Mock trial in Tribeca punishes bad landlords
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
New Yorkers indicted city landlords
for criminal and civil
crimes against tenants’ rights
during a mock trial hosted by the Right
to Counsel NYC Coalition in Tribeca
on Oct. 30.
“We want to also indict the federal
state and city as co-conspirators for
their rezoning laws … the tax breaks
they give landlords … and for allowing
harassment,” said mock juror Iris
Morales, who is a former member of
the Young Lord civil rights group. “We
also indict the banks that support these
abusive practices.”
The mock court hearing at 125 Barclay
St. was held roughly a week after
the coalition released a list of New York
City’s worst evictors, which placed Philip
Wischerth from the LeFrak Organization,
which owns the Queens apartment
complex LeFrak City, at the top.
The list is comprised of 10 landlords
who accounted for 2,182 evictions in
the city last year.
Some of those testifying included
tenants of buildings owned by the landlords
featured on the Worst Evictors
list.
Tenants also testifi ed against the
New Yorkers filled the basement of 125 Barclay St. to take “bad city landlords” to task for their poor treatment
of tenants.
Offi ce of Court Administration for
their culpability in what they argue is
an unjust culture in the city’s housing
courts.
“We all know housing courts are not
a place of justice,” said Marilyn Mullins,
a Community Action for Safe Apartments
leader. “They are often hostile
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL NYC COALITION.
and confusing places for tenants.”
During the hearing, tenants stated 12
demands for the city, including passing
legislation to expand the city’s Right to
Counsel law to include all zip codes, to
place a moratorium on evictions in the
winters and for an investigation into those
on the coalition’s Worst Evictors list.
The Eviction Defense Network, a
group to fi ght against evictions, was
launched during the tribunal.
“Evictions are wrong,”said Juan Nuñez,
from the Northwest Bronx Community
& Clergy Coalition.” We have
to resist them in every way, shape and
form.”
Legislators debate future of e-cigarettes in NYC
BY ALEJANDRA
O'CONNELL-DOMENECH
The future of e-cigarettes and vaping
devices remains unclear after lawmakers
heard from school offi cials, medical
experts, business groups and city and
state offi cials during a Nov. 4 hearing
in Manhattan.
The hearing, co-sponsored by senate
education committee chair state Senator
Shelley Mayer and state Senator
Kevin Thomas, coincided with Governor
Andrew Cuomo’s announcement
that the legal age to purchase
any tobacco products in the state will
rise from 18 to 21 as of Nov. 13. Recently,
a New York court also placed a
temporary injunction on a bill banning
the sale of fl avored e-cigarettes in the
Empire State.
Some lawmakers supported legislation
regulating the industry while others
called for a ban of the devices in
light of the recent deaths caused by
vaping-related illnesses.
“It’s a dangerous product that has
not been properly vetted by the FDA,”
said state Senator Brad Hoylman. “Why
should be be allowing its use at all in
New York State?”
State Senator Liz Krueger supported
banning tobacco products “regardless
of their form at this point.” Krueger,
Close-up photo of female holding e-cigarette with smoke. Indoors
the prime sponsor of a bill to legalize
marijuana in New York state, clarifi ed
that although she continues to support
marijuana legalization, she did not
want to create a future health crisis.
Last week, the Centers for Disease
Control reported, there have been
1,888 cases of vaping related illness in
the United States. Brad Hutton, deputy
commissioner for the New York State
Department of Health, pointed out that
156 of those sickened were New Yorkers.
According to the CDC, the majority
of vaping-related lung illnesses have
been connected to black market marijuana
products. Experts at the hearing
said that investigators of the epidemic
are still unable to defi nitively link the
illness and deaths to one ingredient or
source.
The majority of those who testifi ed
at Monday’s hearing spoke of the need
for legislation to combat the growing
number of school-aged children vaping
or using e-cigarettes. They also backed
existing legislation to ban the sale of ecigarette
fl avors.
“This has led to an emergence of a
belief that e-cigarettes are not harmful,”
said Abe Baker-Butler, co founder
of Students Against Nicotine and high
school student from Rye.
According to Hutton, 27 percent of
high school students used e-cigarettes
in 2018 — a 164 percent increase from
2014 numbers. Other city and state offi
cials said that more than 40 percent of
high schoolers regularly vaped.
“It’s like comparing two bombs and
asking which is more explosive,” said
Hutton in comparing regular cigarettes
to e-cigarettes. “They are both very
dangerous to health.”
Bodega and convenient store representatives
argued that a full ban of the
products would have adverse effects on
former combustible cigarette smokers
who switched to e-cigarettes. Legislators
repeatedly asked if there was validity
to the claim that e-cigs are safer
than traditional cigarettes.
4 November 7, 2019 Schneps Media