Everybody, please find your seats.

We are about to start our meeting.

Thank you.

Okay.

So good evening, everybody, and welcome to this town hall meeting.

I first want to say thank you to Councillor Jones Rousser for quickly putting this together.

We will keep order in this room.

It's very important for the efficiency of the meeting.

Some rules of participation.

If you would like to speak, we are handing um index cards in the back.

Caleb and Nathan.

They have index cards.

If you do want to speak, please put your name in the index index card so I can call you.

Okay.

If you want to go back and get it, that's fine.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Okay.

So the each person that will come up to speak will have three minutes to state your point.

Three minutes.

If you're gonna go beyond the three minutes, we're gonna have to turn off your mic.

Okay, so that you can always come back.

We need to give there's a there's a lot of people here that want to speak, and we just want to be mindful of giving everybody a chance.

Okay.

The same thing with our counselors.

If at any point you want to engage in any conversation, there you will have the same three minutes to be able to engage.

Okay.

And state your comments.

Thank you to uh Kristen Lawler, our stenographer, for joining us today.

She's asked of us that when you come to the mic, please slowly state your name so she can record it and she can then record your comments.

Okay.

Um if there's anything else, I think we're all set.

So I this meeting is in order.

Our first speaker, I don't have cards.

Oh, here we go.

Oh, go ahead, go ahead now.

Yeah.

So we don't have to find the horse.

Sorry.

Hello.

There.

Yes.

Um, my name is David Round.

Uh now a small landlord.

I bought my first house in Syracuse 48 years ago.

I used to do this full-time with usually a couple of people hired.

I think we've we want to strongly look at the cause and effect relationship of what we strive to do.

Too often the results of what we could what we do can have the diametrically opposite result.

It is my strong belief that this law will produce different results than we expect.

We have only to look at the results of the 2019 law and the COVID restrictions to see this law will be a continuation of this.

Only have to look at New York City's rent roles to figure this out.

The availability of apartments will continue to decline to decline.

People will spend more time looking for apartments than ever before.

I went from maybe 10 inquiries in 2018 to 50 to 100 inquiries about an apartment for rent.

Last year I talked to a piano tuner who lived in a three-family house with one vacant property.

One vacant apartment.

This cause this law will cause more homelessness, not less in our community.

What is their experience with finding housing for their clients?

Compare 2018 statistics to 2026 records.

It will generate further abandonment of the housing stock in Syracuse.

Despite massive increases in rent and value of property, this anomaly runs contrary to the laws of supply and demand.

Why?

How come?

The quality of life for tenants will significantly deteriorate by essentially the eliminating the landlord's ability to quickly and effectively resolve issues with problem tenants.

It will condemn the other tenants to months, even years of this deterioration.

And I wanted to point out to Section 216E alone can take years to adjudicate.

An already overburdened legal system become further overwhelmed.

What now takes three to four months to adjudicate will it now take five months?

It will continue to increase the trend toward absentee ownership and larger corporate entities.

They can afford a lawyer or retainer to navigate this law.

After decades of doing this work, I realized the landlord was the last defense between chaos and order.

To do the things the police could not do.

The landlord not only made sure the garbage was picked up, but made sure order was in place.

Once I stopped the guy from beating up his girlfriend every night, once a guy drew a knife on his downstairs neighbor, and I quietly.

Thank you, Mr.

Round.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

That's over three minutes.

Can I just do my closing here?

Is that your closing?

Yes, sir.

I got to close it.

Uh this law will not be good for tenants, it will not be good for landlords, it will not be good for Syracuse.

Lastly, I realized it was not going to be good for myself.

Right around the time the introduction of introduction of this law, I proceeded to sell my last building.

Now only own the house next door to me.

Thank you.

If you want to leave your retent comments, do you see it with you or this?

Yes, can you bring them over?

So we can bring it up.

I got a bunch of copies.

You want more than one?

Sure.

No, just one.

One is fine.

We'll make sure it goes in.

Just to keep me in the record.

Make sure you're going to collect it.

Thank you, Mr.

Grand.

Thank you.

President.

One second.

All right.

For those in the back, there is some seats on both front pews if you want to have a seat.

Who left us with uh her message.

And it will be recorded in our minutes.

Our next speak next speaker is Joe Smorrow.

Hello.

My name is Joe Smorrell.

You can adjust the microphone to you.

There you go.

Okay.

First of all, our business model of being landed.

Joe, can you give us your address?

Can you state your address, please?

417 Lynchav.

Thank you.

That's where I live.

Thanks.

I have rentals on Seymour Street.

Thank you.

Um business model of being a landlord is to keep our our apartments full.

We do not want to evict anybody.

Um we evict somebody, there's a reason for it.

Uh I recently had a tenant with that I paid $2,000 to get out because she was a nuisance to me and to the other neighboring tenants.

She told me, uh, because I rent, I can do what I want.

It's my it's my apartment.

I said no.

Um the noise ordinance, she played a lot of loud music.

The noise ordinance is no and no unnecessary noise that enters.

Uh I'm sorry.

Enter there you go.

Adjacent unit or dwelling that's separate from distinct notes are horrible.

The noise ordinance is that you can't you shouldn't be able to hear noise.

Music from uh in another apartment from her apartment, which went on at all hours of the day.

Right now, judges are not granting evictions, even if we have good cause, we're being denied evictions.

Do you want to live next to somebody who's got drug dealing and loud music and parties and stuff all over uh all the time at their houses?

I don't want to live next to that.

I don't imagine any of you do.

We need the option to get rid of them.

If the courts would uh follow the current laws and evict people who are nuisance tenants, we need that.

This is the good cause is just gonna make it worse.

Um proving good cause in court is I don't know how you do it, but the judges aren't accepting it.

That's all.

Thank you.

Mr.

Small, quick question.

And I I want to ask this of all landlords.

Can you tell me if you're on a rental registry or not?

I'm on certificate of compliance because my I have three and four units.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

David Loco.

Is that you?

Yes, I've got you back.

You don't want to speak?

Okay.

Um Pat Goodyear.

My name is Pat Goodyear.

I've reached out to pretty much every one of you on this panel.

I own about 20 units, mostly on the east side, on BD Street, Fayette, Nyvan Didima.

My rental model was to buy houses around me, fix them up because they were decrepit, and rent them to families.

My tenants work at Crumble Cookie, they work at Chili's, they work at Duncan.

My business model is I tell you, I do month-to-month leases, I don't raise my rents, I paid 35,000 for my houses.

I don't need to charge you 18,000 a month, 1,800 a month.

So my tenants don't leave.

The ones I've asked to leave, I've asked to leave for good reasons.

Like Joe stated, the tenant was wonderful till her son with a felony moved in and started beating up his girlfriend.

The upstairs tenants couldn't deal with it.

They had two young children.

In the end, both sets of tenants left.

Because you can't, you still have to give 90 days.

When people leave, I try to make it as easy as possible for them.

And I give back their security.

I know the laws.

Now, one of the biggest things that keeps me up at night with this law is that if I don't raise my tenants' rents every year, my equity will be in the toilet.

I might have paid 35 to 50,000, but I've put a lot of money into my properties.

My tenants text me day and night if they need something.

They invite me to their parties.

They bring me cookies when they drop off rent.

Okay.

That's the relationship I have.

And I work full-time.

And I serve this country as a military soldier.

So when I look at good cause, I've been a landlord since 96, and I'm proud of that.

I provide decent housing to middle class families.

You have Micron coming in.

Right now, HUD says a three-bedroom is 1652.

I don't charge 1652 for any of my three bedrooms.

I have some at 950.

Okay.

When I tell Natasha and Fred that their rent's going from 950 to 1600, so I don't lose equity in my two families, so my five kids don't sell it for less than what it's worth.

That comes back on all of you.

And that's my biggest concern with good cause.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, I live at three tenth month, but I have houses I over the middler Hazel Hurts.

We just need your address.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh if somebody from the MAG, there's an empty um bench here.

If you want to see it, there's available seats in the front.

Okay.

So our next speaker will be Rick Distito.

Good to go.

Hey.

Um I I've talked to most of you.

You already know how I feel about everything.

Um, so I'm just gonna say this.

Um, I had an opinion letter published yesterday titled Why Every Homeowner Should Be Against Good Cause Eviction.

