[29:37] >> Yeah.

[29:37] >> But they don't have a community room or

[29:39] somewhere.

[29:42] » But has that been reported to DSS? This

[29:45] is where where I asked if there was a a

[29:48] point of contact that someone could call

[29:50] and and let them know that this is going

[29:53] on.

[29:54] >> Well, see, then there's also

[29:57] maybe an enforcement issue. How much can

[30:01] DSS do? they're paying the bills, but at

[30:04] the same time,

[30:06] maybe this might not be within their

[30:08] scope.

[30:10] So, it might this is where code

[30:12] enforcement comes in.

[30:13] >> Well, the other side of the coin is if

[30:15] I'm paying for a room and I can check in

[30:18] at 11:00 a.m. to 4 in the afternoon and

[30:20] check out at 11:00, then where would it

[30:22] be written if I were a suffocate that I

[30:24] had to leave,

[30:25] >> right,

[30:26] >> for four hours? I'm paying for that four

[30:28] hours.

[30:29] >> I six hours, whatever it was. I agree.

[30:32] But then

[30:33] >> they're justifying it behind cleaning

[30:35] the room and because what we stay at a

[30:39] hotel, we put up our historic sign.

[30:41] >> We don't want our room to be clean,

[30:43] >> right? But if

[30:44] >> Yeah. But they don't have that.

[30:45] >> DSS is paying for these

[30:48] >> residents to be in living at that that's their home temporarily. So I

[30:55] don't feel that they should be uprooted

[30:57] from where that where they call that

[30:59] room to for anybody to clean their room.

[31:02] They should be given towels. They should

[31:03] be given sheets and they clean their own

[31:05] room especially in the winter time.

[31:08] >> I agree.

[31:12] » I don't know how much DSS

[31:14] my question would be was how much can

[31:17] DSS assist with?

[31:22] >> They're paying them. They should be able

[31:23] to some. We have to find out who

[31:26] >> then they should be got

[31:28] be there for them.

[31:30] >> But that's why I was asking if they have

[31:31] a community room or something because if

[31:33] you're doing this and I get it, you

[31:35] know, you want you have to spray for bed

[31:38] bugs or you have to clean the bathroom

[31:40] or something like that. And I I

[31:42] absolutely get it because it's part of

[31:43] the services that they need to provide.

[31:46] >> You cannot put people out in the cold,

[31:49] right? So if you then you need to find

[31:51] an alternative place or you take a room

[31:53] and you convert it because you're

[31:55] cleaning one room at a time and you have

[31:57] a whole room over so that this family

[32:00] can go in and wait until the room is

[32:02] finished. You have to find a workar

[32:04] around and I'm looking at the spaghetti.

[32:08] I just don't understand like how are

[32:11] they able to use the food stamp to

[32:14] provide a meal for them? That's the part

[32:16] like it's mindboggling and I know that's

[32:19] an O to that issue. That's not a but at

[32:21] the same time it's like

[32:24] none of this this whole thing doesn't

[32:26] make sense to me as to how people are

[32:29] >> you're paying you're using your food

[32:32] stamp.

[32:33] >> I think this is fraud. That's what I'm

[32:36] thinking. But I don't know how they're

[32:38] able to use

[32:39] >> noing facilities in your room and now

[32:41] your food seats are not going to go very

[32:43] far at the local convenience store.

[32:46] >> But they're charging the food stamp to

[32:48] provide spaghetti meals.

[32:50] >> Yeah, I don't understand.

[32:51] >> You know, I get that the um they're

[32:53] getting a voucher.

[32:55] >> We're going to move on. Um the skity end

[33:00] at 167. Um no, well, we just had that

[33:03] conversation right there. Um the um

[33:06] Skenctity N or 67 N Street. Um the hotel

[33:10] is clean and is and is inspected two

[33:14] times a year by DSS.

[33:16] Um never put the kids out and there is a

[33:19] 8:30 curfew.

[33:23] No food offer cash or food stamp shoes

[33:26] for the restaurant or give toilet paper.

[33:32] So they don't give toilet paper. I guess

[33:34] they have to buy their own toilet paper,

[33:35] buy their own food or whatever. And

[33:38] housekeeping is there once a week. You

[33:40] said once a week. Yeah. Housekeeping

[33:43] once a week.

[33:45] >> Mhm.

[33:48] The state end 921 State Street, no

[33:52] problems. Imperial end said it's said to

[33:56] be the worst.

[33:58] >> Where is that? Then pero is um upper

[34:02] stage upper stage state the family

[34:05] dollar and the

[34:07] >> libraries.

[34:08] >> Oh, okay.

[34:09] >> Um

[34:11] state and twins is better.

[34:14] Um, America's best executive end, bed

[34:18] bugs, skinkity end, reports of bed bugs,

[34:22] infested rooms so bad that the children

[34:24] in the room get bit up so badly that the

[34:27] parents have photos. Heavy drug use,

[34:30] passing of drugs in front of the

[34:31] people's rooms, random people banging on

[34:34] the doors, prostitution and roaches.

[34:41] Domest domestic violence reports, door

[34:45] locks broken. When asked for repairs, it

[34:48] takes too long or not done at all. Wear

[34:51] wheelchair entrances are blocked.

[34:54] um lack of toilet paper in the rooms as

[34:56] well as towels and basic necessities.

[35:00] People refuse housing because the motel

[35:02] are so bad and they don't want their

[35:05] children in that environment around

[35:07] prostitution and people sleeping outside

[35:10] the motel doors. Then they are denied

[35:13] services and no and have nowhere to go.

[35:16] Some staff target the mental ill.

[35:20] Persons being persons being placed that

[35:23] are females are vulnerable. A lot of

[35:26] people complain that DSS are paying

[35:28] these motel all this money and that we

[35:31] get treated so poorly.

