The city council voted unanimously Monday to opt into the new law, which was passed as part of New York’s state budget earlier this year. It prevents landlords from evicting tenants in qualifying units without legitimate cause, and allows tenants to challenge excessive rate hikes that have historically been used to unofficially force them out.
Before the vote, Ward 1 Councilmember Giselle Martinez thanked tenant advocates — some of whom were in the audience — for pushing the council to opt in.
“I’m a proud tenant," said Martinez. "One day, I will be a homeowner. But for the meantime, we’re gonna fight to make sure that we offer the strongest protections to our tenants, to ensure that they continue to live in this wonderful city.”
The council might not have needed much pushing. This isn’t the first time Newburgh has approved “good cause” eviction: it was one of the first cities to pass its own law in 2021, but that was ultimately blocked by a judge. Now, Newburgh joins a handful of cities across the state that have enacted “good cause” eviction, including Albany, Ithaca, Kingston, Beacon, and Poughkeepsie.
Here’s how it works: certain landlords cannot evict or avoid renewing their tenants’ lease unless they have a good reason, which can include unpaid rent, nuisance behavior, and other lease violations. The state’s version of “good cause” allows localities to decide how widely the law is applied, and like neighboring cities, Newburgh set the widest parameters possible under the law. That means nearly all landlords with more than one unit in buildings built before 2009 are subject to “good cause” eviction.
Resident Cynthia Gilkeson was one of multiple people to speak up for the regulation Monday.
“We have to make it so that it encompasses the city," said Gilkeson. "There’s so many homeless people that are living on the side of the DMV. It’s just getting so out of control that we have to do something.”
There are some exceptions: owner-occupied buildings, co-ops, condos, workforce housing, and units where the rent is more than 345 percent of the city’s fair market rent do not apply.
Landlord groups like the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association have decried “good cause” as yet another regulation being put on New York’s housing market. The HVPOA successfully sued and shut down Newburgh’s attempt to enact rent control last year. Executive Director Rich Lanzarone says measures like rent control and “good cause” discourage developers from building more housing, which he says is sorely needed to combat the state’s housing crisis.
“Those investors, the last thing they want to do is invest in New York state," says Lanzarone. "Even though the bill says, ‘Well, new buildings are exempt for 30 years.’ Who needs the hassle?”
Lanzarone also warns that regulations like “good cause” could prompt landlords to be pickier about who they choose to rent to in the first place.
But those arguments were not heard at Monday’s city council meeting. Before voting, Mayor Torrance Harvey recalled his experience growing up as a tenant — while he and his wife have owned a home for nearly 20 years, he said both of his parents were renters their entire lives.
“We know the struggle," he added. "We grew up in the projects and being renters most of our lives, and transitioning to becoming homeowners right here in the city. So, thank you all for the pressure, and thank you for keeping us accountable.”
