BY MARY JANE MUSANO
It seems that another very
serious issue is threatening
our community. It is the Just
Cause/Good Cause bill, also
known as Lease For Life. Basically,
it calls for a lease for life
for all tenants as long as they
pay their rent, aren’t intentionally
damaging the property,
and aren’t subletting or
violating the lease. Lease For
life will also cap your rents.
That means every apartment
in New York State will
be rent controlled, even one-,
two- and three-family homes.
Try making repairs on your
home with that in effect. And
that will trickle down to store
owners because if you cannot
afford to repair and renovate,
they lose as well. That means
that even though you pay the
taxes and upkeep on your
property, you will not have
control of it. You will be under
the thumb of the state and
everyone loses, landlord and
tenant alike.
Sounds pretty bad, right?
Well, it gets worse. Not only
will you lose control of your
property, the courts will be
closed to landlords. So, you
will have no recourse. Right
now, there are laws that protect
tenants, so there is no
need to take control of an owners
rights. Tenants cannot be
evicted without a court order.
This is a property grab and we
must do everything we can to
stop it.
This law, if passed, will affect
every person in our community,
whether you are a
tenant or a landlord.
Here are some scenarios.
Let’s say you own a home
and have a tenant and your
mother falls ill, so you want
her to move into your apartment
so you can care for her.
Right now, you would ask the
tenant to leave so your parent
could move in. If this law
passes you would not be allowed
to do this. It’s your
home, you spent your life’s
savings on it but you have no
control over it. You could try
to pay the tenant to leave but
who would leave if they had a
lease for life with a rent cap?
You could try to sell but who
would buy with a lifelong tenant
with rent control? If you
were lucky enough to fi nd a
buyer, they might not even be
able to get a mortgage in a situation
OLA Widow and Widowers
celebrate Halloween at Orrico’s
BRONX TIMES R 52 EPORTER, NOV. 5-11, 2021 BTR
like this.
When property values
drop because of Lease For
Life, and they will, where will
the taxes come from? You,
of course! After all, tax dollars
have to come from somewhere.
This program is a
disaster for every person in
every community. We must
be educated to save our communities
from the hands that
seek to destroy us! We must
unite against this.
Here is what you can do.
Alessandra Biaggi, our state
senator, is a supporter of this
bill. You must call her offi ce
and tell her not to support the
Just Cause/Good Cause Bill,
also known as Lease For Life.
Assemblyman Michael Benedetto
has not as of yet supported
this bill, but he must
know that we stand united
against this bill. Call him and
tell him not to support this
bill, which will surely destroy
our community. Ask Mike to
unite with us against Lease
For Life.
Contact information:
Alessandra Biaggi: 718-
822-2049
Mike Benedetto: 718-892-
2235
Our next meeting will be
on Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the
First Lutheran Church on
Hollywood and Baisley avenues.
Please be sure to attend
and bring your neighbors
with you. If you have not
yet paid your dues, please do
so today. You can send your
$10 check to 1145 Hobart Ave.,
Bronx NY 10461.
Until then, stay safe and
stay involved.
CIVIC CENTER
Waterbury LaSalle
Community
Association
On Thursday, Oct. 29, the Our Lady
of the Assumption Widow and Widowers
celebrated Halloween at Orrico’s
Restaurant on Westchester and
Hobart avenues.Kudos to Rob and
his staff for the most delicious appetizers,
dinners and desserts. Everyone
complimented on how wonderful
everything was. Toni Ann, our head
waitress did a fantastic job serving
and accommodating everyone with a
smile; special thanks to Maria and the
bus boys who helped serve our large
group all at the same time.It’s great to
see a family that grew up in Pelham
Bay and raised three sons all work
hard together to make this restaurant
the success it is in our neighborhood.
All of the members of our club wore
half masks in celebration of Halloween
and a fun evening was had by all
trying to guess who the masked men
and women were. Sunday, Nov. 14, we
will attend the 10 a.m. mass at OLA
followed by a Communion Brunch at
the Wicked Wolf.
On Oct. 29, 2021, the Our Lady of the Assumption Widow and Widowers celebrated
Halloween at Orrico’s Restaurant. Photo courtesy Fran Arico
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, cloaked in ghostbuster apparel, with Bronx children at a
Halloween event in Pelham Bay Park. Photo Adrian Childress
Ghostbuster AOC celebrates
Halloween in Pelham Bay Park
On Saturday, Oct. 30, U.S. Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez and state Sen.
Alessandra Biaggi co-hosted a Halloween
celebration in Pelham Bay Park
for families in the area. The event included
face painting, mask decorating,
candy, and socially distanced, family
friendly games.
Others contributing to the festivities
will include City Councilman
Kevin Riley, City Councilwoman-elect
Marjorie Velazquez, and community
organizations Friends of Pelham Bay
Park, Loving the Bronx, Start Lighthouse,
Friends of Pelham Parkway,
Feed Forward and the BELL Organization.
although Biaggi could not attend
because of her recent COVID-19
diagnosis, her offi ce sent representatives
to the event on her behalf.
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