[35:35] >> Let me ask you who who came up with all

[35:38] this the information.

[35:43] And that people

[35:45] >> I wonder where she got there.

[35:47] >> Yeah.

[35:48] >> She deals she deals with the residents

[35:51] and everything that comes to the food

[35:53] pantry, the community people. So she had

[35:56] the conversation with several of them

[35:58] and that was her report on all of that.

[36:06] Okay. Um we have an invited speaker

[36:09] here, Miss Latoya James.

[36:13] That's all you can come stand up.

[36:15] >> Standing here.

[36:24] » Thanks for coming.

[36:31] » I was asked to speak on my personal

[36:33] experience, but before doing so, I just

[36:35] want to address some of the things that

[36:36] you guys spoke about to me. So, um, you

[36:39] asked where the information come from.

[36:41] Um, I can speak firsthand that that is

[36:45] the case in most cases. And I don't know

[36:48] who you guys speak to in terms of

[36:50] addressing these issues, but I can say

[36:53] that they're not being addressed. when

[36:55] you raise an issue of maybe the

[36:58] conditions of where you're being asked

[37:00] to stay, you're often uh belittled or

[37:04] threatened that if you choose not to

[37:06] stay there, your family will be, you

[37:08] know, uh placed under CPS or, you know,

[37:11] so I feel like for most families, you

[37:13] don't have a choice. You have a deal

[37:14] with those conditions with which they

[37:16] won't address, they refuse to address.

[37:20] And earlier you asked, how could it be

[37:22] addressed? funding, not more funding,

[37:25] lack of it. If you stop the flow to

[37:27] these to these landlords, whether it be

[37:31] uh um hotel owners or land slum lords,

[37:36] whatever they are, if you if these

[37:37] agencies stop funding them, if you stop

[37:41] blowing money into their pockets, they

[37:43] will be more less likely to do the

[37:45] things that they are. But when when laws

[37:47] are set in place where they can fall

[37:48] through the cracks and take advantage of

[37:50] the population and take advantage of

[37:52] people in those situations, of course

[37:54] they're going to do so. And when people

[37:56] are put in position to make change and

[37:58] they don't, right? They don't. How can

[38:03] change be put forward? Stop the funding.

[38:06] Stop paying them to mistreat the

[38:09] population in which you pay them to take

[38:11] care of.

[38:12] >> Simple as that. I don't think it should

[38:14] be like a big meeting or or or like it's

[38:16] not rocket science. Stop funding these

[38:19] people. If they don't provide the

[38:21] conditions in which you give, it's fair

[38:22] exchange because me as a tenant

[38:25] personally, I felt that if I was paying

[38:27] my rent on time every month, I was

[38:29] entitled to repairs. I was entitled to a

[38:31] healthy space. I was entitled to a

[38:33] certain level of a certain condition of

[38:35] life. And that's not the case. the

[38:38] lawying provided with the cushman to

[38:40] make sure my landlord held up his end of

[38:42] the bargain. So when these agencies are

[38:45] put in place and they want to throw

[38:46] their hands up and don't play their part

[38:48] and makes it easier for these people to

[38:50] victimize populations like ourselves and

[38:54] more than 50% of the population is

[38:55] connected are renters. meaning that you

[38:58] give them a position to take care of to

[39:00] take advantage of half of the population

[39:03] whether it's you me your friend your

[39:05] neighbor it affects all of us so we all

[39:10] effectively have to do something more

[39:12] than meeting in these rooms and

[39:14] discussing or saying I don't know how

[39:16] you know how you don't know how because

[39:17] you didn't experience it so I'm speaking

[39:19] firsthand from someone that experience

[39:21] it they're not concerned with the bed

[39:23] bugs or the blood stains or the drug use

[39:26] or the abuse of or the things that's

[39:29] going on right side outside of the door

[39:30] of the hotel or the conditions that

[39:33] their family is subjected to when you're

[39:35] asking these agencies for help. It's

[39:38] unfair. It's beindling. It's saddening.

[39:42] Right? So, when you I I personally want

[39:45] to know who are you speaking to when

[39:46] you're getting these answers? Who are

[39:48] you speaking to when they say they're

[39:49] doing something or they're addressing

[39:51] the issue? Each agency passes the

[39:53] responsibility to another.

[39:56] when at any given time if anyone played

[39:58] their role or did their job, we wouldn't

[40:00] be sitting here meeting over these

[40:01] issues.

[40:05] » I agree with what you're saying. I hear

[40:07] what you're saying because I feel like

[40:09] you're just so directed. No, I'm not

[40:11] [laughter]

[40:17] from

[40:19] a lot of your questioning is from

[40:20] ignorance. It's from lack of experience.

[40:22] >> You do not know me.

[40:23] >> No, no. respectfully. I'm not saying

[40:24] that I'm speaking. Don't take it. Don't

[40:26] take it.

[40:27] >> It's not personal. Please, this is not that. What I'm saying a lot of

[40:32] your questioning is coming from someone

[40:34] who has not experienced this. So, I'm

[40:36] giving you a personal insight of why

[40:40] things are the way they are and possibly

[40:42] how we can bring forth change. And I

[40:45] understand where you're coming from, but

[40:46] as our discussion with the last meeting

[40:48] is something that I said like you

[40:50] mentioned is the retaliation and then

[40:53] the hotels were going to say we don't

[40:55] want to participate with these agency

[40:57] anymore. Their rules are too strict.

[40:59] Where are these

[40:59] >> why would they do that when these

[41:01] agencies are the bulk of their income?

[41:03] In fact, they wouldn't be able to

[41:04] survive without the income of these

[41:06] agencies. Did you know that?

