ANHD 2016 Building the Community Development Movement
Tenant harassment is a growing crisis as more and more neighborhoods face a rising tide of speculative investment and active displacement pressure. Yesterday, tenants from around NYC took action at their buildings to highlight the need for stronger protections against harassment.
Sharply increasing market rents in many neighborhoods is increasing pressure on long-term tenants in both rent-stabilized and unregulated apartments. Too many landlords see removing their existing tenants as the key to higher profits – with renovations in the newly vacant apartment the key to allowing them to raise rents and deregulate apartments. Aggressive landlord strategies are often planned to achieve the vacancies.
But those renovations also provide an opportunity for the City to intervene in the cycle of displacement, and flip the incentive structure so that harassment doesn’t pay. Tenants and advocates from across the city are calling for a new Certificate of No Harassment law that would use the Department of Buildings permits landlords need for their renovations as leverage to discourage tenant harassment.Emily Goldstein, ANHD – Senior Campaign Organizer