On Wednesday, May 8, 2024, tenants at 131 Avenue A rallied to call attention to the bad conditions in their building. The residents faced a fire in their building in April, the second fire in six months! In addition to problems related to the fire, the building - which is owned by Citi Urban - has dozens of violations from city agencies. Some tenants feel unsafe in the building and don’t feel that their homes were properly cared for after the fire. 

The New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning (NYCCELP) unveiled their "2022 Lead Agenda" at New York City Hall, aiming to eliminate lead poisoning sources in the city, particularly affecting children in low-income and communities of color (August 2022).

The New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning (NYCCELP) has released its 2024 Lead Agenda: A Roadmap to Eliminate Lead Poisoning in New York City, which provides a five-step plan to finally make the city effectively lead free. Timed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of passing the groundbreaking New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, also known as Local Law 1 of 2004, the plan is informed by years of research and advocacy to address the city's lead poisoning crisis, which saw 2,557 children in New York City testing positive for elevated blood lead levels as recently as 2021. The agenda includes specific recommendations to close the loopholes and address other deficiencies in Local Law 1 of 2004, which has never been adequately enforced, and adds recommendations to protect workers involved in lead remediation and other construction work.

“Lead exposure dramatically impacts the health and development of children and also impacts the health of adults. Its impact on adult health – causing high blood pressure, cardiovascular, brain, kidney, and reproductive issues – often gets overlooked,” said Brandon Kielbasa, Director of Organizing at the Cooper Square Committee. “The 2024 NYCCELP Agenda’s focus on construction dust as a major source of exposure is critical. The Lower East Side has seen landlords routinely ignore safe work practices when doing work in occupied buildings. This community continues to face lead dust exposure due to the existing loopholes and lack of enforcement. We call on the NYC City Council to adopt the recommendations outlined in the 2024 Agenda and help end this long-standing, very preventable, public health issue once and for all.”

Tenants rallied against "construction as harassment" outside their buildings on E. Fifth Street between Cooper Square and Second Avenue (2021).

In his recent response to Jay Martin's Op-Ed on the budget for rent-stabilized housing, Matthew J. Chachère, an attorney for the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning, corrects Martin's misinterpretations of lead poisoning prevention laws. Chachère argues that Martin's assertion regarding the removal of lead-based paint upon turnover overlooks the actual provisions of New York City's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 2003, also known as Local Law 1 of 2004. This law doesn't mandate full abatement of lead paint upon turnover; rather, it requires landlords to ensure that painted surfaces in apartments rented to families with young children remain in good repair to prevent poisoning. The only lead paint that must be abated is that found on friction surfaces of doors and windows, but only after the apartment becomes vacant. This compromise was made to gradually eliminate hazardous surfaces over time. Contradictory to Martin's claims, the law doesn't require the installation of new walls, floors, and ceilings upon turnover.

The City Council's actions in 2023 aimed to address the remaining unabated friction surfaces, which may have been neglected by some landlords. These measures include requiring landlords to complete the necessary abatement work within three years in apartments with children under six.

This raises questions about why lead abatement wasn't prioritized earlier, especially before restrictions on Individual Apartment Improvements in 2019. The need for such measures underscores the importance of protecting children and adults from lead exposure and ensuring landlords comply with existing regulations.

Questions or to RSVP, email alexl@coopersquare.org

On Tuesday, April 30th, the Rent Guidelines Board during its most recent Public Meeting, suggested an increase for NYC’s Rent Stabilized apartments (2% - 4.5%) for one-year leases, and between (4% and 6.5%) for two-year leases. The Nine Member RGB Board will have a final vote on those increases at its last meeting on Monday, June 17th. Any increase will impact all rent stabilized apartment lease renewals beginning October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025. 

The time is now for tenants to submit testimony to the RGB. There are four upcoming meetings, all of which are open to the public. We encourage tenants to submit written testimony, as well as audio and visual testimony, whichever option is the most convenient for you. Please note: Testimony should be no more than 2 minutes in length. 

Here’s a few talking points that will hopefully inspire/motivate you to submit testimony. 

According to RGB Data:

• The median household residing in a rent stabilized unit earns about $60,000 per year
• Approximately half of all rent stabilized tenants are “rent burdened” because they spend at at least 30% of their income on rent 
• Average inflation-adjusted wages have fallen to 6.1% from late 2022 to mid 2023. 
• Residential evictions across NYC have also increased to about 200% in 2023.    
• Nearly 30% of low-income renters spend over half of their income on housing. 
• Rising inflation (including other costs of living, i.e. food prices) continue to rise, making it harder for many rent stabilized to keep up with their bills, and having enough to pay their rent. 

For RGB Public Meetings hearings, (comments may also be submitted as audio, video and written testimony.) 

• Prerecorded audio and video testimony may be submitted to the Rent Guidelines Board via Dropbox. When you begin, please state your name clearly. Files are limited to audio and video, and testimony may not exceed 2 minutes:
• Submit Pre Recorded Audio/Video Testimony
• Testimony may also be submitted via telephone, by dialing (929) 256-5472 and please make sure to leave a recording. When you begin, please state your name clearly. Please note: Your testimony is limited to no more than 2 minutes.
• Email. You can email comments to ask@rgb.nyc.gov.
• Mail. You can mail comments to the office of the RGB at 1 Centre Street, Suite 2210, New York, N.Y. 10007.

Lastly, testimony must be received before Tuesday, June 11, 2024 to be considered before the 2024 Final Vote. Please note that any submitted testimony (video, audio or written) may be accessible to the public.

Considering soaring evictions and the rent-burden crisis, we think the RGB should freeze the rents. We hope at a bare minimum the RGB keeps increases as low as possible for rent stabilized tenants citywide.

On Thursday, August 22nd, join us for a summer celebration on a riverboat cruise on the East River and Hudson River. The cruise will include a catered meal, open bar, and dance music, all while we enjoy great views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines, and NJ, too!

Our annual fundraiser is crucial to making our work happen. In addition to supporting our efforts to organize tenants, support seniors and small businesses, and preserve and develop affordable housing, we are also raising funds for our capital campaign to buy a new program space in our building to expand our programs. This space will allow us to serve even more tenants, HDFC shareholders, small business owners, and seniors.

We board from 23rd Street and FDR Drive at 6 pm. The boat departs at 6:30 pm sharp and returns at 9:30 pm. Capacity will be limited to 200 people. We will mingle and spread out on the three decks. All attendees must be 21 years old.

Celebrate another year of CSC’s work and support our continued work in next year with dinner, drinks, music, and a view of the Manhattan skyline on our Riverboat Cruise. 

Tickets will be available for purchase soon.

Join our growing community of supporters. Become a gala sponsor or reserve your ad in our gala program book today!