[41:08] >> Did you know the right to not run their

[41:11] rooms? Amanda, we're going to hold the

[41:14] questions. We're gonna let her continue.

[41:17] >> Go ahead, Latoya.

[41:19] >> Um,

[41:21] I lost track of thought, but um I think

[41:24] it just basically boils down to a

[41:27] necessity, a basic need for everyone to

[41:30] work cohesively with the same goal,

[41:34] right? Which is fair housing, fair law.

[41:37] I mean, and and and above everything,

[41:39] right? holding these people accountable.

[41:42] It's about accountability on all parts.

[41:45] Whether you're being victimized, whether

[41:48] you're taking advantage of the system,

[41:50] whether you're the landlord or taking

[41:51] advantage of your relationships in the

[41:53] business, whatever it may be, these

[41:57] landlords seek particularly seek out

[42:00] people in this population, seek out the

[42:03] particular group in this population to

[42:07] take advantage of. earlier when you

[42:09] spoke about repeated offenders in terms

[42:12] of um eviction. This this there there

[42:15] may be numerous reasons for that but a

[42:17] real reason would be just as he

[42:19] mentioned struggle right cost of living

[42:22] is increasing while race pay arm right

[42:26] most of us don't qualify for the housing

[42:28] that the very little housing that there

[42:30] is out there right we do not as you me

[42:33] you mentioned yourself we do not make

[42:34] two to three times worth what they're

[42:36] asking in rent we do not have 750 credit

[42:39] score right we do not have the landlord

[42:43] rent because we may have experienced a

[42:45] slumlord

[42:47] or a holdover eviction,

[42:49] meaning you did nothing wrong. You paid

[42:51] your rent, you did everything wrong, but

[42:53] the landlord may have realized that he

[42:54] could get twice as much for that unit,

[42:57] whether it's from a paying person or a

[43:00] program who is going to ignore every

[43:03] wrong that he does and allow him to

[43:06] victimize

[43:08] this particular person. Whether it's a

[43:10] minority, what whatever

[43:12] your situation may be, it is not right.

[43:14] It should not be so. And we need to

[43:16] address that.

[43:22] Let me speak on for landlords. So, for

[43:26] them and there is no excuse not to

[43:28] maintain your property. There is no

[43:30] excuse. If you pay the rent and you've

[43:32] got a leaky sink or a hot water tank,

[43:35] I'm going to fix it. There's that. It is

[43:37] a two-way street. But on the other hand,

[43:40] when somebody goes through bad times and

[43:42] they lose their job, that's awful.

[43:45] However, the landlord still has the

[43:46] mortgage to pay in many in there are

[43:49] lots of good landlords and they are

[43:51] running a business and you are their

[43:54] customer. So, what is the answer for the

[43:56] landlord when

[43:59] you go into a store and you can't afford

[44:02] the $300 dress and that's what they're

[44:05] charging? That's not a good example,

[44:08] right?

[44:13] » Contract and that you would pay X amount

[44:15] of dollars and they would maintain the

[44:17] property and now the rent is not coming

[44:20] in and they still have to maintain. They

[44:22] still have property taxes or perhaps

[44:24] mortgage. What is the answer then to

[44:28] having a meeting of the minds between

[44:30] the landlord and Ken in that case?

[44:33] I mean unfortunately like there that's a

[44:35] case by case situation still

[44:38] there's what he said was your your

[44:42] friend who was a dishwasher and lost a

[44:44] job and then another one was

[44:45] >> unfortunately that's the situation for

[44:47] most of us but again affordable housing

[44:50] is the answer to that when when a rent

[44:53] increases

[44:55] >> 40 50fold over the last how many years

[44:58] when incomes have not

[45:00] >> I understand that

[45:01] >> you understand what I'm And also as a

[45:03] landlord, you are, as you said, a

[45:05] business owner. For you, you're in it

[45:07] for profit. When we're all just trying

[45:08] to survive.

[45:10] >> Well, that's never

[45:12] >> But I [clears throat] can tell you

[45:13] mentioned national grid bills. One of my

[45:15] landlords sent me his national grid bill

[45:19] for two months was and he only has a

[45:21] house meter, which is the outside

[45:23] lights, was over $1,000. So, I'm looking

[45:26] into that. Imagine

[45:28] right when you don't repair the window

[45:30] and my heating is going out of the

[45:32] window right now. So DSS isn't going to

[45:36] consider that. National Grid isn't going

[45:38] to consider that. Right? But because it

[45:41] passed the inspection, now I as a tenant

[45:44] who already struggled to make ends meet,

[45:46] I have to supplement for that. I have to

[45:48] supplement for the $1,000 that's going

[45:50] out the window every month because you

[45:51] neglected your job as a [clears throat]

[45:54] >> That's true. In some cases, brother

[45:56] Shannon have to put plastic up because

[45:59] it is. Yes, you're right. New windows

[46:01] should be put in on time.

[46:02] >> All repair.

[46:03] >> I get shame on me because I assume that

[46:06] if I paid my rent on time and you didn't

[46:08] have a hassle out of me that I would

[46:11] receive the same in return and have a

[46:14] stable place, conditions where I didn't

[46:16] have to complain about, conditions that

[46:18] wouldn't cause um issues with my

[46:20] children's health. You know what I mean?

[46:23] when I had when you know and for some

[46:25] families you know the weird thing is for

[46:26] some families you have to choose in

[46:28] between living in those conditions and

[46:31] going to DSS and living in those

[46:32] condition that they would subject you to

[46:35] that's the reality for most families you

[46:38] have to deal with living with the

[46:40] landlord that treat you like scum

[46:43] right getting convincing co to come in

[46:47] is a whole another story but convincing

[46:49] them to come in and actually do their

[46:50] job and hold that landlord accountable

[46:52] That process in itself is is

[46:54] challenging,

[46:56] right? By the time they grieve the

[46:58] relationship that they have and and use

[47:00] extensions and you go through the whole

[47:02] entire court process, you have subjected

[47:04] yourself and your family and your

[47:06] children to months, possibly years

[47:09] of those living conditions.