Um so, in all fairness to everyone concerned about good cause eviction on both sides.

One thing I have come to realize from my opinion letter and talking with so many people yesterday is this.

I was contacted by many neighborhood groups, community groups, um, other uh community and city leaders, even uh even a couple of politicians.

Not until yesterday or very recently did many of them even know anything or very little about good cause eviction and what it does or doesn't mean for the for people um and also that it was coming up for vote so quickly.

It's really fast.

The common council may have been talking amongst themselves for the past two years, and with some tenants and landlords over that time as well.

But there's a huge number of neighborhood groups and homeowners and tenants who don't have a clue what this really is.

There has not been any cheat sheet put out to the community by council that publicly explains in a simple, un in simple, unbiased terms, who it specifically affects, how it really affects them, what to do if, and who is and isn't exempt, i.e., small landlords, newly developed residential units, and not for profit housing um not for and housing not for profits uh that are exempt as well.

Uh those are just to name a few that I that I kind of understand.

And again, I mean better explanations, like frequently asked question list for tenants, landlords, and especially homeowners, because they are your constituents, and this was not on their radar.

They didn't think this is part of them.

Um there has been no public discussion about this, and there also has not been any public discussion about what the city will specifically do to make sure these laws get enforced on the bad actors, because the current laws haven't been getting enforced either.

This is such an absolutely important discussion that will affect so many people.

If our common council and the new mayor owens are truly committed to a real public discussion and communication, they would table the vote for this for one month so that everybody, Tip Hill, just different neighborhood organizations, the homeowners, everybody can truly feel heard and but better understand what this means for all concerned parties Distito.

Thank you.

Would you like to leave your Yes, thank you?

Our next speaker, Don Ratke.

Good evening.

My name is Don Radke.

I live at 112 Scott Home Boulevard.

I'm not going to spend time here talking the pros and cons of this legislation.

There's many other people that are going to do that.

I'm going to offer a potential solution.

And that solution is we need to recognize that this problem goes back a long, long time.

We have lost an inordinate amount of affordable housing in this community, going back to the 70s and the 80s, and that has not been resolved.

And that is part of the reason we're here.

And I'm here to speak on behalf of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors, and I want to let you know that we're not deaf to the problems.

Not at all.

We want to be part of the solution.

And I think I understand the council is in a procedural situation where you've got to vote on this on Monday.

I beg you, vote this down.

Let's get a real task force together, not something that's going to be six months or a year.

Something that's going to be 30 or 60 or 90 days.

Get all the data we can get.

We don't have data.

What we have is an adversarial situation right now.

People for it, people against it, and it's not working.

And why are we even talking about good cause eviction done by New York State for all of New York State when we are upstate, we are Syracuse.

Let's talk about doing our own legislation that we can then amend that we can then change as the marketplace dictates.

Adopting a state law is a state law.

We're not going to be able to deal with changes unless you deal with it on the state level.

So I'm begging you to please let's look at this in a completely different light than we've been looking at it.

When we were here a year ago, and the council decided not to bring it to a vote, we at the association of realtors reached out to the common council again to let's get together.

Now I recognize there's some new council members, but we didn't hear back.

And I'm asking you again.

We are here, we're 1,900 people who do the majority of the leasing and renting and selling of real property in Syracuse and Onadaga County.

We have expertise.

We have knowledge, we have data.

We don't have all the expertise.

We don't have all the data.

We don't have all the knowledge.

But if we can put all the parties together, ditch this New York state law, one size does not fit all, and let's work on our own legislation that's going to be pertinent.

It's going to be working for us in this community.

Thank you.

Jen.

So you are.

Are you talking?

Uh-huh.

I'm the next one.

Go ahead, Mr.

Nestry.

My name is Joe Nastry, and I live at 609 Merton's Ave, and I own property in the city.

And I would love to ask a question either to this council or to some of our tenant advocacy groups.

I want to know when the last time a tenant w marched into a housing, uh tenant advocacy group and said, you know what?

I've got a great landlord.

They haven't raised my rent in nine or ten years.

They take care of everything.

They don't hear that.

They do hear stories of bad landlords.

And to me, this is not about bad landlords, bad tenants, good landlords, good tenants.

There are bad people and there are good people.

And there are good landlords, and I hear every day from people that have owned a two-family house, not a big corporate guy that's making a ton of money, but an old Italian lady that's owned it since she came over.

And she never raises her rent because she's got a good tenant.

Legislation like this will hurt people's property values, because often when I go to sell that house that rent hasn't been raised for 10 years, and people look at it and they say, geez, it does the numbers don't work because they're not getting enough rent.

If you cap rents, it will force landlords to raise.

I even raised my rent.

I got a ten, it's been with me 10 years.

I think in 10 years I raised a rent once, 25.

And the girl upstairs was having trouble, so I lowered her rent $5.

And you asked if we I'm on the registry, I am.

And the last time the the registr the inspector came, he goes, Oh, we don't have to worry about you, nastries, because you always have nice property.

Our philosophy is if we take care of our tenants, they will take care of our property.

This type of legislation makes it adversarial.

It makes it it puts the it's class warfare us against them.

I'm wholeheartedly agree with what Don had to say.

There should be a task force that's made up of housing advocate, a few tenants, a couple of realtors that work in the housing business all the time, maybe a home builder or two, and and get together and let's brainstorm how we can solve these problems instead of just throwing out legislation and hoping that that works.

First of all, I haven't seen any evidence.

Has anybody here seen evidence how this is correcting housing situation in Albany or Rochester or in New York City?

Is there any data to support that this law even works?

Or it's just putting the onus on the landlord because they make lots of money.

That's not always the case.

There are some that are, but there's a lot of little mom and pops.

And legislation like this will drive the mom and pops out.

Thank you very much for listening.

Our next speaker, uh Mr.

Tom Beadle.

Good evening.

My name is Tom Riddle.

I live at 322 Wellesley Road, and I have properties in the city.

I've been a landlord since 1979.

And I've been fortunate to have a lot of good tenants.

Unfortunately, occasionally I have a really bad tenant.

And it has become increasingly difficult to remove them.

My most recent case was someone who stayed well past their welcome.

And uh I have put $20,000 back into that property, and I'm not finished.

I haven't replaced the kitchen yet.

Costs can be quite expensive for landlords to repair damage by tenants who are less than desirable.

I am the president of the CNY Landlords Association, and we talk and we meet regularly.

And more than on more than one occasion, we have offered to meet with members of the council to partner with you to develop a program that actually works for everybody.

It doesn't penalize small landlords at the expense of good tenants.

So my concern is that legislation like this one will injure good tenants, good landlords, and the city.

Second point is that the legislation right now exempts corporations and large entities, and only small landlords are punished.

How can that be a fair legislation?

I know that wasn't the intent of it, but that is the reality of how it works.

Another concern is that I think as the legislation stands, small landlords are can have only one unit.

So someone like me who has eight units, I have to dance a different way in order to be able to take care of my tenants.

I have a lot of good people, but unfortunately, because when this law passes, I will have to raise all the rents.

I've rented that in the past for a thousand dollars a month.

I will have to adjust all of my tenants' rents, which penalizes the good tenants.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next speaker, Mr.

Greg Smith.

Hi, I'm Greg Smith from Smith Housing, 835 West Out of Daga Street.

I I know you're vetting all of us.

Uh we are probably the biggest landlord on the near West Side, and you've never heard of us.

So we're doing good, huh?

Uh anyway, uh evictions terrible for tenants.

Evictions terrible for landlords.

I don't think anybody's ever really been evicted for no reason at all.

Read read the book, Evicted, and every one of those you know, people that Desmond wrote about was pulling a bunch of shenanigans.

Um okay, I'm gonna tell you a true story.

I'll be quick.

Had a couple of tenants next door to each other disputing uh boyfriend with a gun gets involved.

Um the other people come out with good guns, uh terrible situation.

Game 90 days' notice.

Three months, you know.

And uh in that three months, there was at least one drive-by shooting.

One car was firebombed, another car was smashed up, you know.

Now, under this law, imagine I'm I'm in court for the the holdover, and their lawyer would say, uh, my tenant, you know, my uh my client has not tried to kill any of the neighbors in the last 90 days.

