Save Mitchell-Lama - From Tenants & Neighbors: What will a Paterson administration mean for tenants

Tenants & Neighbors has a biweekly e-mail newsletter that's terrific. The article below comes from the March 18, 2008 issue. Sign up yourself by e-mailing Miram at Tenants & Neighbors: Miriam@tandn.org.

Click on "read more" below for the article on Governor Paterson.

What will a David Paterson Administration Mean for Tenants?

While the prostitution scandal surrounding former Governor Eliot Spitzer was alarming to say the least, the rise of his replacement David Paterson as Governor is good news for the tenant movement in New York. Governor Paterson is fundamentally pro-tenant, which cannot be said of Spitzer, even though Spitzer has been much better on tenant issues than former Governor George Pataki.

From 1985 through 2006, David Paterson was the State Senator in the 30th State Senate District covering Harlem and parts of Manhattan’s Upper West Side (the seat is now held by Bill Perkins). This district has a large number of rent-regulated apartments (more than 50,000), as well as a substantial number of Mitchell-Lama and project-based Section 8 apartments. More than half the households in the district are low-income.

The 30th State Senate district has lost almost 4,000 Mitchell-Lama units as landlords have bought out of the program, and has lost some Section 8 units as well. David Paterson is certainly aware of the problems facing renters, and the problems rising out of the accelerating loss of affordable rental housing.

As State Senator, as the Senate Minority Leader, and most recently as Lieutenant Governor, he has been a forthright advocate for tenants’ rights, stronger tenant protection laws, and affordable housing. He has also been a strong advocate for governmental reform, including campaign finance.

Of course, the role of a Governor is different from the role of a legislator. One area where we can hopefully look for improvement is in administration of rent regulation and other affordable housing programs at the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal and other state agencies under the Governor’s control.

“For tenants, our agenda is the same as before,” according to Michael McKee from Tenants PAC. “We have to help the Democrats take control of the State Senate on November 4 – only seven months away. And we have to engage in serious lobbying at the state and local level for the legislative and administrative reforms we need.”

Mike McKee’s complete take on Governor Paterson will be available in the Tenants & Neighbors print newsletter, due out next month.