“Our elected leaders have come out strong in support of our efforts to fight for fair compensation and decent working conditions for our members on the streets and at the bargaining table. But the gains that we have won are steadily being eroded by the skyrocketing cost of housing.”

The housing affordability crisis has impacted all of New York State. No matter how hard New Yorkers are working, it is becoming nearly impossible for them to make ends meet, stay in their homes or find an affordable place to live. The skyrocketing cost of living is forcing families to make hard choices about whether they can even afford to stay in our state.

Albany cannot let another legislative session go by without addressing this crisis head on by passing Good Cause Eviction, which will provide necessary tenant protections while challenging the unjust practices of landlords who continue to drive out tenants with rent hikes and intimidation tactics.

As the leader of one of New York’s largest labor unions, I have seen how hard the housing crisis has hit and the impact it has on our members. Our members—working class New Yorkers who do the essential work that keeps our state running—are increasingly struggling to make ends meet.

Our elected leaders have come out strong in support of our efforts to fight for fair compensation and decent working conditions for our members on the streets and at the bargaining table. But the gains that we have won are steadily being eroded by the skyrocketing cost of housing.

Over 40 percent of New Yorkers are renters, including many of our RWDSU members. Rental prices in New York are reaching new peaks—and the costs are pushing more and more people out of their homes. To make matters even worse, New York City’s vacancy rate is the lowest it has been in 50 years, making it nearly impossible for New Yorkers to find decent, affordable housing. 

But this is not just a New York City problem. Unaffordable housing costs are sadly hitting the rest of New York just as hard. Syracuse is now the most competitive rental market in the U.S., while 45 percent of renters in Western New York are paying over over a third of their income to rent. In Rensselaer County, holdover eviction filings—where landlords do not have to provide a good cause to evict—increased by 68 percent from 2022 to 2023.

This data is a stunning indictment on our broken tenant protection laws, which simply aren’t working for working class New Yorkers. Today, if you’re one of the 4 million New Yorkers living in unregulated housing, your landlord can raise your rent as much as they want at the end of a lease without giving any reason—or kick you out of your home altogether.

New Yorkers are rightfully demanding that our leaders address this crisis head-on. In order to truly stand up for workers and our communities, we must stand up for their right to an affordable roof over their heads.

Good Cause would help workers stay in their homes and afford the rent by limiting annual rent hikes to 3 percent or 1.5 times the inflation rate (whichever is higher) and requiring landlords to have a valid reason for evicting tenants. Tenants who face rent increases above that cap or believe their eviction to be unlawful could take their landlord to court.

Tenants across New York, including RWDSU members, have been working tirelessly for years to build support for Good Cause—and their organizing has had a powerful effect. Good Cause Eviction already has the backing of many Senate and Assembly members in Albany. Senate Democrats have made clear they will not make a deal on the budget without “protections similar to those in the Good Cause Eviction legislation,” and the Assembly majority has committed to “enacting statewide policies that protect tenants from arbitrary and capricious rent increases and unreasonable evictions of paying tenants.”

Nonetheless, there are still some calling for a “Swiss cheese” version of a Good Cause Eviction bill that would require localities outside of the five boroughs to opt-in, as well as provisions that would deny tenants’ protections based on the size of their buildings or the size of their landlords’ real estate portfolios.

This would devastate thousands of tenants across our state and severely weaken the impact of any bill in the housing package. These carve-outs could leave at least 67 percent of non-New York City renters (872,000 households) vulnerable to predatory rent hikes and retaliatory evictions, leaving many of our members and working New Yorkers unprotected. 

Working people are the backbone of New York. It does not matter if it is a pandemic or a blizzard, we show up to do the essential work that keeps our state running. It’s time for our elected leaders to show up for us by passing Good Cause this session because we cannot wait another year. We are at a breaking point and need relief to remain in our homes. 

Stuart Appelbaum is President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).