So you have to let them stay.

And the judge would say to me, Can you prove that uh that your tenant has tried to kill the neighbors in the last 90 days?

And what you know, if the cops can't prove it, how am I gonna prove it?

You know, I'm not trying to put anybody in jail, I'm just trying to get these people apart.

So, and in conclusion, this law has the potential to create some real victims under the guise of protecting some imaginary victims.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, Michelle Munos.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Dimitri Arbanadaga, Michelle Manos of the Beaver Clan, the steward of this land here.

About evictions, we can talk about evictions.

I've been evicted all my life.

I'm 53 years old, dealing with genocide, active genocide.

Now I've been evicted from my own sovereign, the little piece of land that the government had gave us.

And um I have a home there I can't live on because due to my well-being, my safety, because of the takeover that the government did in 1996 with our sovereign nation.

My my safety, my my uh my haven, uh, my safe haven place where I grew up on a reservation.

So I came into the city here, and I'm living in a city, bouncing house to house, evicted here and there.

It was evicted last year, um, March.

So I've been houseless.

I've been I've been to Washington, D.C., I've been to the Capitol, the Vatican people, even the Vatican Depot, they all know me.

They all know who I am.

Purposefully overlooked.

I've been out here 10 years speaking up against these same issues that everybody's having now.

Welcome to the front lines, everybody, because this is what I've been dealing with having to deal with all my life.

Now I've had enough.

Now we're gonna start honoring our treaties.

That's what we're gonna start doing around here with these governments.

I'm here to enforce our treaties.

Now, I am the loudal title to all this land.

I possess the lodial title to all this land.

Okay, I just want to say this.

Treaties were not just words on paper, they were real promises made to last forever.

This historic ruling proved one powerful truth.

Native rights were never given up, they were only ignored.

Standing for standing up for treaty rights means standing up for the law for honesty, for the survival, honesty, history matters, justice matters, treaties, rights, native rights, honor the treaties.

So purposely being overlooked, that's done.

I've been out here 10 years, I've taken a lot of hits.

Look, my face, I've chunk of my face has been out.

Police attacked me.

I you name it from judges corrupt, I've got receipts.

I've got it all, all this genocide, and I've had enough.

Now we're gonna do something about this housing.

My situation at hand, that's what should be should be on top priority with the Syracuse housing.

And you know, um, this week we'll be on that, won't we?

Won't we?

You guys, do you guys gonna help out?

Forget about me.

All right, I like for you guys to make sure that I get we get some help, you know.

You guys are all on stolen land.

This is all sovereign, this is all uncidded stolen land.

So once you guys start honoring us, we can start getting some justice around here.

Um we are the power, you know.

The people are the power, you know.

You guys help to um represent us.

Is that right?

Yes, all right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, uh Dave Manzano.

Council, my name is Dave Manzano Sr.

I'm with the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors.

If you need an address, it's 5958 East Half Road, North Syracuse, New York.

We represent sellers, we represent buyers, and of course, we represent tenants also.

So we put to the question good cause eviction, is it good or is it bad for the city of Syracuse and all that we represent?

And the overall conclusion, well, good cause eviction is well uh intended and offers meaningful protections for current tenants.

It's more likely to be a net negative for the city of Syracuse unless paired with strong safeguards and complementary housing policies, and exactly what Joe Nastry and Don Rackie had mentioned earlier.

Syracuse housing stock in the housing market is shaped by aging housing stock, high percentages of small local landlords, and a long-standing shortage of quality affordable rental units.

Many rental properties are one to four unit buildings that require ongoing reinvestment.

Policies that increase risk or reduce flexibility can have outsized impacts on this environment.

Where good cause eviction does help, the risks, in our opinion outweigh the benefits.

Reduce rental housing supply as small landlords sell properties, convert units to owner-occupied housing, or exit the market entirely.

Declining investment and older housing stock is landlords delay, major repairs or capital improvements.

They can't rely on order recoup.

Higher barriers for new renters, including higher starting rents and stricter screening standards, and disappropriate effects on low-income households and slower new housing development as regulatory uncertainty discourages private investment and multi and rehabilitation products projects.

Short-term stability versus long-term outcomes.

In Syracuse, good cause eviction is more effective at protecting current tenants than improving the overall housing system.

The likely trade-off is reduced displacement for some households in short term, but fewer available units, higher rents, and declining housing quality over time.

These long-term effects can worsen affordability and access citywide.

A more effective plan to move forward is needed.

Many housing experts urge Syracuse would benefit more from policies that target bad actors.

In conclusion, we're here.

We're here to help, and we stand behind the council and getting it resolved.

I thank you.

Thank you.

I think it says Severo.

Good evening.

My name is Andrew Seavers, and I'm speaking tonight on behalf of New York State Tenant Block.

I am also a Syracuse resident, a taxpayer, and someone who moved here from Arizona, so my wife could take advantage of an engineering job at SRC.

We chose this city intentionally, and we're trying to build a life here.

I want to address two things we've heard repeatedly tonight from the landlords.

First, several landlords have said that they just heard about this legislation.

And with respect, that boggles my mind.

Good cause eviction has been debated statewide for years.

It passed at the state level in 2024, and municipal opt-in has been covered publicly and extensively.

Community groups have been organizing around this for months.

I lived in Arizona up until a year and a half ago, and even I knew all about good cause by the time I moved here.

In fact, I heard about it when I was still living in Arizona.

So frankly, it is hard to believe that professionals operating rental businesses in New York are only now discovering it.

This has not been hidden, this has not been rushed, it has been an open policy discussion.

Second, we keep hearing if this passes, the landlords will be forced to raise rents.

Sounds a lot like a threat to me.

Let's clarify what the law actually does.

Good cause does not cap initial rent.

It does not freeze rent.

It does not prevent reasonable increases tied to inflation.

It does not stop eviction for non-payment lease violations or nuisance behavior.

It says that if someone is going to lose their home, there must be a cause, a good cause.

And it prevents extreme increases that function as de facto eviction.

If landlords respond to baseline stability protections by immediately raising rents, then it is not an avoidable economic law that is the problem.

That is a choice, a choice that they are making.

And we should be honest, rents have been rising sharply across volatile markets without good cause in place.

Rents have been rising sharply across volatile markets without good cause in place.

The middle class renter, the teacher, the nurse, the city worker already lives one lease cycle away from upheaval.

They don't qualify for subsidies.

They don't own homes, they simply work and pay rent.

Good cause is about predictability.

Housing is not a speculative asset class.

It is where families sleep, where children do homework, where people recover from surgery, where workers wake up at 5 a.m.

to keep this city running.

Speaking for NYS tenant block, we believe balance means neither side holds unlimited leverage.

This isn't tenant versus landlord.

It's structure versus volatility.

And if Syracuse wants long-term growth, we should choose structure.

Let's get this done on Monday.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

Peter McCarthy.

Hi, I'm Peter McCarthy, I live on Cumberland Avenue near Sherman Park.

I've lived in Syracuse my whole life.

I've lived on the east side for 50 years.

I have been a tenant, a homeowner, a small landlord, a contractor for a short time years ago.

So I've run into many good and bad landlords.

What I've seen in my neighborhood of rents have increased exponentially over the last years.

When you're trying to rent properties to make part of your living, yeah, you're gonna have some problems.

For 45 years, I've rented two to three units, and I've seen some problems.

But you know what?

I've kept my rent low, I've kept the buildings in good shape, I've participated in the rental registry, and I did just fine.

Landlords do not have anything to complain about.

Years ago, I told this story outside, was working on a house for a very wealthy landlord who lived in the suburbs, like most of the big landlords do, and was talking to him about his business, and he said, you know, it's almost embarrassing how easy it is to make a lot of money doing this.

Now, I'm sure he had problems in his business.

Any business had problems.

I've worked in a number of businesses, and there's problems all over.

But I'd like to support the radical idea that property owners are not the only people that have any rights.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, Luz Marina Sender.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name's Lucy Zender.

Luce, L-U-Z, M-A-R-I-N-A, Zender, V-E-N-D-E-R.

Okay.

Anywho.

I've been listening to the to the realtor groups and stuff like that.

And the thing that struck in my mind was I had to write it down.

There are no imaginary victims.

