News From the Tenants Association: J-51 Win - Update # 3 Next Steps

What's up with you, ziggy? I'm serious. You know the legislature is not in session. It only runs from Jan thru early June. Nothing can happen now until 2010. So what the fuck do you want Duane to do?

As for 2009's session. I know you are also familiar with the landlord lobby sponsored Senate Espada-led coup back in early May. The coup went down the day before a vacancy decontrol repeal bill and other tenant-friendly legislation was supposed to go to the floor. If you want to point fingers, point them at Majority Leader Smith for installing anti-tenant Espada as chair of the Housing Committee and allowing him to keep those bills bottled up until after the budget was passed.

Possibly Ziggy is referring to the fact that we've heard a lot from Duane about his glorious past organizing tenants and how he was going to lead us to glory going forward--but that hasn't happened. Duane shows up at meetings and press conferences, but he hasn't organized anything. And he was MIA for a while during the State Senate coup d'etat. Here's the email I got back from his office on 7/28 when I asked when he was going to show some leadership. Boldface is mine:

Thank you for your e-mail earlier this month. As you may know, Senator Duane has been a longtime advocate for tenant’s rights and affordable housing. From the start of this year’s Legislative Session, Senator Duane has been one of the key Senators working with a group of colleagues and tenant leaders on a strategy to secure passage of tenant protection legislation. Regrettably, the slim Senate Democratic Majority has made this exceptionally challenging.

On May 12, Senator Duane joined more than a dozen of his Democratic Senate colleagues, Housing Here and Now, the Real Rent Reform Campaign, Tenants Political Action Committee and other tenant advocates at a press conference in Albany pledging an aggressive effort to pass legislation that would strengthen tenant protections before the end of the Legislative Session. Indeed, prior to the Republican coup attempt, repeal of vacancy decontrol, the top priority of tenant advocates, was slated to come to the Senate floor in June.

As Michael McKee, a leader of Tenants PAC wrote in a July 1, 2009 letter to Governor Paterson that he shared with Senator Duane and his staff: “The purpose of the billionaire’s coup d’état on June 8 was not merely to flip control back to the party that lost the election last November, but also to stop the progressive agenda in its tracks. This includes restoring our rent and eviction protection laws and making the playing field between landlords and tenants in the downstate metropolitan region more level.”

While he is pleased that the Senate crisis is now over and that the Democratic Conference remains, as they were elected to be, in the majority, Senator Duane could not in good conscience demand a vote on critical but controversial bills, like repeal of vacancy decontrol and other tenant protection legislation, in the immediate aftermath of the coup. Members' emotions were raw, feelings were hurt and trust had been lost. Time is needed for these wounds to heal.

This is not an excuse for inaction. Senator Duane refuses to be put off for long. During the weeks and months ahead the Senate will be called back to Albany to deal with a range of issues and Senator Duane will fight to ensure that these and other essential bills, which impact the lives of all New Yorkers, come to the floor for a vote and pass in 2009.

He urges his constituents to continue their advocacy for tenant protection legislation as well. If you are not already engaged, you may wish to contact New York State Tenants & Neighbors at 212 608-4320 or Met Council on Housing at 212-979-6238, among other organizations leading the effort.

Sincerely,

Laura Morrison
Chief of Staff
NYS Senator Thomas K. Duane

Thank you GreenGirl. Gov. Paterson has called for a special session of the State Legislature before the end of 2009. On the agenda are the budget and gay marriage. Once again NO MENTION of RS.So I think holding Tom Duane to his promise to do something this year (which I heard him say ) is appropriate.

Then take it up with the governor's office. He sets the special session agenda, not Tom Duane.

Back in June, Paterson's agenda was all about passing necessary bills to keep localities going. The Nov 10 session has to do with mid-year budget cuts Paterson wants. Every special interest in the state will be raising hell and it's gonna be a mess. Tenants Groups are gearing up for 2010, but I guess you guys know better.

So here's something Duane or the TA could do: organize a letter-writing campaign to "encourage" the governor to get housing bills on the agenda. Of course, we could do this individually, but an organized effort is probably more effective.

But that would require Tom Duane to do something about RS rather than continue in his role as cheerleader-in-chief.
RR
Being an elected official means doing ALL you can for an issue of importance to his constituents. For too long we have reelected people who are clever, humorous etc. but can't get things done.

