The Schenectady City Council has been weighing a decision to opt into the Good Cause Eviction law passed by the state last year, as a new proposal aimed at exploring potential alternatives was shot down at the latest committee meeting.
Under the new Good Cause Eviction state law, landlords must have good cause to evict their tenants. The law also places a cap on rent increases.
But localities must opt into the law for it to apply to renters.
After the city council earlier, this month voted against setting a public hearing on the idea, Councilor Joseph Mancini, who was one of four council members to oppose the public hearing, presented a new idea. Last week, he submitted a legislation request form to create a Housing Task force aimed at collecting more data and exploring possible alternatives to Good Cause.
“What I am proposing we do is create a housing stability task force with members from the community, stakeholders, non-profits and take a look at the law and look at locally tailored strategies so we can address the root causes of the housing instability,” Mancini said.
But Mancini’s idea for a housing task force was met with resistance and ultimately shot down at a city council committee meeting Monday.
After more than an hour of discussion between council members during the Government Operations Committee meeting, Councilor John Mootooveren motioned to create the task force.
However, the other two members -- Councilor Damonni Farley and Council President Marion Porterfield – who both support Schenectady opting in to eviction protections, voted against Mancini’s task force idea. Farley argued the task force does not go far enough.
“I can’t support it. Because it doesn’t offer any of the protection that good cause does,” Farley said.
Mancini’s proposal would have created a Housing Stability Task Force for the city charged with conducting a review of local housing trends, eviction filings, rent burdens and vacancy rates.
It would have also assessed the potential impact of Good Cause Eviction in Schenectady, among other tasks related to addressing housing needs in the city.
“I don’t think we need more public hearings; I think it’s clear that there is a great division both at the council level and between landlords and tenants,” Mancini said.
As for Good Cause Eviction itself, Mancini says it is premature for the city to opt in.
“And we can always opt into this law but I would like us to be more informed and see if we can develop local strategies rather than this template of the law,” Mancini said.
Council President Marion Porterfield, who voted to hold the public hearing, says leaders will have to change their minds before Schenectady finds itself in a position to opt into Good Cause.
“It takes four votes to secure and let legislation go through and then even if it gets through and the mayor chooses not to sign it and he vetoes it then it would take five to override the veto,” Porterfield said.
That’s why Porterfield supports a public hearing, which she says is the only way to change councilmembers’ minds.
Meanwhile, Farley, who first brought the Good Cause legislation to the council in June, is still hoping the measure can pass outright. A vote on opting into the Good Cause eviction law is scheduled for the city council’s next meeting on July 28th.
“I’m hoping that we will take the material conditions of the people of Schenectady seriously,” Farley said.
But, he says, there is some confusion over whether Mayor Gary McCarthy must hold his own public hearing despite the council’s decision.
For now, the council’s division on the issue seems to mirror community sentiments. Landlords in the city oppose the measure, while local advocacy group All of Us supports it.
Jamaica Miles, co-founder of All of Us, has helped lead community engagement efforts in support of opting in.
“There are tenants that never go to court and the current law says that for someone to be evicted, they need to go to court. So, in the City of Schenectady it’s not just that there is not good cause there is even illegal actions against tenants that are not going to court because folks are afraid to speak up,” Miles said.
A founder of Schenectady Landlords Influencing Change, Chris Morris, says Good Cause Eviction measures would result in landlords having less agency over their properties.
Morris does not own property herself, but was a property manager for 17 years.
One of Morris’ primary concerns is the cap the Good Cause law places on rent increases. She says opting in may also cause landlords to raise their criteria for applicants.
“That means fewer apartments available to the base of those who are looking, that would be an unintended consequence. And that’s major because one of the problems they are finding is lack of affordable housing for these people,” Morris said.