I work at an organization, the Volunteer Lawyers Project, where I answer phone calls and do tenant rights clinics, and I hear story after stories.

74-year-old woman went to on vacation to visit family members, came back, her house was padlocked, wasn't able to get her items, landlord refused to let her get her things.

She's at the rescue mission, 74 years old.

Okay.

These are people who served our country, who fought for our country.

Like the gentleman said, this is a human right.

Okay.

I've been listening to about how there's shortages of housing, that there's going to be a shortage of housing.

There's shortage of housing now.

And the housing market is so volatile now, even without good cause.

I am grateful that they passed the 7D tenant dignity and safe housing act, the 7D.

I am grateful that they passed the 7D tenant dignity and safe housing act, the 7D, because I hear day in and day out about clients and look at pictures of rats, holes, water coming through the ceilings, children's clothes being eaten by mice and rats and all kinds of things.

So I understand, I understand from both sides, but it's fear that's driving you.

It's fear that is driving folks to not want to, you know, consider the good cause.

Just like they did with the 70 petition.

Okay.

That's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, uh, Mrs.

Uh Megan Stewart.

Megan Stewart.

Hi, everyone.

Uh Megan Stewart.

I live at 527 Robin Oak Road, and my office is at 580 South Salina Street.

Um, I've heard a lot tonight about the need for data, and I'm gonna talk about data because I have the pleasure of working at the Housing and Homeless Coalition of Central New York, where we house all of the data for our housing and homelessness programs.

And one thing I want to address tonight is what's happening now.

We survey everyone who's entering homeless prevention projects, some funded by the city, emergency shelters funded by the county, and housing programs of what has caused homelessness for the folks entering our emergency shelters.

That answer is either I was doubled up with friends or family, or it's eviction.

They're always swapping between the two top reasons people end up homeless.

And I want to talk about without good evict good cause eviction, what's happening now in our homelessness response system through federal funding, funneled through the city, through the county, directly to nonprofits, we're able to house 15% of the people in homelessness response programming.

That is not enough people to match the inflow of folks that are entering our system.

Prior to COVID, we were decreasing homelessness as a community year over year because housing was affordable.

Housing is no longer affordable.

It's no coincidence that homelessness has doubled, doubled since 2020.

We saw our lowest year of homelessness in 2021, when the eviction moratorium did exist.

And good cause is a tool.

It will not solve homelessness, but we need it to be able to help stabilize a population that is extremely vulnerable that need this.

Um just a couple more data points because I love data.

Uh, I think people think of the homeless population as a stagnant group that you might see outside.

And the truth is that 65% of the people who found themselves homeless last year had never found themselves homeless before.

This is not a group of the same individuals year after year.

These are tenants that lose their housing that need protection.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Janice McKenna, and I live at 110 South Lowell Avenue.

I'm here on behalf of the board of directors of the Tipperary Hill Neighborhood Association.

Now I heard somebody talk about the fact that you can't believe that somebody didn't know about this.

Well, of course, we knew what was happening in New York State, but unless it impacts us in the city of Syracuse, we don't necessarily pay all that much attention.

All the neighborhood associations around here have their finger on the pulse of what's happening here, and no one I have spoken to knew that this was coming to vote.

We didn't even, you know, I actually I went to the mayor's state of the city, and when she said we will pass uh good cause, I'm like, what the heck is she talking about?

I didn't even know.

And we know things, so there is a lack of communication coming out of this chamber.

Okay.

Um you have been discussing it among yourselves.

You are not communicating to the public.

You may be meeting with tenant associations, you may be meeting with other people, but you're not telling the people.

And this issue impacts more than just tenants and landlords.

It impacts everybody.

Because if there is a bad apple on your block, it doesn't matter if they're two doors down or three doors down, it's going to be terrible.

And we all learned that during COVID.

You know, because there was a moratorium on evictions.

So I felt sorry for some of my neighbors who had to deal with really poor renters.

Um every neighborhood association and TNT in the city should have received details about this legislation.

That's my opinion.

We know when there's a particle deviation in our water supply, you know, we all know about it.

We all get that mailing, but we knew nothing about good cause eviction.

It just came on your, you know, all of a sudden, it's important to pass this now.

Not really sure why.

It's important to let the people in your city know what you're doing.

You want to be transparent, that would be transparency.

Now it's being rushed to the table.

Our new common counselor didn't even have, you know, she's barely introducing herself to all of us.

She didn't have time or the opportunity to get in front of our neighborhood association to say, this is what's going on.

She had time to do a few little meetings here and there, but there wasn't an opportunity.

And that's that's just not good.

We are not denying that there are bad landlords out there, okay.

But one thing we believe, if we cannot enforce laws that are currently on the books and are not able to provide for code enforcement officers to proactively address houses with obvious code violations.

How will a new law change that?

Who will enforce it?

It's gonna be a state law on that.

Take longer.

What we believe is that the good landlords, and there are a lot of them here tonight, will abide by the law, and the bad landlords will continue to ignore the law.

Who wins?

Okay.

Thank you.

Um, aka mayors.

Thank you.

Next speaker, aka mayors.

Thank you.

Uh A.K.

Myers, 560 Allen Street.

I live in the Westcott neighborhood.

Yes, AK Myers, M Y E R S.

I live at 560 Allen.

I'm here today.

I'm here today representing the housing justice for all or New York State tenant block.

I am one of the invisible victims, so to speak, as uh previously mentioned.

Um if good cause is not passed immediately, I am one of the people that will be at risk of being homeless.

I have been looking for new housing for about a year now, and it's there isn't affordable housing.

I need to be able to stay in my home.

I faced discrimination with my landlord.

I've been with them for five years, and it's been an uphill, it's been an uphill battle just to get basic repairs done.

And there's always threat in the communication with the property manager about well, this is gonna cost a lot of money.

It's gonna cost you a lot of money.

And we are already paying more than 70%.

I live with 10 people.

We are already paying more than 70% of our incomes just to live there, and there isn't, and and we live pretty inexpensively.

I've heard there wasn't uh data cycled around.

Uh Alex Marion did put out data.

It is publicly available data.

I printed this last year, a PDF that was online, it's publicly available, and it talks about all the other places around New York State that have passed good cause.

And of course, there's some bias lean to it, but there's also sources.

So if you don't feel like you want to hear his opinion specifically on it, you can go through and look at the sources.

He cites all of his sources.

This has been a discussion.

This has been publicly debated, like they said before, before me.

This has been publicly debated for years now.

It's been out in the open.

If you haven't heard about it, you haven't been educating yourself, you haven't been looking into it.

Um we need to pass good cause immediately because it will prevent evictions immediately.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, Hassan Bloodworth.

Hassan.

Oh, there you are.

Good evening, everyone.

Good evening, counselors, council president.

I know when you see me here today, you're wondering why am I here?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

Oftentimes, when you see me, it's because I'm speaking for those that don't have a voice or cannot stand alone to speak the truth or their truth.

I'll get straight to the point.

I urge and I implore you to pass good cause so that housing equity and quality and equality is once again restored here in Syracuse.

Most importantly, I want to point to some real important facts.

This law without question protects both tenants and landlords respectfully.

Although most landlords won't agree, it's a burden on them when they have to fix or repair rental properties or when rent goes unpaid or it's late.

It's equally a burden on tenants that face frequent rent hikes and absentee landlords who have to um you have to bring into court and call codes to get them to repair things, not to mention lead problem that's often covered up by new paint, which doesn't eliminate the problem.

That brings me to my conclusion.

I want everybody in the room to focus on this shirt.

On the shirt, this is a two-year-old child, a two-year-old baby girl that was killed by negligence from a landlord.

Lead poisoning that code enforcement knew about.

A two-year-old child.

This could be any one of our child.

Her name's Baby McKenzie, if you didn't know.

Baby McKenzie lives mattered, and passing good cause of eviction should matter to everyone in this room, especially those representing us.

Baby McKenzie is not the first, and she will not be the last.

Thank you for giving me this time, and hopefully, baby McKinsey's happy with what I said.

Thank you.

I was gonna use my notes because I thought there would be some dignity and humanity going on, but all I hear is complaining on how things will go worse if we pass this law.

We live in a country where things are getting worse and worse for people that are living in this city.

People that call this city home since for a long time.

