www.BXTimes.com BRONX WEEKLY July 12, 2020 2
Tenants rally to keep eviction courts closed
BY JASON COHEN
“Cancel rent” and “close the
courts” were chants heard on
July 7 outside of the Bronx Housing
Court as activists and residents
gathered demanding the
cancelation of rent.
Facing the looming eviction
crisis, tenants held protests in
the Bronx and Brooklyn calling
for eviction courts to remain
closed through the end of 2020.
The eviction moratorium in
New York does not protect many
Black and brown tenants who
were hit hardest by COVID-19.
Moreover, many of those people
are part of the gig economy, work
for cash, undocumented and can’t
prove fi nancial hardship.
Leaders and members of
Housing Justice for All, Right to
Counsel NYC Coalition, tenants
at risk of eviction in New York
City and Community Action for
Safe Apartments (CASA) were
among the groups there.
“It’s not a coincidence that
we are near the Bronx Housing
Court known as the eviction mill
for landlords,” said CASA Leader
Fitzroy Christian. “Governor
Cuomo and elected offi cials have
failed to protect New Yorkers
during this pandemic.”
According to Christian, the
recent Tenant Safe Harbor Act is
“rubbish.” The Tenant Safe Harbor
Act prohibits the issuance of
warrants of eviction and judgments
of possession for nonpayment
of rent during the COVID-19
period, which began March 7 and
ends when all businesses closed
by executive order are permitted
to reopen, if a tenant has experienced
fi nancial hardship during
this same period.
However, the fact that the eviction
courts are now open and already
seven people are facing being
homeless since July 1, many
in the Black and brown communities
are worried, he said.
“Human lives are more important
than property,” Christian
said. “Human lives are more important
than profi t.”
Marta Burgos, a paralegal
with the Legal Aid Society,
has seen fi rsthand what housing
court does to the Black and
brown community. If rent is not
canceled and there is no eviction
moratorium, the streets will
be fi lled with people, Burgos explained.
“I am a witness to the fact that
this court always functions at
the expense of people of color,”
Burgos said.
Burgos noted housing court
frequently mistreated the elderly
and disabled.
“The court punishes people
for not being able to attend court
for disability,” she said. “This
court makes it very easy to our
vulnerable elderly people on the
street.”
Aldo Resendiz of the South
Bronx Tenant Movement was furious
with the governor. After
dealing with thousand of Bronxites
dying from COVID-19, he
said that tenants should not have
to fear eviction.
Resendiz explained people are
prioritizing health and food over
paying rent and questioned how
landlords could still demand
money when they know millions
are still unemployed due to the
pandemic.
“Governor Cuomo isn’t just
complacent with the killing of
Black and brown lives, but also
complacent with the systemic
displacement and torture of
Black and brown families,” Resendiz
said. “Cuomo is not here
to protect the interests of poor
Black and brown people. He is
out here protecting the interests
of blood sucking capitalist landlords.
We’re not asking, we’re demanding
you cancel rent.”
Nora Kenty of Legal Services
Staff Association, one of the organizations
that helps people in
housing court, was fi red up this
morning
According to Kenty, the average
landlord owns 21 buildings
in NYC, so she fi nds it hard
to believe they are hurting for
money.
“Why should landlords get the
bailout at the expense of working
New Yorkers,” she shouted. “People
are literally dying and they’re
worried about their profi ts. Let
people stay home. Housing is a
necessity. Housing is a right.”
People at the Cancel Rent protest Photos by Miriam Quinones
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