[47:13] And also when a tenant doesn't pay the

[47:15] rent, the landlord is losing several

[47:19] months of rent because it takes a long

[47:20] time for the eviction process.

[47:22] >> So it's not a win-win situation for

[47:25] landlord and tenant. And that's I think

[47:28] that's why we're here to try to learn

[47:29] how we can bridge the gap and make it

[47:32] better for everybody.

[47:33] >> Very true.

[47:35] >> I think one you got to start by

[47:36] listening to concerns, right?

[47:39] I'm sure you like as you mentioned you

[47:41] have your issues but

[47:44] you guys you have to start by listing

[47:46] like if I'm expressing what the issue is

[47:49] you have to start there

[47:51] I think you'll get a better quality of

[47:55] um renters we have better to choose from

[48:00] >> well the city was we were in a meeting a

[48:04] couple years ago with the mayor trying

[48:06] to create a program that there would be

[48:07] landlords that

[48:09] qualify, for lack of a better word, as

[48:12] premium landlord. So that you as a

[48:14] tenant would look through a list of

[48:16] landlords that have a good reputation,

[48:18] that are in compliance with code, that

[48:20] are following the rules. So it's not

[48:22] such a random search for a tenant, but

[48:25] just say, okay, well, excellent idea.

[48:27] >> You have some frame of reference.

[48:30] >> I think the same should go for some

[48:32] land, right? If there was more like um

[48:36] cross communication amongst the

[48:37] agencies, there would be less um

[48:39] possibilities for some, right? If one

[48:42] commun one agency was communicating to

[48:44] the other like I was having an issue

[48:46] with this guy, did he pass inspection or

[48:48] how do he do or what can I do or how can

[48:51] we address this issue or and in at any

[48:54] level then I think it would be less

[48:57] likely for them to

[49:00] you would have the option I'm quite sure

[49:02] to find out if there was a rental or you

[49:03] would if there was a rental certificate

[49:05] on your property that you were if the

[49:07] landlord had rental certificates on your

[49:10] apartment. I can test if many of the um

[49:13] inspections regardless of the agency are

[49:15] superficial

[49:18] on record saying that. So um I've

[49:23] witnessed my landlord to repairs minutes

[49:25] before the inspection

[49:27] >> because they won't if if an apartment

[49:30] doesn't pass inspection, they won't get

[49:32] that remarkable certificate.

[49:33] >> Yeah. But then where's the concern? Is

[49:34] the concern for my well-being or for

[49:36] your passing me inspection?

[49:39] your for your wellbeing

[49:42] and you would do it whenever needed to

[49:44] be done and not when the inspector

[49:45] showed up.

[49:47] >> But isn't there a requirement for these

[49:49] um inspections? The tenant has to be in

[49:52] the apartment.

[49:53] >> Yes.

[49:54] >> So it's like you can't do it beforehand.

[49:56] >> You can't do it on an empty apartment.

[49:58] >> No, you can do it. If I made a

[50:01] complaint, you can do typically they're

[50:03] given 30 days and then they're given in

[50:05] um extensions in some cases

[50:11] certificate. If I own an apartment

[50:13] building and I had a vacant apartment in

[50:15] and you were ready to move into I can

[50:18] only get the rental certificate on the

[50:20] one that's already got a tenant in it. I

[50:22] they're not going to inspect the vacant

[50:24] apartment. They wanted name associated

[50:27] that you got somebody living there

[50:29] >> and that's when they wanted to inspect

[50:30] it.

[50:33] >> That's the photo. You want to move on

[50:35] and continue to share with us your

[50:36] experience?

[50:38] Um so in my experience uh with my

[50:45] landlord in particular we went back and

[50:48] forth for over two years um

[50:53] with repairers I involved

[50:57] many of them as I said were superficial

[51:00] when done often they were um ignored

[51:03] which led to other issues but when he

[51:06] did do repair they were often

[51:07] superficial.

[51:08] or moments before um inspection came. It

[51:11] was just enough to pass inspections and

[51:14] regardless of my complaints, various

[51:17] agencies would say or refer, hey, well,

[51:20] it passed inspection. Although I would

[51:22] show videos or photos of current issues

[51:26] or things happening in real time,

[51:28] regardless to what my issue were, they

[51:31] just passed it off to other issu um to

[51:33] other agencies or gave suggestions that

[51:36] I should call other people or do other

[51:39] No one took it personal. No one took the

[51:43] help or well-being of my family and I

[51:46] personal. And it was disheartening to me

[51:48] that at the least no one felt the need

[51:50] to do their job. Right? I look I thought

[51:54] as I said earlier if I paid my rent on

[51:57] time and if I was a good tenant I will

[51:59] get those services in return. And that

[52:01] wasn't the case. And when I called on

[52:03] the agencies put in place to do so they

[52:06] didn't help me either.

[52:08] So it became it was on me and what I

[52:12] decided to do is started I I I I didn't

[52:14] call I started emailing and documenting

[52:17] and CCing and and writing letters to

[52:20] everyone that I thought that would

[52:22] listen. And it didn't help in my case,

[52:25] but I realized while speaking to others

[52:27] that my case wasn't

[52:31] significant. You know what I mean? It

[52:32] happened more often than not. And it's

[52:35] it hurts because it shouldn't, right? My

[52:38] family and I, we left living with mold

[52:41] for over two years. And we complained.

[52:43] We sent pictures. Agencies came in, they

[52:45] took pictures, they witnessed it and

[52:48] documented it themselves and did nothing

[52:50] about it.

