Likely Repeal of ETPA in Village of Ossining Stirs Emotions
After a controversial vote last year in Ossining established the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA), some members of the Ossining Village Board are now taking steps to repeal legislation that provides rent stabilization to more than 2,000 tenants throughout the village.
Following nearly three years of debate over how to adequately provide affordable housing, the board narrowly voted last September to approve ETPA, with Mayor Victoria Gearity and Trustee Rika Levin in opposition. However, last Wednesday, Gearity and Levin received support from newly elected trustee Manuel Quezada to repeal ETPA.
“I do not believe ETPA is the right solution for affordable housing,” Levin said. “A lot of work has been done, I have educated myself, I believe that this is not something that is good for all the people in this village. I believe it moves the cost and the burden of supplying the money for these units to other middle class, working class people who own homes.”
With no action proposed to replace the current law, Gearity and Levin both stressed that a housing needs assessment conducted three years ago provided eight solutions to improve the housing crisis within the village, noting that establishing ETPA was not recommended. But officials took steps to enact ETPA last year after another housing study revealed that Ossining had a 3.06 percent vacancy rate, putting it within the bounds of eligibility to adopt the initiative.
Under the act, the village must enforce a rent stabilization policy for all buildings constructed before 1974 with six or more units. ETPA would ensure that tenants are offered one or two-year leases and that apartments receive proper maintenance. It also protects tenants from being evicted except on grounds allowed by law, illegal rent increases, landlord harassment, and all a rent freeze for certain senior citizens and people with disabilities.
In Ossining, more than 1,200 apartments would be eligible for rent stabilization, making it the largest expansion of rent stabilized housing in the state in two decades. It also allows seniors and those with disabilities to become exempt from rent increases.
Prior to the September vote, several residents publicly pleaded with the board to pass ETPA, explaining how they’ve been treated poorly by landlords who increase rent monthly, refuse to maintain the dwelling and property, and will evict a tenant if they make too many complaints or speak out against them.
According to Trustee Quantel Bazemore, two tenants were evicted from their homes following a public televised meeting where they spoke in favor of ETPA.
While a public hearing on repealing ETPA is scheduled for February 6, residents spent more than an hour condemning the board for their decision and urging them to do what’s best for the community.
“When ETPA passed last year, I felt I finally had peace of mind that my housing situation would be stable for years to come,” said Alberta Walker, who lives in a building protected by ETPA. “I wish the mayor understood the emotional turmoil she has caused for myself and thousands of residents in her decision to hold a public hearing to end ETPA. The move toward repealing programs that provide stability for myself and other families in this village is disrespectful and dangerous.”
Many residents expressed sadness, disappointment and anger with the proposal, while also voicing their distrust in the level of integrity, morality and democracy on the board. Others said they fear for the residents currently protected under ETPA.
“What kind of consciousness do we live in that you give people a piece of bread in one hand and snatch it away in the other hand? We are human beings and you are dealing with human lives,” Rev. Emma Jean Loftin-Woods said. “What you are all trying to do is just unconscionable. I am appalled that you sit here, and you listen to these people and you have an axe ready to cut off people lives.”
Trustees Omar Herrera and Bazemore, who voted against a public hearing to rescind ETPA, former mayor Miguel Hernandez, and former trustee John Codman harshly criticized board members during a press conference Wednesday evening and during the public meeting for attempting to strip residents of their protections and acting immorally.
“Punishing the residents of ETPA rental housing by stripping them of their new founded protections is just cruel and heartless,” Codman said. “This is one of the saddest days in the Village of Ossining’s political history. You have surely lost your moral compass and you’re bereft of any compassion.”
