Evan Ma, Staff Attorney in the Civil Justice Practice testified before The New York City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings to advocate for a slate of proposed laws that would help to empower and protect New Yorkers in vulnerable housing situations.

"The housing crisis in New York City persists despite the city’s attempts to stymie evictions through the Universal Access to Counsel program and the expansion of programs that assist with the payment of rental arrears and ongoing rent. Kings County Housing Court continues to hear hundreds of eviction cases daily, including those of tenants who have no available defenses to preserve their tenancies, regardless of how long they have lived in their home or how many thousands of dollars in rent they have paid over the years. Tenants are forced to accept dangerous living conditions, fearing that raising concerns with their landlord or the city would put them at risk of eviction. Housing court remains a forum that substantively favors landlords despite the progress that has been made in recent years."

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"The constitutional and statutory rights that tenants have are meaningless if judges are able to craft laws around them. By codifying the right of an occupant to be restored to possession after an illegal lockout, intro 6022-2024 takes an important step in curtailing judicial erosion of tenants’ long-held substantive and due process rights. These bills would protect the rights of all renters and ensure that illegal lockout victims, even those without a formal lease, would have recourse in housing court to return to their home. New York City residents already experience a severe disadvantage when facing eviction – it is vital to ensure that the rights of tenants and occupants are fully protected."

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"Second, we turn to Intro 0993-2024. Although we support the goal behind this bill, we recommend that a different agency other than the NYPD be designated to fulfil its purpose. As a public defense office, we see how the addition of armed officers can escalate already volatile situations, and giving broad discretion to the NYPD results in irreparable harm for New Yorkers. Many of our clients understand that calling the NYPD to resolve an issue can create even bigger problems from themselves – at times, calling the NYPD even constitutes a risk to their lives. We advocate for a version of this bill that would empower a different city agency to physically restore tenants to their apartments where they have been illegally locked out. Although this bill seeks to buttress crucial tenancy rights, we caution the city council against granting greater power and oversight to the NYPD."

Read the full testimony here.