Since 2020, since COVID, inflation has gone up, but wages has not kept up.

Rent has gone up, but wages has not kept up.

When people are being almost 60% of their salary to either rent or national grid for electricity, and they have a little leftover for healthy food, they should be a big concern for everybody in this room and everybody that's not here.

When you look around in this room right now, all I see is landlords that are complaining about how if this goes through, tenants will either be impacted in the wrong way, but where are the tenants?

Because some of them are either working right now and or out of work and they are too tired to be here, or some of them are scared to be retaliated again if they speak up.

When we as a nation, everybody's worried about what's gonna be on their pocket.

Even our federal government, the first thing that comes out to their mind is the DAO is 5,000.

There should be a huge concern for anyone that here or not here, because what is the point if we are living day to day Bay Chuck where if we miss rent this month, then next month, you will be homeless.

What is the point of inflation being 80% by our wages has not gone up?

Now it it probably went well if if if we do the calculation, it probably went down minus 30%.

How can them people be asked to survive?

So I am urging everybody in this city council, everyone in that's not even here that we need a cost like this so we can protect each other.

We need we need to have something in place.

I know the landlords are feeling this is gonna suppress them or but if everything is based on profits, a lot of people are being left behind.

Kids are not getting healthy food as it is.

What do we expect?

I don't know how to explain to anyone how rent was 1,000 five years ago, and now it's $2,000 for some people.

How do we explain that kind of hike in this economy when they kept always all we see right now is us and people like me suffering from this economy but being the scapegoat?

We need to change that, and we need a law like this.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Uh, our next speaker is Josh Jones.

Hello, uh, 348 Douglas Street.

In 2007, I bought a regular two-family house.

That house needed a roof.

It cost me $7,500 to put that roof on, and the average low income wage was $31,000.

Last year I got a quote for that roof again.

That roof now costs $20,000.

The average income for low wage now is only $36,000.

We have a wage stagnation problem.

This law does nothing to help low wages.

It does nothing to help people afford the rents or the grocery store or insurance or health care or anything.

In fact, this law doesn't help do anything that you're promising it will do.

Because it's a one-size-fits-all approach.

And we don't run our lives that way at home.

So if we have a water heater that breaks, if we have a roof that leaks, if we have an electrical problem, we don't call landscaper because they're gonna fix it all.

We look at each individual problem, and we come up with a solution for each individual problem, and that's how we can fix our housing problems here in Syracuse.

Is we gotta look at each individual problem and address it accordingly.

And that's what I wanted to leave you with.

Is that this is not the answer.

In fact, it exacerbates the problem because in Rochester they adapted to this, homeless is up.

This didn't solve their homeless problem.

In New York City is destabilizing their real estate market because investors are leaving.

It was so bad that they had to add amendments to this law to curve what it was doing.

I want you to consider that.

This is not the way forward.

This is not the way to fix the problems.

And we all know there's bad landlords, that's not a surprise.

Good landlords, bad landlords are our enemy too.

They bring down the property values.

You walk drive through any city, any any neighborhood in the city, and you see dilapidated houses.

This law doesn't fix that.

It has nothing to do, it won't.

So I want you to consider that and and stop this bill on Monday and let us help you.

We are the professionals in this industry.

We can help you brainstorm, make a round table, and come up with solutions item by item the way we do at home.

Thank you.

Um thank you.

Let's see, we have Latisha County.

Is that you?

Latiz account.

Okay.

Yes.

This is our first time.

And I am saying I am moved by all you people.

It's time for us to get it together.

This is Syracuse.

This is our city.

We need to put this money together and do it for our city.

Okay.

I've been living in this building for 10 years.

Never miss the rent.

They don't want to do nothing.

You go and you try to be civil with them.

They want bully you.

It's a bad side of me.

You come at me like that.

It's gonna be a problem.

And I'm here standing for 45 people that live in my building that wanted to be here but couldn't because they're afraid.

I think they don't have nowhere to go.

You're not fixing nothing.

I want y'all to come to my building.

Come where I live at.

Okay.

Come on, we gotta get it together.

We all deserve good.

And I'm tired of it.

10 years I've been calling tenants, Syracuse Grader.

I didn't know.

I seen y'all on the news.

I said I'm gonna be there, or I'm gonna be square.

And I'm here.

It's time for us to come together.

You, all of us.

We need to come together.

I'm tired.

I'm tired.

I'm seeing people suffer.

I'm tired.

Let's come together.

So Lucas, what I think.

All right, we're gonna give this a shot.

It's Lucas Lagirigi, or Lagidi say, or thank you.

Thank you, everyone for being here tonight.

Thank you, council members.

Um, I just wanted to say I've been a Sarah.

My name is Lucas Lesige.

I live in Liverpool area currently.

I organize with the Party for Socialism Liberation here in Syracuse.

Um I just wanted to say I've lived in Syracuse for three years now, and every single year since I have moved into my apartment.

I have constantly every year had rent increases.

This last year alone, I was paying a separate bill for my sewage that was roughly 25 to 30 dollars a month.

They then removed that bill and made it part of my ongoing rent and increased it to 50 dollars.

So, and that in my opinion is unjustifiable.

And like many said before, housing, in my opinion as well, is a human right.

People have deserve to have access to housing, and people should not be able to monopolize housing and keep it from other people.

I don't think that it is right that we continually see these price increases year over year.

It is unjustifiable, and it is only making landlords wealthier and wealthier while the people suffer.

And I hope that you will consider to pass this legislation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, our next speaker, Deka Saman.

Listen.

Deka.

Oh, hey, Deka.

Good evening.

My name is Deka Eisman.

I'm a resident in the city of Syracuse.

I just want to come straight out the gate and say I'm urging y'all to pass this bill for people.

Um, the first thing I want to point out is the only person, the only people that have come up here and have opposed this so far has been landlords.

When renters represent 61% of all the people in the city of Syracuse.

I also am hearing that there's no data.

Well, let me present you with one very important number that I think should trump everything else when you consider if you should vote for this or not.

Is the astronomical rent increases.

We know there's data out there that says that the rent in Syracuse raised on average over 22% in 2024.

And we also know that over 30% of residents here live in poverty.

That doesn't add up.

Those two things cannot coexist.

They don't coincide.

Further, I'm also hearing, I'm hearing from landlords, and I feel for them that the process for evicting people currently is lengthy and it's expensive for them.

So their workaround is to not renew leases, and that's the way for them to provide some relief, right?

Um and while I do feel for them, the problem with that is this is also being done for people who are reporting people for coal violations, for people who dare to speak up, for people who dare to ask for fares.

That is creating a market where people are forced to live in substandard housing that is increasingly unaffordable.

In a city with this level of poverty, y'all have a responsibility to do something to regulate these rents.

Tenants cannot continue to be the scapegoats for inefficiencies in the system.

I hear landlords really I do, but we sitting up here listening to somebody in a pink Fendi polo asking us to wait 30, 60, 90 days to explore this further while families are being put out on a street, while we have the sharpest increase in family homelessness that we've seen in a long time due to this inaffordability.

We want to talk about New York City and Rochester and Binghamton.

Their rent is not going up like this because they don't have a micron coming.

They also don't have the level of childhood poverty that we have.

So I say all that to say I hear that these these issues are the issues are great.

There's much more that needs to be done than doing this.

No policy is perfect, but what we can no longer accept is this is not perfect.

So let's delay even further until we find something that is because we all know that there is no policy solution, has never been, that can solve a complex issue in its own.

So that's not a good excuse to continue to kick the can down the road on this.

Please vote yes.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Okay.

And um, I'm known as GKM in many circles.

My name is Genghis Khaled Mohammed, and I'm an independent public advocate.

But something very interesting I hit me in my mind as all this was going on, and it is the um 14th amendment.

And I just would like to read something to remind all of us of what this is, you know, in the 14th amendment about the constitution or the bill of rights.

And uh this is this is really something very struck me very interesting, you know.

The 14th Amendment.

Okay, so what it says here is due process clause, what the 14th Amendment is about.

Prohibits states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

And then it also says equal protection clause and ensures that no state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of the laws.

So having cited that from the 14th Amendment, good cause eviction actually is in accord with the Constitution of the United States of America.

And uh so having had read that, you all heard it.

Go look it up again.

But I want to say that we want to have a lot bilateral condition.

