City Cuts $550G From Pledged $2M Fund to Protect Renters

On the eve of the City Council's 2006 vote to approve rezoning to allow development of the Brooklyn Waterfront, the Bloomberg Administration committed $2 million toward the protection of longtime tenants threatened with displacement. Now, that promised funding has been cut by more than 25%, and tenant rights advocates are speaking out.

"You're going to see a lot more low-income people being forced out," said Marty Needelman,
director of Brooklyn Legal Services. "You're going to see an increase
in harassment and neglect to get these people out because there will be
no enforcement, nobody there to help them."

The North Brooklyn Tenant Anti-Displacement Collaborative is losing $300,000 of its $1.3 million grant. Director Rich Mazur said the group will have to lay off staff that provides legal representation to tenants facing eviction or harassment.

The
group also aids families in securing Section 8 vouchers and applying
for affordable housing units in new developments like Williamsburg's
The Edge.

"It's crazy," he said, adding that low-income tenants are already "on the verge of being out on the street."

A
city study at the time predicted that 2500 people could be displaced by
the rezoning, which sent waterfront property values soaring.

"I understand that we're in a real fiscal bind so we've got to cut services that are important, but this was a promise," said Councilman David Yassky.

Read the full NY Daily News article here.