Housing is a human right. The pandemic has exacerbated the housing crisis with impending mass evictions of countless elders, families, and individuals experiencing poverty. This is all happening while New York City’s shelter system is already oversaturated. NYLAG has partnered with Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams and other organizations advocating for tenants’ rights to spotlight the unjust process and the devastating effects of evictions. Below is an excerpt from NYLAG’s Alice Hindanov testimony.
“Termination proceedings are filed for the slightest infractions, sometimes manufactured, sometimes motivated by personal grudges between tenants and housing managers. Filings are done on paper only, with no way to check the status of a case digitally…One missed deadline because you happen to be in the hospital, or caring for children, or you can’t take off work, and now you’ve suddenly lost your home. This unjust process is particularly offensive because it disproportionately affects those that are already on the receiving end of systemic oppression.”
