Ithaca Tenants Union, advocates arrive to Seneca County ahead of looming Cayuga Nation evictions fingerlakes1.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fingerlakes1.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
ITHACA, NY Rent reform is a rightfully hot topic in Ithaca and around the country. As the COVID-19 pandemic fuels job loss and people struggle to make ends meet, keeping a roof overhead becomes a significant hurdle. This is particularly problematic in Ithaca, where over 70% of the community is composed of renters and the affordable housing crisis looms like a dark cloud.Â
Rent has been continually rising in Ithaca for the past decade, but the pandemic has brought the issue to the forefront. The creation of movements like the Ithaca Tenants Union (ITU) and the Solidarity Slate in 2020 and 2021 are just a few examples of how the increased push for rent reform has been forged in the fire of these intense circumstances.
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Eviction rates in the Southeast region exceed national levels. In spite of the ongoing Center for Disease Control’s Moratorium, renters in the Central Gulf Coast face harsh judges, federally funded corporate landlords, laws that favor landlords along with a lack of tenant unions in all but the largest cities.
Tenants in Florida are second highest at risk for evictions in the country. Hundreds of Florida renters have been evicted since the federal moratorium went into effect. In Florida’s Escambia County, refusing to heed the CDC moratorium, Judge Patricia Kinsey still hears eviction cases. The judge found a plaintiff, Sicliff, a subsidiary of a large Canadian corporation, which claimed the CDC moratorium represents an “unlawful taking” by forcing landlords to allow tenants to remain in units without paying. Florida has no state protection against eviction, leaving the CDC’s order as tenants’ only recourse.
TOMPKINS COUNTY, NY (WSKG) – Even with state and federal moratoria in place, the fear of eviction still exists. A coalition in Ithaca, powered by a $1 million grant, is trying to address the problems faced by tenants vulnerable to eviction.
Liddy Bargar, a housing expert at the Tompkins County Human Services Coalition, said evictions are a racial equity issue.
“We know that based on the local data that we got that Black, female head of household is the highest, the most likely to be evicted in the City of Ithaca,” she said.
Ithaca Tenants Union protests outside a landlord’s office in downtown Ithaca. (Celia Clarke/WSKG)
ITHACA, N.Y.(WENY) Cornell Law School has received a $1 million grant to help with eviction prevention in the city of Ithaca. At the beginning of the pandemic, a large need was found for help wi.