[52:52] We had leaks that led to electrical

[52:55] fires and eventually, like you said, the

[52:57] apartment was red taped. And I got I

[52:59] didn't even mention it during the

[53:00] meeting earlier. I noticed that was his

[53:03] intentions all along

[53:05] >> or to what

[53:06] >> to have coated and renate the apartment

[53:10] because I complained on another platform

[53:12] on how the agencies that I reached out

[53:15] to that I thought was put in position to

[53:17] do exactly what I was asking them to do

[53:19] didn't help. Someone said to me, you

[53:22] know, well, maybe Latoya, they were

[53:24] doing you a favor because had they did

[53:26] go into action or did they had they

[53:28] taken action, you and your family would

[53:30] have been homeless. Sad to say that did

[53:32] end up being the case. However,

[53:35] I feel like if at any given case dummy

[53:38] time any agency would have stepped in on

[53:41] my behalf. Anyone anyone would have

[53:43] advocated for my kids and I, it wouldn't

[53:46] have come to that.

[53:48] Maybe landlords would be less likely to

[53:51] take advantage of people in situations

[53:53] like myself because they know that they wouldn't get paid.

[53:58] And to me, that's the biggest threat.

[54:00] because that's the only thing you

[54:02] mention

[54:04] is the lack of income you won't receive.

[54:06] >> Right.

[54:07] >> Well, for a landlord in a business that

[54:09] is the fact

[54:12] I respect you for your business, but for

[54:14] many

[54:16] families, you understand what I'm

[54:18] saying? And yes, there are programs put

[54:21] into place to help. But then when they

[54:23] are not passionate about doing exactly

[54:25] that, that's not they they more likely

[54:28] to do more damage than anything. And

[54:29] that's that's that's what we're going to

[54:31] sit here today.

[54:33] When people don't step up and play their

[54:34] roles and do their parts, we end up in

[54:38] situations like this while we're

[54:40] explaining the obvious.

[54:42] Section 8, for instance, if a landlord

[54:45] doesn't pass section 8 and continues to

[54:47] fail, they have 30 days to correct a

[54:49] problem. Section 8 will cut the uh the

[54:54] landlord off. They won't pay.

[54:56] >> Yeah, but the inspections are done once

[54:58] a year. No, I I don't I don't know.

[55:00] Section

[55:01] >> section 8 inspection is done once a year

[55:03] and again it's superficial

[55:05] >> but us attendant can certainly cause

[55:07] section 8 and I

[55:08] >> and that's my experience. This is what

[55:10] I'm explaining to you and it's not until

[55:12] I started documenting CCing calling out

[55:16] names telling these people what my

[55:18] intentions were that I was going to

[55:20] obtain legal counsel. [snorts] I was

[55:23] going to take this all the way. And

[55:24] that's part of the problem here. I I I

[55:27] think a lot of tenants aren't aware of

[55:30] their rights. And that's a big issue.

[55:32] Community awareness.

[55:34] You know what I mean? That's something

[55:35] we need to address. Not just knowing

[55:38] your rights, but having an agency or

[55:40] someone put in place that will advocate

[55:42] for you. Because that's what I didn't

[55:44] have in my case. I didn't have an

[55:45] advocate. I didn't have someone to tell

[55:47] me what to do or what mistakes not to

[55:50] make or what to avoid or what to expect.

[55:53] Right? It's simply doing the research

[55:57] and and and I think that's the issue for

[56:00] most. It's resources. We lack resources.

[56:03] We're not aware of our rights. We're

[56:05] notware aware of what we're entitled to.

[56:07] And and furthermore, I think for

[56:09] landlords that are not doing their part,

[56:13] they should be held accountable. Yes,

[56:15] there should be a process, but a process

[56:17] in which a tenant has to wait years,

[56:19] maybe even, you know, for something to

[56:22] occur or happen, it is not right. And I

[56:25] think the only way that something could

[56:27] immediately happen if you stop the

[56:30] funds,

[56:32] when you stop the funds, there's no need

[56:34] for middlemen. There's no need for

[56:35] talking or conversations. I promise you

[56:38] if you stop the funding to these

[56:40] programs and to these as I call them bad

[56:43] lords right [clears throat]

[56:45] you you will have no issue I promise you

[56:48] because majority of their funding is

[56:50] coming from government programs.

[56:53] So if the government or the people put

[56:56] into place to protect these programs or

[57:00] the population in which they serve at

[57:02] any given moment put their foot down or

[57:04] put foot to neck to these landlords

[57:06] there will be no issue and if you are

[57:09] the exception to the rule I appreciate

[57:11] you but that's not what they discussing

[57:13] here.

[57:14] >> I think you're right. If the if the

[57:16] everything pays attention when the money

[57:19] stopped landlord tenant should all pay

[57:22] attention.

[57:23] >> Right. Right. Right. So when everyone

[57:25] asks what should we do? What can we do?

[57:26] power. You they either do the right

[57:29] thing or you stop the funding. There's

[57:30] no rarity. Period.

[57:35] I'm good.

[57:52] » So, what what are some of the resources

[57:54] that you use to help you out of your

[57:56] situation that you were successful in?

[58:02] » Um,

[58:03] Seriously, I um I reached out to SCAP,

[58:07] uh Donna and Kevin Zowski and Scap. They

[58:10] were great, but again, they don't

[58:13] although they they had good intentions,

[58:14] they don't have the resources, they

[58:16] didn't have the manpower. A lot of the

[58:18] advice and um things they gave me were

[58:21] in the middle of handling other

[58:22] situations. So, I just took the

[58:24] information they gave me and, you know,

[58:26] ran with it. But like I said, for most people, they're not

[58:32] they don't have the resources I have and

[58:34] they they don't have they're not aware

[58:36] of their rights. They're not aware of

[58:38] their the programs that's out there.