I couldn't agree more. Duane has a civic responsibility to fulfil the duties and obligations of his position as an elected official. He looks great on camera, at p.r. events, re-election camps, endorsements, but for God's sake DO something!

You never address points ziggy. Ever.

I would agree that the Democrats in general, and Malcolm Smith in particular, erred -- hugely erred, in a) making known agent of the landlord lobby head of the Housing Committee and b) allowing him to keep rent reform legislation bottled up until after the budget was passed. Because the obvious plan by Espada/RSA was to: plan a) delay rent reform legislation away. The not-obvious-plan-at-all was plan b) if stalling didn't work, launch a coup.

You can keep harping in general about why didn't Duane do this and why didn't Duane do that, but a) Duane was not Majority Leader and b) Duane was not head of the Housing Committee. It was Espada who kept those rent reform bills bottled up.

Please explain how Duane or Liz Kreuger or any other tenant-friendly Dem could have forced that legislation out of Espada's Committee once Smith made the crucial decision to put Espada where he did.

Well, we've just seen Harry Reid say that the health bill will have a public option, and everyone thought that was dead. Theoretically, at least, organized grass roots pressure could have helped us, and it would be nice if we got some fair and balanced coverage from the media (see today's NYT front page piece on Maurice Greenberg for what they can do when they want to). Duane could have called meetings in his district and said, "Folks, here's what you have to do. Here's the text of a letter and all you have to do is sign it and send it." A lot of us sign online petitions and they are effective. And speaking of public officials, here's something on Maloney from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/house-democrats-john-adle_n_334876.html.

Espada is such a bag of filth I get ill every time I see his face on TV.

don't worry. he's already sealed his fate and lost his next re-election bid. you think the primary voters will forget about his little coup-escapade?

What Duane and other pro tenant Senators could also have done is what is done in legistures around the country on a regular basis-i.e. trade support for another bill for a bill strengthening RS. And if your leadership still won't allow that to happen organize a group of Senators who won't vote for other stuff the leadership wants without a vote on RS.
How is it that a vote on gay marriage has gotten ahead of a vote on RS?

Grass roots pressure? Do you know who Michael McKee is and the groups he represents and the work they do? Please, enough with what everybody else should be doing for us. If you think a letter writing campaign to the governor is in order, then start one yourself. I'll help. I can help design a flyer for you if you want. We can distribute your flyers on the corner of 1st and 14th, or wherever in ST-PCV. We can send a letter to the T&V about the letter campaign. I'm sure Sabina will be happy to print it. If we show we can follow maybe the TA will even get involved, but I'm not expecting it or counting on it. If you don't want to do that why not volunteer for Real Rent Reform, or Tenants Pac or any other one of the tenants groups who are working behind the scenes to make rent reform happen.

I dunno, these guys seem to have more lives than an alley cat. Sometimes I think nothing short of a murder conviction is necessary to dislodge them from office. Too many other examples of that. One can hope, though.

I do know who Michael McKee is, and he does great work. I'm not looking to get into a wrangle with you--we're all on the same side. I just wanted to point out that someone who should be a key player on this issue has seemed to be MIA for a long time. The point about being organized is that politicians get the message--people are aware and can be counted on to vote on an issue. Even though any one of us can write a letter/email/make a phone call, it helps to have the pros suggest effective language. I hope that puts this to bed.

Baloney, ziggy. Majority Leader Smith said no rent reform legislation until after the budget was passed. Period. So tenant groups bit their tongues, gave Smith the benefit of the doubt, and waited. Well, the budget was passed in May and tenants groups and rent reform advocates in the Senate forced Smith to force Espada to make good on his deal to finally let that bottled-up rent reform legislation out of his Housing Committee. Except that just before that could happen, Espada launched the RSA's Plan B -- the coup. And that was it for 2009. End of story. The battle of 2009 was won by the RSA, and Smith was thrown out as Majority Leader.

Again, what could Duane or Kreuger have done to alter the course of events?

I will say that Duane seemed to speaking awfully loud at the press conference--looking to take credit for something that Gorodnick accomplished (among others, of course).

boy, that's a big surprise.As they say "victory has many fathers but defeat is an orphan" and certain politicians know exactly where to place themselves when the cameras are rolling.

Yes, we are all on the same side. It's just that I hate it when members of my team take potshots at the good guys. Just because people seem to you "to be MIA for a long time," don't assume they are. Duane pushes McKee's legislation all the time. Ask him how MIA Duane is. My final comment as well on this bullshit.