Issue Position: Housing

Issue Position

North Brooklyn is facing a housing crisis of vast proportions.
With market rates skyrocketing and our neighborhoods losing rent-stabilized units every year, thousands of people--including residents who have lived here for decades--are being displaced from their homes. Tenant harassment and racial discrimination in housing are rampant. Greenpoint and Williamsburg are still struggling with the effects of Bloomberg-era upzonings and the massive displacement they caused, while Bushwick is faced with a wave of corporate real estate development that will destroy jobs, cause evictions and transform our community. In my first term, I worked to pass the most tenant-friendly package of housing legislation in New York's History, The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, which closed loopholes in the rent-stabilization system, and allowed the system to expand statewide.

No tenant should live in fear of unreasonable rent hikes and evictions, and we must do all we can to keep longt-time residents and small homeowners in their homes. That's why I've placed affordable housing at the center of my campaign and my legislative agenda. In my second term, I will:

Continue to fight for the suspension of rent and mortgage payments throughout COVID-19. My Relief for All bill would provide financial relief for homeowners, tenants, small businesses, and nonprofit affordable housing providers in New York during the public health crisis. Passing this bill will preserve affordable housing while keeping families in their home and businesses afloat. The bill will reduce or cancel rent for residents and small businesses, and provide state and federal funding for small-profit property owners and nonprofit housing providers who have lost rental income. Safe, sanitary, and affordable housing should be available to all New Yorkers at all times, but especially in times of health dangers and economic hardship. It's time to cancel rent and forgive all housing debt accrued during this crisis.
Fight to pass "Good Cause" Eviction legislation, which will prevent no-fault evictions and require landlords to justify any rent increase above 1.5% of the consumer price index. Preventing no-fault evictions encourages landlords and tenants to invest in neighborhoods and enable development without displacement.
Continue to fight for funding to meet the capital needs of NYCHA
Push to pass the Flip Tax, which would impose a tax on the transfer of certain property within two years of the prior transfer of that property, discouraging house flipping, which artificially inflates real estate prices, drives people out of their homes, and encourages gentrification.
Work to create a Cease and Desist Zone in East New York. Every New Yorker has a right to live in their homes in peace, but small homeowners are being constantly harassed by real estate developers begging to buy their homes. Creating a Cease and Desist Zone will protect neighborhoods from the aggressive real estate speculation that fuels displacement and creates a hostile environment for homeowners.
Julia Salazar for State Senate

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