[58:39] They're not aware that they're even

[58:41] being violated in any way. And that, as

[58:44] I said, is concerning to me because why

[58:46] aren't these people being held

[58:47] accountable? I felt like I was screaming

[58:50] below water and no one heard me. But I

[58:53] know for a fact I contacted the right

[58:55] people because I did the research. You

[58:57] understand what I'm saying? So I I it's

[58:59] concerning to me the lack of compassion

[59:02] above everything. You know what I mean?

[59:04] The lack of uh

[59:08] it it's just a disservice, you know? I

[59:11] just felt like no one involved felt the

[59:13] need to do at the least their job, you

[59:17] know, or or or or the or

[59:22] to to do what they were hired to do and

[59:26] put in position to do.

[59:30] I think I felt like no one took it

[59:32] personal and for me it was personal. My

[59:35] family got suffered for like I said over

[59:37] well over two years and it was

[59:39] concerning because again why was he

[59:43] allowed

[59:44] to get away with that and I and and like

[59:48] I said I know my story is not one

[59:53] it's saddening

[59:56] and I don't want my family suffer to be

[59:57] in pain. I I feel like, you know, above

[1:00:01] us meeting in this room, things need to

[1:00:02] be done.

[1:00:05] And tell me how, where, who I speak to

[1:00:08] because I'm willing to do that. I don't

[1:00:10] want to see another family go through

[1:00:12] what my family experienced.

[1:00:16] It's unnecessary.

[1:00:21] » Thank you, Lorie, for sharing.

[1:00:24] >> Appreciate you being here.

[1:00:26] Be sure.

[1:00:31] I know this.

[1:00:39] Okay. So,

[1:00:45] we have work to do. This It's a lot. It

[1:00:49] is a lot.

[1:00:52] Muel, I see it. I want to hear it.

[1:01:01] » Like some people in it for the money and

[1:01:03] some people in it for a passion too, you

[1:01:05] know. Um

[1:01:08] I know for me I'm sorry for that.

[1:01:12] I think that what I what I'm getting

[1:01:15] from it is that it needs whoever's doing

[1:01:18] the funding needs to be here. That

[1:01:20] person needs to be here from ESS. uh to

[1:01:24] speak on their behalf. Uh also also um

[1:01:27] you know looking through I work with the

[1:01:30] homeless population and people with

[1:01:31] substance abuse. You know, I say uh last

[1:01:34] year we had 425 people coming home. Only

[1:01:38] 163 of those people were placed, right?

[1:01:40] But 163 of those people were placed due

[1:01:42] to

[1:01:44] following the requirements that are

[1:01:47] given through DSS, whatever that may be,

[1:01:50] you know, woman to a woman's program in

[1:01:53] the city and coming back and being in

[1:01:55] compliance. Um but then I also, you

[1:01:58] know, um I also see

[1:02:02] the county sometimes goes to Veil

[1:02:04] Cemetery and they they get people who might need a park but they don't

[1:02:10] know how to live.

[1:02:12] >> You know, there's a big difference,

[1:02:14] right? And sometimes I see people who

[1:02:16] are struggling families and whatnot and

[1:02:19] you know, they're doing what they got to

[1:02:20] do. they're in compliance or whatever

[1:02:22] DSS is having them do and a person got

[1:02:25] we could send the person to a 20-day

[1:02:27] program and then they come out and got

[1:02:29] an apartment and then what happens is

[1:02:31] they they damage the apartment because

[1:02:33] they don't know how to live in the

[1:02:34] apartment and next thing that and that

[1:02:36] ruins it.

[1:02:38] >> So then I feel like at some at some

[1:02:40] point it's just like okay why am I going

[1:02:42] to continue to keep fixing this? But

[1:02:45] is is it I just feel like if a person is

[1:02:49] doing the right thing and being in

[1:02:51] compliance,

[1:02:54] >> they deserve to live.

[1:02:56] You know, it doesn't matter if they get

[1:02:58] DSS or whatever the case may be, right?

[1:03:00] They're human being,

[1:03:02] >> right?

[1:03:02] >> You understand what I'm saying? Um and

[1:03:04] housing is very important.

[1:03:05] >> Yes,

[1:03:06] >> housing is very important. But I do

[1:03:08] think that like, you know, all the

[1:03:10] information is right here, right? Like

[1:03:11] for the people that are still in hotels,

[1:03:13] right? They're saying what's going on.

[1:03:15] So maybe someone from the police

[1:03:17] department needs to come here as well.

[1:03:23] » Um

[1:03:25] yeah, I'm just processing everything.

[1:03:28] >> I'm a little bit familiar with New

[1:03:30] Choices and if I remember correctly, New

[1:03:34] Choices do do inspections for the

[1:03:36] apartment periodically, right?

[1:03:38] >> Yeah. So we have

[1:03:38] >> done like every three or six months. We

[1:03:40] have Yeah, we have a um we have three

[1:03:42] housing programs. We have shelter plus

[1:03:45] care,

[1:03:46] >> we have MRT housing, we also have um

[1:03:51] transitional housing.