When you're saying about good landlords and bad landlords, good tenants and bad tenants, we know that they're good people and bad people in every situation.

However, good cause eviction is not about um trying to hurt or punish the uh landlords, it's about putting a checks and balance in the system so that we don't go haywire and then we begin to oppress people and have no restrictions, no accountability, no accountability on what we do.

No, good cause eviction means that you just cannot do what you want when you want to put people out because you don't like them, etc.

For instance, I could be in your apartment and you don't like me.

You want to kick me out now, I'm homeless because you kick me out because you don't like me.

Good cause eviction said you must come up with a good core.

Girl, I'm against drugs and all that, and I'm against all that kind of thing that you're talking about.

We all are of decent people, do not want bad people in our building.

There's a place for them if they don't want to conform to the law.

But good cause eviction is not about taking away any rights from the landlord, but is about balancing the situation between landlords and tenants.

So please vote good cause eviction up, up, up, up, all the way, unanimously.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, Ali Alicia Gutierrez.

My name is Alisa Gutierrez.

I am originally from New York City.

I moved to Syracuse in 2017 to go to OCC.

I moved into Knob Hill Apartments in June of 2018.

I'm sure everyone knows what Knob Hill apartments are.

They have been in the news and they're being currently sued by the city.

When I moved in in June 2018, my rent was $645.

I was living with my partner at the time.

So me and her were splitting the rent.

And you know, even though we both had part-time jobs, we were making it.

Then COVID hit, and we noticed that the rents kept going up and up and up.

Now I am paying $1,138.

And that is of currently.

And now I am single.

I am having to pay that by myself.

I am currently working two part-time jobs, one of which is very consistent, inconsistent with my hours.

So some weeks I might be working 40 hours, some weeks I might only be working 25.

And that is between two part-time jobs.

And I am struggling to make ends meet.

So yeah, maybe I can pay the rent.

But then that does not come to cost with gas, food, electricity, which is between, you know, for like 40 right now, and it's gonna go up to at least 100 during the summer.

Um I'm facing issues with, you know, my heat not having, you know, not working in my bedroom.

Uh trash piles up.

I had roaches for over a year that knobhill did not fix.

Um, and I just think it's interesting that the only people who have been opposing this are the ones wearing the nice suits.

They do not care about what the average person like me is going through.

They only care about property values, about you know, how much it's gonna hurt their bottom line, but they don't care that I might not be able to eat today.

So please, you know, with good conscience, you have to vote for good cause because at least it will give people like me a fighting chance to, and it's a way to balance the scales, because so far landlords and the amalgamous faceless corporations that have been buying out properties throughout America, rather, you know, not so much power that they usually you know are used to.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, Paul Bolinski.

So I do uh represent quite a few investors in the circus area, and some of them are big investors with a lot of properties, and some of them are smaller investors that might only have one property.

Um they're very middle class people, you know, and they're paying the taxes no matter what the situation is.

I have for a lot of friends who rent as well.

So there is a reasonable, we there's a middle ground with this stuff, and we have to keep be reasonable about it.

Um the small investors might be struggling, and there's situations where we have some tenants that intentionally cause damage and they make they're good at not paying rent, and it might, in certain situations, take a long time to get them out if they don't let us in to make repairs.

A small investor still has to pay those taxes, and they are struggling to put food in their mouth at the same time.

And I know that sounds strange, but it's not every investor has a lot of money.

Um, I I do feel for people that are living paycheck to paycheck.

Obviously, we're trying to help people out, and affordable housing is a big issue.

Um, and that's something that we need to work on.

Um, and so that's where why we need to have a good uh this is something that's good to talk about, and we need to come to a middle ground here.

So I believe that it is a positive thing for good investors to bring money to the area.

They're helping to fix these properties up and get them up to code.

A lot of these properties do need um, they need a lot of work.

If you uh if you if the it's if there's people that are in the house and the house needs to have all this lead remediation done and a lot of work, it can be very difficult, especially when cigarette smoke has lead in it, dirt from outside has lead in it, and these old houses have a lot of lead in them.

To it's not a small task to bring them up to code.

So obviously, that's a huge issue for us, and that's something that is a top priority, but we need to keep it, you know.

We need to keep be reasonable about this, sir.

Um I've had uh I've had tenants that kick doors in half just to so codes wouldn't pass a rental registry, because I thought that would get them to stay in there longer.

So I mean, this that's the exception of the rule, but it does things like that do happen.

Some people will so just to kind of have a both sides of the picture here.

Um for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction.

Um, a lot of these laws that are intended to help renters, they make things more expensive on the other side, and indirectly it I think it backfires on the tenants sometimes.

And that's it can cause the rents to go up.

Um, because these are investors, they're here to make money, and not that they should be making a killing.

Some people are and some people aren't.

But um, you gotta have it reasonable to where they can um I mean, they have to be able to make a profit.

And um, yeah, as far as the uh the rents going up a lot, they have been going up a lot.

Um property values are going up a lot, um, taxes are going up and the cost of living is going up.

So this is an issue that we do need to talk about.

We need to have real answers to it.

Good cause eviction.

Um they need to, it needs to be reasonable to be able to prove that there is good cause.

Um, it shouldn't be something that makes it so a landlord can't evict somebody for a year because of, you know, because there's people that know how to play the game properly.

So we need to have reasonable reasonable.

Um affordable housing, that's a huge issue, obviously.

Um, as the expenses for landlord goes up, that's affordable housing is going to be affected.

Landlords should be held to a higher standard.

They should be able to uh they they should be held to keep the properties up to a certain standard.

Now I do represent a lot of people, and I won't represent people that aren't going to put money into the houses.

They have to keep the houses up to a certain standard.

And if they are coming in with a with the attitude that they just want to make the money.

Okay.

We need to, yeah, thank you.

Yep, thank you.

Oh, what's in future?

Oh.

All right, next speaker, Leona Mao.

Yes.

Hi, that's Kona Mahu.

Thank you.

Good evening, counselors and members of our community.

I live at 111 Lafayette Road, otherwise known as Knob Hill.

I am a renter by choice.

I grew up in rental properties.

I have two master's degrees.

I'm working on a doctorate.

I don't have time to take care of a house.

I live with my son, I help raise my grandkids.

And so some of us choose to rent because property upkeep is really, really tough.

Knob Hill, many of us are living with ongoing serious maintenance issues, heat, heating instability, plumbing failures, garbage that hasn't been picked up in three weeks, broken and uncertified elevators, broken doors, excessive, unresolved code violations.

These are not cosmetic complaints.

These are unconscionable habitability issues.

At the very same time, we're watching vacant units being fully renovated, new flooring, new appliances, cosmetic upgrades, and then leased at significantly higher rates.

Renovation is not wrong.

Investment in property is not wrong.

I'm a former real estate agent from Atlanta, Georgia.

I know the value of property investment.

What is wrong is when the resources that could repair unsafe conditions for existing tenants are instead prioritized for upgrading empty units to attract higher paying tenants.

When current residents are living with open code violations while new units are being marketed as updated and premium, it creates a two-tier housing system.

And when leases are not renewed or rents are raised beyond what long-term tenants can afford, renovation becomes something else.

It becomes a quiet displacement strategy.

Tenants are pressured out, units are upgraded, rents go up.

Good cause eviction legislation provides a necessary structural correction by requiring landlords to demonstrate legitimate cause for eviction or non-renewal.

It prevents lease expiration from being used as a revolving door for profit.

By protecting tenants from unconscionable rent increases, it prevents economic eviction disguised as market adjustment.

And critically, landlords with open code violations should not be able to lease new apartments anywhere on the property while existing violations remain unresolved.

That is unconscionable, unethical, and potentially fraud.

That is the sure cure.

That is a sure cure to this ongoing cycle.

Let me repeat myself.

Landlords with open code violations should not be able to lease new apartments anywhere on the property.

If a property is not safe for current tenants, it should not be marketed to new ones.

I encourage you, counselors, to think carefully about this legislation legislation.

Good landlords who follow the law and protect tenants who also follow the law will benefit from this legislation.

Greedy landlords who want to perpetuate the growing trend of unsustainable practices need to be kept in check.

Please vote yes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be Marshall.

See what?

Marsha.

Oh, there she goes.

