Discretion and valor
COURIER LIFE, MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021 37
EDITORIAL
OP-ED
It’s time to protect unregulated
tenants from eviction
New Yorkers are returning
to the streets in the
days ahead for protests
and vigils marking the oneyear
anniversary of the murder
of George Floyd at the
hands of police offi cers in
Minnesota.
In the weeks after that horrifi
c event, New York saw a
wave of new legislation passed
and signed into law better “policing
the police,” from outlawing
the use of chokeholds
to making police offi cer disciplinary
records open to the
public in the name of accountability.
With the fi rst anniversary
of Floyd’s murder approaching,
state Attorney General
Letitia James introduced on
May 21 another reform measure:
the Police Accountability
Act. If passed and signed
into law, it would redefi ne the
state’s law protecting an offi -
cer’s use of force.
The bill would reclassify
police use of force against an
individual “from one of simple
necessity to one of absolute
last resort,” according to
James’ offi ce. Offi cers would
be required, by law, to implement
other means fi rst in
subduing an individual, including
verbal warnings, deescalation
tactics and lower
levels of physical force.
Essentially, it clears the
way for prosecutors across the
state to potentially prosecute
an offi cer accused of wrongfully
assaulting or killing
an individual. According to
James’ offi ce, the current law
permits the lethal use of force
by an offi cer based largely on
the offi cer’s reasonable belief
that someone committed
a crime — and that often acts
as a barrier preventing prosecutors
and grand juries from
indicting an offi cer for wrongdoing.
But what exactly will this
bill change?
NYPD offi cers are already
trained to use other tactics to
de-escalate situations. We’ve
written plenty of stories of
police shootings in which offi
cers, while guns drawn, directed
an individual to drop
their weapon — only to fi re
when the suspect refused to
do so or even pulled the trigger.
Even more so, prosecutors
and grand juries exercise discretion
when considering a
case and the law; they’re not
required to indict anyone unless
there’s proof beyond reasonable
doubt that a crime occurred.
We can’t accept a climate
in which an offi cer is permitted
to get away with acting as
judge, jury and executioner
— but we also can’t accept a
climate in which an offi cer
winds up being restricted or
unfairly punished for using
force when absolutely necessary.
It’s diffi cult to legislate discretion
— which is why lawmakers
must be careful to allow
prosecutors to seek justice
against offi cers who break the
law while simultaneously protecting
good cops as they enforce
it.
BY JUDITH GOLDINER &
ELLEN DAVIDSON
After living in his apartment
for ten years, “John”
– a Legal Aid client and Section
8 voucher recipient who
is partially blind and reliant
on a portable oxygen tank to
breath – was evicted from his
home.
His landlord’s motive in
seeking his eviction? Retaliation
in response to John’s
complaints to the City about
insuffi cient heat in his
unit during the cold winter
months.
After a fruitless search for
a new apartment, John had
no choice but to move into a
homeless shelter.
John’s story is all too common.
Without a right to remain,
critical legislation
pending in Albany, it is impossible
for tenants in unregulated
units to assert their
rights without risking eviction.
Even before COVID-19 hit,
our clients in these units experienced
constant anxiety
about whether they would
be able to remain in their
homes. Then the pandemic
ushered in an era of disruption
unseen in living memory,
pushing countless families
already facing housing
insecurity deeper into instability.
Many of these families
now face the grim prospect of
losing their homes.
Without right to remain
legislation, they likely will.
COVID-19 has starkly revealed
how critical it has become
to protect tenants in
unregulated units from unjust
evictions. As we slowly
emerge from the pandemic
crisis, state lawmakers must
take stock of New York’s housing
policies and protections
in order to stave off another
burgeoning crisis: a potential
deluge of evictions once evictions
moratoriums lift.
New York’s eviction moratorium
– recently extended
through August 31st – serves
the immediate goal of keeping
tenants in their homes,
but simultaneously delays
a reckoning of what must
be done to avert looming disaster.
In other words, the
moratorium is a short-term
solution, but we need a longterm
strategy to tackle this
mounting crisis. While landlords
are currently restricted
from fi ling evictions against
tenants demonstrating pandemic
related hardships, the
moratorium can’t address the
backlog of missed rent payments
that will now serve as
grounds for eviction the moment
it is lifted.
Legislators must face the
truth: without a realistic
plan to address the fallout
when the eviction moratorium
ends, countless tenants
across the state will lose their
homes.
That’s where the “Right to
Remain” movement comes in.
The “Right to Remain” bill
(S3082/A5573), grants tenants
in unregulated apartments
the right to a renewal lease,
forbids landlords from “unconscionable”
rent increases,
and prevents arbitrary evictions
– all crucial protections
in New York’s post-COVID
housing landscape. In a clear
concession to the depth of
the housing crisis across the
nation, California, Oregon,
Washington, New Jersey, and
other major states and cities
have already given tenants
and communities the right to
remain.
The movement is overwhelmingly
popular among
voters. A recent poll conducted
by Data for Progress
shows that roughly 70% of
New Yorkers support tenants
having a right to lease renewals
and limits in rent increases,
protections afforded
by the “Right to Remain” bill.
Recently, multiple mayoral
candidates and 52 New York
City Council candidates endorsed
S3082/A5573 legislation
(formerly known as the
“Good Cause” bill) by taking
a local pledge of support.
The COVID-19 pandemic
has laid bare the depth of the
housing crisis across New
York. We urge lawmakers to
take decisive action and pass
Right to Remain legislation
to ensure that those who have
already lost their livelihoods
don’t also lose their homes.
Judith Goldiner is the Attorney
In-Charge of the Civil
Law Reform Unit at The Legal
Aid Society. Ellen Davidson
is the Staff Attorney with the
Civil Law Reform Unit at The
Legal Aid Society.
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