[1:03:53] >> Um the transitional housing program is

[1:03:55] for those people who um may not have

[1:03:58] they might have been doing good, have a

[1:04:01] trade and so forth so on their credits

[1:04:03] all messed up, whatever. So we created a

[1:04:05] program where it gives them an

[1:04:07] opportunity to build renters's report um

[1:04:10] build their credit score back up and we

[1:04:12] support them for anywhere up to 18

[1:04:14] months a case by case situation. Um but

[1:04:17] I also do see that um I also do see that

[1:04:21] so I'm a I'm a I'm a very high I have a

[1:04:25] very high value of referrals that I send

[1:04:29] out for the sky county amongst all the

[1:04:32] other counties drug courts probations

[1:04:34] parole CPS

[1:04:37] um ATC courts um family treatment court

[1:04:40] they all contact me when they have a

[1:04:41] situation where someone needs to go away

[1:04:43] into treatment right and what I'm seeing

[1:04:46] what I what I see is that we have we

[1:04:50] have a lot of people in Skenctity County

[1:04:52] that are not from Skenctity County,

[1:04:56] >> right? And and it goes it goes into

[1:05:00] saying is that

[1:05:03] Skenne County is the only county

[1:05:08] that basically it's easy to get an

[1:05:11] apartment out here. So a lot of people

[1:05:13] are coming out here just to get housing,

[1:05:17] right? And some people aren't ready for

[1:05:19] housing. But when you got someone like

[1:05:21] you sitting here, family, motivated and

[1:05:24] passionate, right? Unfortunately, those

[1:05:27] are the ones that suffer,

[1:05:29] right? But and also the good landlord

[1:05:31] suffer too,

[1:05:33] right? So, um,

[1:05:36] yeah,

[1:05:39] we'll have some stuff for you next time.

[1:05:43] >> All righty. Thank you for sharing.

[1:05:45] >> I appreciate you.

[1:05:46] >> Um, yes, this was a very, very

[1:05:49] interesting meeting. I'm excited to move

[1:05:52] forward and making some changes. Um

[1:05:58] so

[1:06:01] our hour is mere and um I just want to

[1:06:05] um out of everything that we've

[1:06:08] discussed today Monaco to get um more

[1:06:11] clarification

[1:06:13] on some things. What would what would be

[1:06:15] your pick from this?

[1:06:18] my pick from

[1:06:19] >> the conversations and the answers we

[1:06:21] need as far as um

[1:06:25] the fair housing laws, the um different

[1:06:29] programs. And

[1:06:31] >> I would say that it would be nice to

[1:06:34] have the commissioner if she was I think

[1:06:37] that would be great. I feel that um was

[1:06:40] it Jaclyn that gave the sheep? Yes. I

[1:06:44] think that that's problematic especially

[1:06:47] the legal activity happening at the

[1:06:52] uh hotels. So, I feel like

[1:06:55] um having the conversation with the

[1:06:57] police, are they patrolling that? Are

[1:07:00] they doing things? I mean, it just kind

[1:07:03] of makes it seem like it's just

[1:07:04] happening all out in the open and

[1:07:06] everything goes. Um, but I do also agree

[1:07:10] about the funding um that when people

[1:07:13] aren't in compliance in terms of um if

[1:07:17] they're receiving money from DSS, if

[1:07:19] they have contracts, if they're

[1:07:21] receiving money from section 8, uh, you

[1:07:24] know, all of that, that funding should

[1:07:26] stop and they should be mandated to do

[1:07:28] things. I don't think it should go on

[1:07:30] for long periods of time. Definitely

[1:07:33] things have to change. that that's kind

[1:07:35] of like my out. It's [snorts] not an

[1:07:38] easy fix. But

[1:07:42] Amanda,

[1:07:44] >> there's so much. [laughter] It's like

[1:07:47] you can't focus on one thing. You have

[1:07:50] to just there's so many different

[1:07:55] things that's entwined with everything.

[1:07:57] So it's like having the commissioner

[1:07:59] here is not

[1:08:02] a bad idea but I also think we need to

[1:08:04] speak to someone in code enforcement. We

[1:08:07] need to understand

[1:08:08] what the policy is and how from the

[1:08:11] beginning to the end and what what the

[1:08:14] mechanism is in that sense from the

[1:08:18] landlord perspect what the landlords are

[1:08:20] obligated to do and even from like the

[1:08:23] tenants what are the tenants rights with

[1:08:25] regards to code enforcement.

[1:08:37] for me.

[1:08:39] >> You're right. It's a huge problem. Well,

[1:08:41] I think we kind of have to decide. Are

[1:08:43] we're going to focus on hotels, motel,

[1:08:45] or apartments? And I realize that that

[1:08:50] when people are at depths of despair,

[1:08:52] they're in the in these temporary

[1:08:54] housing. That definitely needs to be

[1:08:56] addressed because that is much different

[1:08:58] than than what we were told. That's why

[1:09:00] I asked about the point of contact than

[1:09:03] my email to her. Uh and if this was

[1:09:06] being dealt with on a a closed basis as

[1:09:11] they indicated, then some of these

[1:09:13] issues you would think would be resolved

[1:09:16] about the women and children being taken

[1:09:19] out for hours in a day. I mean

[1:09:23] I I would like to hear I agree with you.

[1:09:25] I would like to hear or Muel from

[1:09:29] someone from BSS to answer these

[1:09:31] questions

[1:09:34] if that that's where we started this

[1:09:36] conversation last week was the hotels.

[1:09:39] Um and then what I believe too is

[1:09:44] education on the local landlord and the

[1:09:47] tenants part on what the expectations

[1:09:49] are for each and how again we can bridge

[1:09:53] that gap. Um

[1:09:57] He was the

[1:10:00] commissioner told me about that

[1:10:01] gentleman Jeff Jackson who owns one of

[1:10:04] the hotel motel. She didn't tell me

[1:10:06] which one. She gave me his number. I

[1:10:08] will be happy to contact him. Yes. Who

[1:10:11] knows which one he owns. Um, but he

[1:10:15] also, what I was intrigued with is that

[1:10:17] he offers courses to those people that

[1:10:19] are temporary residents on how to get an

[1:10:23] apartment on what a landlord looks for.

[1:10:25] I was fascinated by that. I would like

[1:10:28] to know more about those classes he

[1:10:30] offers, how often, what does he cover.