No.

Do we have Marshall in the room?

Marshall going once.

Okay.

I should go on right.

Yes, next.

Okay.

Our next speaker, um, Stacey Bailey.

Good afternoon, Council.

Stacey Bailey, 1134 Lemoyne Avenue.

Um, I'm representing the middleman, middle middle America, the ones that nobody's talking about.

I hear talk from the tenants who are in mostly knobhill subsidized housing.

I hear landlords talking, but I don't hear anybody talking about the middle people, the people who don't qualify for assistance, who don't have the wealth to cushion them, the working people, the working renters, the teachers, the nurses, the city employees, the retirees who are on a fixed income, and the small landlords.

They feel the shift.

We feel a shift.

Nearly 1,900 evictions in New York State.

In our county, 4,000 families a year enter housing court.

That's not sure.

That's a church.

That's not rare.

That's a churn.

In Syracuse, filings rise rose 62 in 2022, 125 in 2023, then dip to 100 in 2024.

That tells us something important.

We are not in collapse.

We are not in housing harmony.

We are in tension.

Average rent in Syracuse is around 1,700 and 700 a month and going up roughly seven to six percent, five to six percent every year.

Not massive spikes like prior years, but still rising.

And when something keeps rising, even slowly, it compounds.

Tenants feel it in their monthly budgets, landlords feel it in rising insurance, taxes, maintenance, and compliance.

But both sides are operating under pressure.

So when we talk about balance, we must talk about tenant and landlord balance.

Tenants need protection from arbitrary displacement and not extreme increases.

Landlords need predictability, clear standards, and support that operate responsibility.

If tenants live in constant fear of non-renewal, that's not stability.

That's instability at its highest.

If landlords operate under constant uncertainty and rising mandates without support, that's instability as well.

Balance means neither side holds the leverage.

Balance means neither side absorbs the risk.

Balance needs structure, mediation, short-term hardship funds, support for responsible landlords maintaining safe housing, strong enforcement of all these things.

We're managing volatility.

Thank you.

And for our last speaker, we don't have any more.

Okay.

Um sound good.

Well, hold on, let me uh Alexander Marion.

Good evening, counselors.

My name's Alexander Marion.

I live at 190 Robinow Road in the Strathmore neighborhood, and my place of business is 233 East Washington Street, up on the fourth floor, right here at City Hall.

I'm the Syracuse City Auditor.

I am so proud to be here tonight and so proud to be joined by tenants and advocates from across the city who know that now is the time we need to pass good cause eviction.

I've heard a lot tonight, and I don't want to fall into the politician trap of everything has been said, but not yet by everybody.

So I don't want to get too into the weeds on data.

If you're looking for data, I published a report on it uh two years ago, put out this great fact sheet that's available.

I can make more copies for anyone who needs it.

You know, I don't want to get into the vague threats we've heard to tenants.

Nice rent you got there.

It'd be a shame if it went up.

Don't want to get into that tonight.

I don't even want to get into the uh really classy note that a landlord left for the staff out in front to give to me, which uh thank you to whoever did this.

This will be framed in my office tomorrow.

You know, here's what I really want to talk about tonight.

This is about who we are as a city.

When I was elected city auditor, it was on a two-part mission.

Number one, to make sure we get value for our limited resources.

But number two, it's to make sure we stay true to the values of who we are as a city.

Who are we as a city?

We are a city that has stood up for our marginalized community.

We are the city that led the way on the underground railroad.

We are the city that had the Jerry Rescue.

We are the city that has sheltered our undocumented neighbors and our immigrant and refugee neighbors for generations as they have come to this country.

We are the city where when President Roosevelt signed the executive order on this day in history, in fact, to send Japanese Americans to internment camps that was Syracuse University that still welcomed Japanese students.

This is a city that has always stood up for justice and stood up for what is right.

So now, tonight I am asking you, joined by advocates for our tenants, to stand up for what is right, to do the right thing, and make sure people in this community are heard.

The 61% of Syracusans who are tenants, the 45% of currently homeless people who have experienced evictions and housing instability in their lives.

We need to pass good cause eviction.

We need to pass it on Monday.

We can wait no longer to do the right thing.

You know what the right thing to do is.

This is the right thing to do for this city.

We need to stand up and do the right thing in the spirit of justice, in the spirit of the history of the city of Syracuse and who we are.

Let's do this now and let's do the right thing for our community.

Thank you.

Yes, please do.

Yes.

Pardon me, I'm nervous.

My name is David Lockell.

We have a bunch of doors in Syracuse.

Um, just a few topics.

Um, one of our tenants, we've had 26 years, raised her three times in that amount.

We now have to raise her again because the city of Syracuse raised our assessment 20%.

But I will only raise it the amount that it's gonna cost me.

So that just gives you an indication of how we deal with um tenants.

Um my son's house, he had passed rental registry uh February, correct?

And in March, the tenant brought them to 70 court, and that ended up costing them 25,000 for bogus repairs.

You have a serious problem with the courts in Syracuse.

Um, you have three, I'm not gonna say bad, but not the best judges.

They're not following the law.

Um, we're right now in a case with the CJC against one of them.

Um let's see.

I would be willing to lower the rents on my houses.

The landlord's gonna hate me, but 200,000 for a three-bedroom, if this council would pay for the extra expenses and the lost rent that we get, which for him was 25,000 on one case this year.

So it's we gotta have accountability for tenants as well as for landlords, and a lot of them are good.

And we keep we keep tenants that are good.

That's why um let's see.

Oh, if you're gonna pass good cause, please put specific reasons in there, not just vague reasons that the judges can go, well, whatever, we like them better than them.

A reason, for instance, if I raise my tenants' rent eight percent, which is the maximum amount, they also have to pay eight percent more in security deposit.

But if they do not pay that, is that a good cause?

That needs to be written down so the judges know how to follow these things.

Right.

The same thing with all the reasons.

You know, if the police have to go there three times in a month, is that a good cause?

Well, you guys aren't defining that, and that's very important, so that we can get the bad ones out.

We don't want bad tenants.

We don't want bad landlords.

Your problem here is you're not being able to go after the bad landlords, like um, what was the name of them?

Nowville, thank you.

Because they still do the same things.

How can we shut them down so the rest of us can make nice houses for good people and keep the rents low?

Yeah, we we don't want to change our screening.

I used to let people in, a girl with her son, they've never rented before.

We let them in.

Now, Scott lost 25,000 because the courts don't follow the laws.

So we're gonna have to screen more.

So now you're gonna need a 680 credit score.

You're gonna need to be at your job for three years.

You're gonna have to make three times.

I don't want to do that to people.

I want to give them a chance.

But sometimes when they move out, they cost 10,000 to fix that apartment.

Plus the eight months of rent I just lost.

So how are we to keep the affordability if you guys don't help us to help them?

Thank you.

Thank you.

We have one last card.

Um wait, hold on, I need my glasses for these.

Peter.

I don't I can't understand the last name, but uh Peter Long.

Long King.

Peter Peter Peter.

Peter King, I think it is.

Peter King.

Okay.

Yeah, that's good.

Okay.

Good evening, uh, common counsel, and ladies and gentlemen.

I actually wasn't going to speak, but um, I'm hearing a lot of um interesting conversation here, and it sounds like there may actually be a lot of goodwill towards solving a lot of the problems that um are bringing up good cause as as an issue.

Um I will divulge, I am a tenant.

I will also divulge, I know of uh certain conditions uh close to where I live.

I'll say where um there are there are dilapid not dilapidated, but housing in need of a lot of TLC, and yes, the rents are low currently, and and uh but there may not be, for example, insulation.

Um and it's you know, there might be problems with uh with the energy code of New York State, and I don't know how many how much that is replicated citywide.

So I understand that this is a two-sided issue.

Um I believe that given the volatility of the current market and so on, uh, I think that there's there's really enough reason to pass good cause as it stands now to to just inject some um some kind of stabilizing influence.

Uh we if if if you're government, you're not you're not gonna get along very well if you by your actions promote uh displacement.

Um that said, I mean, sure, we we need a we need a rescue plan for the housing in the city.

Um that could that could evolve from um transit-oriented development, who knows?

Transportation is a huge issue.

Um and there's there's ways to do all this.

