The Fight for a 30 Percent Rent Cap
Since 2005, Housing Works has fought for the passage of New York State legislation that would cap the rents of the 10,000 New Yorkers receiving housing assistance from New York City’s HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA).
Thanks to a short-sighted Pataki-era policy, people with AIDS in public housing are nearly the only New Yorkers expected to pay more than 30 percent of their public benefits (such as Veterans’ or disability benefits) toward rent. Because of this policy, many HIV-positive people live on as little as $12 a day.
The bill passed both houses of the state legislature in 2010, but Gov. David Paterson vetoed it in September. The veto dealt an enormous blow to the low-income HIV-positive community. The governor had promised to sign the bill on two occasions, but reversed his decision, thanks in part to pressure from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who opposed the legislation.
Paterson claimed that the rent cap bill would cost the state too much. Advocates at the grassroots organization VOCAL contest that claim, saying that over time, increased housing stability would allow the state to save millions on emergency housing and medical care. Paterson himself called the move my most difficult veto.
The Paterson veto set off a wave of protests across New York City in fall 2010, including three that led to arrests.
Video: Nine Arrested During World AIDS Day Bloomberg Bagel Breakfast Boycott
Video: Police Arrest CEO Charles King, Sen. Tom Duane and Others in Protest Targeting Paterson
Five AIDS Activists Arrested at Paterson’s Office While Protesting Rent Cap Veto
The HIV/AIDS Services Administration serves 45,000 low-income New York City residents, all of whom have AIDS or are dependents of people living with AIDS. As of July 2010, approximately 10,000 of them were enrolled in the rental assistance program, according to HASA. These 10,000 are the people who would be helped by the bill. Many of them pay up 70 percent of their disability income toward rent, and have to make difficult choices between paying rent, purchasing necessities and getting medical care each month.
The bill is sponsored by State Assemblymember Deborah Glick and State Senator Tom Duane, and supported by a coalition of AIDS organizations, including Housing Works, VOCAL and Bailey House.
Watch an NY1 news report about how the Paterson veto will affect low-income New Yorkers.
