“Housing Is A Community Right”: Queens Tenants Rally Against Evictions

QUEENS — For Carlene Hosang, staying in her South Jamaica home has been an uphill battle.

Hosang, a 51-year-old caretaker in Queens, alleged her landlord tried to evict her from her home after she denied sexual advances from him. He supposedly offered to cancel her rent if she agreed to them, but she rejected, leading him to lock her out of her home on one occasion and turn off the heat during the winter months.

"When I couldn't take it anymore, I didn't know where to turn," Hosang told Patch.

Tenants including Hosang gathered at the Queens Housing Court on Thursday morning to rally against evictions in the city. Protesters called on Albany lawmakers to pass Good Cause eviction protections in the state senate, which would end retaliatory and discriminatory evictions.

“This is an abuse of power. It’s not right for landlords to hold so much power that they can kick people out on the streets just because they feel like it,” Hosang said. “Tenants must have the right to fight back against landlords who exploit and abuse them.”

The legislative piece would also give tenants more avenues to challenge landlords in court if they attempt to evict a tenant for not paying the new, higher rent.

The law would require landlords to justify rent increases greater than 3% or 150% of the Consumer Price Index or whichever is larger.

More than 1.6 million New Yorkers would benefit from the protections, according to the nonprofit Community Service Society.

“The power that landlords have in New York is completely out of control. If you’re an unregulated tenant in New York, your landlord’s power over you is absolute,” said Cea Weaver, Campaign Coordinator for Housing Justice for All.