You can get funding from from New York State to resolve some of the energy issues, etc.

Um, but it but the the it's it this would all work better with uh some kind of stabilizing influence.

So I think good cause is a great start.

Thank you.

I'll stop there.

Thank you, Mr.

King.

Is there a Jen Nestry in the room?

Sorry, we didn't get your car, Jan.

Thank you.

Oh, we did.

That was our earlier.

I'm sorry.

I didn't know if I should have written a little story here, or just kind of spoke from my heart, but I gotta do a little combination of both, I think.

Good afternoon, President and members of the common council.

First, let me say that I'm not against the concept of good cause legislation.

I'm here as a housing provider, a broker, and a stakeholder in this city who wants policy that works for everyone.

My name is Jan Nastry, and I own a Keller Williams Realty, where we sell residential and commercial real estate.

And I also own Nastry Real Estate, which owns and manages multiple properties throughout our community.

Before adopting legislation of this magnitude, we need a clear, measurable evidence that it strengthens housing stability without discouraging private investment.

Our city desperately needs.

At its core, this is a supply side issue.

If we reduce incentives to invest, improve and expand housing, we risk slowing revitalization rather than accelerating it.

I respectfully suggest forming a task force that includes tenant advocates, landlord representatives, and city leadership, and members of the legal and housing courts.

Housing community.

Let's bring all sides to the table and craft a solution grounded in real world experience.

I know good cause has been adopted in other cities in hopes that it'll work.

But where I come from, hope is not a strategy.

It just isn't.

You know, our national leaders continually seem to pit one group against the other.

And I know we here are bigger than that.

Let's not pit one group against the other.

The goal should never be tenants versus landlords.

When policy creates division, the city ultimately absorbs the consequences.

If this legislation is passed in its current form, and at this time, we must honestly ask is it truly a win-win, or is it perceived rightfully or wrongly as a win-lose.

If even one major stakeholder feels they are losing, we risk discouraging investment, slowing housing improvements, and creating unintended consequences that harm the very people we're trying to protect.

I would challenge our leadership to be bold, not simply follow cities like Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and create a model that reflects the unique needs of our community.

Our goal should be that tennis must tenants must win, landlords must win, and our city must win.

Win-win or no deal.

End of story.

Thank you.

Thank you, everybody, for attending.

We have closing remarks from our counselors.

I just would like to say um thank you for all everyone that spoke today.

Your voices were heard.

Um, and I really appreciate it.

I appreciate the respect, everyone's passion coming to speak, because that's how we get things done in this beautiful community.

Syracuse is phenomenal.

Um, and I believe, and my biggest heart, if we work together, there's nothing we can't do.

And I believe that's gonna be the the bottom line when we come together, and I'm hearing that, and I hope that's what the direction we can move into coming together so that we all can win, and we all can be in a city where we just loving each other.

But thank you for the passionate of everyone, tenants, landlords, the community, because we are uh a vital community that is just amazing, and I thank you for coming out tonight.

This together.

Oh, now you guys are in trouble.

You're lucky if I don't start to sing.

I would like to thank Councilor Jones Rousser for putting this together.

I would like to thank all of you for reaching out and making your voices heard.

I believe that your advocacy is incredibly important, as Councillor Caldwell said.

Thank you for tonight.

We look forward to being in discussion and dialogue, continuing on tenants' issues and landlord issues, making sure that our housing supply is truly worthy of the people of Syracuse.

Thank you.

Okay, well, thank you for coming.

And like my colleagues are saying.

I'm sorry, Marty.

Marty, do you do you want to have something to read?

Oh, I'm sorry.

Yes, that's right.

You have something you want to read.

I'm going to read this as well on behalf of a constituent.

Good evening, members of the council.

My name is Dominic Cicerelli, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak.

I'm here as a local business owner, a landlord, property manager, and also as a tenant in downtown Syracuse.

I see this issue from every angle, and I'm here to respectfully voice my opposition to good cause eviction.

New York State already has strong tenant protections.

We have fair housing laws.

We have rental registries and third party lead paint testing requirements.

We have strict eviction procedures that require five-day notice, a 14-day notice, service requirements like nail and mail, court appearances, and even after judgment for evictions.

Tenants may have 30, 60, 90 days more, depending on how long they've lived here to vacate on top of their press as well.

That is already a long and serious legal process.

Good cause eviction is another layer that makes it even harder for housing providers to operate, and that matters because rental housing is not a charity system, it is a business, just like any other business in New York State.

Landlords deal with rising costs every single year.

Property taxes, insurance premiums, utilities, repairs, legal fees, and varying real cost evictions when tenants do not pay.

Mortgage companies do not pause payments because the tenants stop paying.

Insurance companies don't lower premiums because their units have vacant during the court process process.

Contractors don't discount materials because rent was frozen.

The financial pressure stays on the property owner the entire time.

When we make it harder to adjust rents to reflect real operating costs or harder to remove problem tendencies, we don't create more housing stability.

We create fewer willing housing providers.

Small landlords sell, investors go elsewhere, maintenance gets deferred, housing quality goes down, and supply shrinks.

And when supply shrinks, prices rise, that's basic supply and demand.

Renting is an option in the marketplace, just like buying a home is.

Tenants ultimately influence the market by what they're willing and able to pay.

Government policy cannot override basic economics without consequences.

We absolutely should protect people from discrimination on unsafe housing, and we already have laws to do that.

But policy should also hold people accountable.

Someone signs a lease, they have responsibility to pay their rent, just like landlords have responsibility to provide capital habitable housing.

I urge the council to consider the long-term impact on housing supplies, small property owners, and the overall health of our local housing market for adopting good cause eviction.

I leave you today with this.

Good policy should create balance, not shift all the risk to one side.

When housing providers can't operate sustainability, they leave, and when supply leaves, affordability leaves with it.

And I'm also going to read another letter from another person.

Dear city counselors, we hope this letter finds you well.

We are writing to you representing more than 35,000 union members and advocates for the rights and well-being of workers and their families in our community.

We urge you to support the implementation of good cause housing regulations to ensure stability and fairness for renters throughout the city.

As you know, housing is a fundamental human right.

In this recent years, we have witnessed a troubling trend of rising rents and increasing evictions, which disproportionately affect low and middle income families.

Syracuse is quickly becoming one of the most unaffordable places to live in the United States.

Homelessness has increased over 40%.

Rents in Syracuse are more than 22% year over year.

In courts, two-thirds of eviction cases results in warrants to throw people, families with children onto the streets or into shelters.

In the next day, the Syracuse are expected to undergo major economic population change as a product of billions of dollars investment.

Without strong policies, protected against displacement and speculation, the affordable housing prices will get worse.

Good cause housing regulations are therefore essential to protect tenants from arbitrary evictions and to promote stability in our neighborhoods.

These regulations would establish clear criteria for eviction, showing that tenants cannot be removed from their homes without just cause.

This not only fosters a sense of security for renters, but also strengths our community ties.

When families feel secured in their housing, they're more likely to invest in their neighborhoods, do well in school, participate in local activities, and contribute to the overall vibrancy of our city.

Good cause eviction protections are common sense.

This is why cities across upstate New York are opting for good cause eviction since the New York State budget made it possible in April 2024.

Places like Albany, Ethicard, and Rochester, as well as countless cities in the Hudson Valley, have passed or are considering good cause protections to stabilize our housing market.

Finally, supporting good cause regulations aligns with our share of commitment to social equity and economic justice.

Many working people and their families face the constant threat of displacement, which can lead to job loss and increased financial strain.

By enacting these protections, we can create a more equitable housing landscape where all residents can thrive.

We urge each of you to consider the profound impact these regulations will have on the lives of countless families and our community.

Let us work together to ensure that everyone has a place to call home, free from the fear of unjust eviction.

Thank you for your attention's critical issue.

I look forward to your support and champion the rights runners in our city.

Sign Mark Spadafour, President of Greater Syracuse Labor Council, AFL C O IO.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Marty.

Okay.

So we're we've come to the end of our meeting, and I'll just have to add to my my colleagues' comments that democracy only happens when we come together, and government has to be a place for absolutely everyone.

So a leadership is not really about control, it's about responsibility.

Your all your comments will be well taken in consideration, and thank you for coming to talk to us.

Yeah, we're done.