Albany County Legislature votes down eviction protections
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The Albany County Legislature has decided not to move forward with a program that would have offered protections to tenants facing eviction. On Wednesday, organizers shifted their focus to the statewide push for the Right to Counsel.
After the failed county measure organizers mobilized and advocated for $260 million for the right to counsel campaign because the county legislature did not pass a resolution that would have established an eviction prevention program. The resolution was introduced by legislator Sam Fein.
“It was the product of a lot of work by legislators, by advocates, by community members to come up with a program that would be effective,” said Fein.
On Monday night the Albany County Legislature voted down the program, despite locking in $160,000 in funding for the program back in 2022.
It would have established a tenant’s right to be represented by an attorney in eviction court. Something Anna Leak needs now.
“It didn't matter if your rent was paid or not,” said Leak. “I am one of them now. I have a 90 day notice to vacate the premises for no reason at all.”
A look at eviction filings in Albany county alone show filings are down between 2022 and 2023. However, the last stage of eviction requires a court warrant of eviction. And those numbers are up, with 1,698 warrants issued in 2022 and 2,319 issued in 2023.
At Monday’s meeting Legislator Alison McLean Lane was one of the opponents voting against the program, saying in part: “It was a hard decision to vote no on monday against resolution #88, but I voiced my concerns to the sponsor in 2022 that there were no provisions included to help small landlords, so my vote should not have been a surprise.”
Fein said the resolution was meant to help landlords as well.
“They're not facing easy times either. So we put in this program $100,000 for rental arrears. That's money to help tenants stay in their homes. That's money that goes directly to the landlords,” said Fein.
With no program in place that could’ve helped tenants like Anna leak they’re left with no protections she said.
“And I don't know what I'm gonna do, but just pray. Cause that's all we can do and advocate and don't stop doing what we're doing,” said Leak.