This summer, State Senator Gustavo Rivera hosted a series of housing assistance events at his district office to connect residents of Senate District 33 to critical housing services. As New York City’s severe housing crisis continues to deepen, Senator Rivera recognizes that it is critical for his constituents to have access to housing resources and free legal assistance in order to keep them in their homes.
“Access to affordable and well-maintained housing has always been the number one issue in my district, but lately we have been seeing some troubling trends in our housing cases that warrant concern and attention. Our goal with these clinics is to provide Bronxites with resources and legal assistance to remain in their homes,” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “This is part of the consistent work my team and I have done to advocate for tenants in my district. From strengthening our rent laws and tenant protections to securing $800 million to replenish ERAP to providing direct assistance to prevent evictions, secure repairs, and combat slumlord harassment, I am committed to improving housing conditions in my community in every possible way.”
Most residents in Senator Rivera’s district are considered rent-burdened, meaning the household pays more than a third of their income towards rent, and many are severely rent-burdened, paying more than half of their income toward rent. Eviction and displacement rates are of the highest in New York State. After the eviction moratorium ended, housing affordability has only worsened while some landlords are taking advantage of misinformation and confusion to force tenants out of their homes despite the protections put in place at the state level.
"I have been living in my rent-stabilized apartment for 31 years. My landlord has refused to renew my lease since 2019, but he took $10,000 from ERAP and stopped accepting my rent payments. I'm worried that when my eviction protections expire, he's going to try to evict me even though he's the one not following the laws by denying me a lease and refusing to accept my rent check every month. I reached out to Senator Rivera's office when I saw that they were connecting people with free legal assistance,” said Ms. Arelis Alston, a constituent of Senate District 33.
“I applied to ERAP to pay back my rent arrears, but while I was waiting on my application, my landlord shut off my power for over two weeks to try to make me leave. Our building doesn’t have a super to address emergency issues. I decided to take my landlord to court for reducing services and I need guidance on getting help when I need it in my building. I saw Senator Rivera’s office was providing assistance with these types of problems and now I am working with an attorney on my problems as a tenant,” Mr. Ipolito Marines, constituent of Senate District 33, shared his story with Senator Rivera’s office in Spanish.
The Office of State Senator Rivera partnered once again with the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) to sign up eligible Bronxites to their rent freeze programs, SCRIE and DRIE. Senator Rivera also partnered with the Neighborhood Association for Inter-Cultural Affairs, Inc. (NAICA), a local organization that provides housing assistance and free legal services, to provide constituents with in-person appointments for rent arrears, eviction prevention, repairs, and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). For more information, please contact his district office at 718-933-2034.
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