[1:10:33] Um, so I think he would be an

[1:10:36] interesting guest if he would consent to

[1:10:38] that.

[1:10:40] I would follow up and find out more

[1:10:41] about North.

[1:10:43] >> That's awesome that he's provided that

[1:10:45] education.

[1:10:46] >> I said it's awesome that he's provided

[1:10:47] that education.

[1:10:48] >> Education. Yes. That that is amazing as

[1:10:51] a a hotel owner that's [clears throat]

[1:10:53] housing

[1:10:54] >> uh temporary residence that he would do

[1:10:56] that. That to me is passion.

[1:11:01] » Okay. Um

[1:11:07] and once I talk to him if he's agreeable

[1:11:09] I'll connect with you to find out what

[1:11:10] date you would actually want him to come

[1:11:12] if he would come.

[1:11:14] >> Okay. We have some tenative dates to

[1:11:16] see. I think there's also different

[1:11:18] segments of housing because I feel that

[1:11:20] yes, there there is a need for

[1:11:22] affordable housing and I think there are

[1:11:24] people that are gainfully employed but

[1:11:27] can't afford certain types of housing

[1:11:29] but I also feel that there's people that

[1:11:31] don't fit in the category where they can

[1:11:33] actually get into apartments. So that's

[1:11:37] why

[1:11:38] >> because

[1:11:39] >> I was made aware that

[1:11:42] when they speak about affordable

[1:11:44] housing, they're going by the county

[1:11:47] medium. They're not basing it on the

[1:11:49] city medium.

[1:11:50] >> So that's why we're in this situation

[1:11:53] also because the housing and stuff

[1:11:56] that's coming up now, people still can't

[1:11:58] afford it. It doesn't fit the criteria

[1:12:00] of our city

[1:12:05] » right.

[1:12:07] >> Okay. So, [clears throat] um

[1:12:10] really you got to reach out to Jeff.

[1:12:14] >> Okay. Um

[1:12:19] I reach out to these two here.

[1:12:24] Amanda, could you reach out to somebody

[1:12:26] from section 8?

[1:12:30] and we'll see if we can get them in and

[1:12:32] we'll use the day that um everybody

[1:12:36] based on after this.

[1:12:39] Um

[1:12:43] the education piece.

[1:12:46] Um, Muel, you can find out

[1:12:51] or you have somebody somebody that can

[1:12:54] come in and talk to us about the

[1:12:55] education piece of the housing

[1:12:59] or

[1:13:00] >> as far as um

[1:13:04] we're we're the resource somebody with

[1:13:06] resources who can answer some of these

[1:13:09] questions along with DSS and

[1:13:13] section 8 and

[1:13:16] Okay.

[1:13:19] Um,

[1:13:20] that falls under the

[1:13:25] » Lamar.

[1:13:30] » Where did you say you got the stats

[1:13:32] from?

[1:13:33] >> Um, the Princeton University eviction

[1:13:35] letter. Thank you. Do

[1:13:36] >> you need anything from there? No, I just

[1:13:38] want to go look. [laughter] Okay.

[1:13:49] Um,

[1:13:51] can you reach out to um somebody from

[1:13:53] section 8?

[1:13:54] >> Yeah, sure.

[1:13:59] » Get the commissioner of DSS to comment.

[1:14:01] >> Oh, yeah.

[1:14:03] >> I think I contacted her before. What?

[1:14:05] >> Okay. You contact the commissioner.

[1:14:10] » Okay. on the educational piece.

[1:14:20] without

[1:14:26] we need

[1:14:32] ask them see if they can come to our

[1:14:34] next meeting to talk about to to discuss

[1:14:38] the tenants responsibilities landlord

[1:14:41] >> responsibilities okay

[1:14:43] >> and how the inspections and things were

[1:14:47] no

[1:14:51] Okay. I have um

[1:14:55] three tenative dates.

[1:15:23] Okay. I have 512, which is a Tuesday.

[1:15:27] >> May 12th.

[1:15:28] >> Oh, May 12th.

[1:15:30] >> I have um May 15th, which is a Friday.

[1:15:41] » What's the other one?

[1:15:43] the 12th and the 15th.

[1:15:44] >> Oh, two days. Two days. No, I have I

[1:15:47] have 5:22 if there's a discrepancy, but

[1:15:50] I would like to come back in two weeks

[1:15:53] cuz time is getting near and going to

[1:15:56] have to pack all of this up into a

[1:15:58] report and I want to get start nailing

[1:16:02] stuff down.

[1:16:03] >> I prefer the 15th.

[1:16:06] I think country

[1:16:15] » I think I'll be in ad

[1:16:20] » that's a Friday.

[1:16:23] >> Yes, I will.

[1:16:26] » You could forward me your information

[1:16:28] and concerns

[1:16:30] before.

[1:16:33] Okay. So, we'll talk.

[1:16:35] >> Yeah, cuz you're going to be away.

[1:16:37] >> I'm going to be away. Yes.

[1:16:39] >> So,

[1:16:40] >> son's graduation.

[1:16:41] >> Nice. Nice.

[1:16:45] » Okay.

[1:16:47] That was a lot. So, the 15th at six.

[1:16:49] >> The 15th at six.

[1:16:51] >> The 15th. 15th. That's six.

[1:17:04] I would like to say thank you for

[1:17:05] everyone that came out tonight. Um,

[1:17:10] keep up the great work. It's very

[1:17:12] appreciated. It's very needed. And um,

[1:17:16] see you in two weeks meeting,

[1:17:20] you know.

[1:17:38] Yes, that's fine.

[1:17:48] [laughter]

[1:17:48] >> One second.

[1:18:03] Thank you so much.

[1:18:08] I don't know what I did, but

Schenectady Housing Stability Task Force Meeting, May 5, 2026

Transcript