http://voteashman.com
@ThePeopletoElectDionMichaelAshman
What type of housing do you live in? Own co-op, condo, or private home
Are you now, or have you ever been a landlord? No
If yes, how many units and briefly describe what your experience has been. NA
Does your campaign accept contributions from real estate developers (including related individuals), corporate lobbyists, organizations that participate in the carceral system, and/or landlords? No
Have you ever worked in, or had another affiliation with, the Real Estate industry? No
Have any of your campaign or advisory staff held a position as a corporate lobbyist or an executive role with the Real Estate industry? No
If so, how can we be assured you will have tenants’ interests in mind? NA
Do you believe housing is a human right? Yes
If so, what does that mean to you, and if not, why not? Human Beings should be afforded the right to food, clothing, shelter and gainful employment. In a city such as New York and a country as robust as the United States of America this should be a given. Government boast how great we are however we have so many struggling for the basics when it should not be that way.
What actions have you taken in the past to fight for housing justice? I have led the way in a law suit to repurpose what was going to be an homeless shelter and we fought to have it repurposed as permanent low income housing for the same group of people who were going to be placed in the shelter. Eventually restraining order on the building was lifted and we received some concessions. As a result many families were able to receive permanent housing.
What are the most pressing housing issues, and what would you do as an elected official to address them? One would be a resolution to support the 2019 tenant protection act that passed in the state legislature to provide reinforcement to that from the city perspective. Two would be to bring forth legislation that would mandate Community Benefit Agreements whereby empowering the District. So when a project is worked on the Community Benefit Agreement is Mandatory by law unlike now. This is happening in most states across the country. Thirdly I bring forth legislation that would make a Housing Linkage Program Mandatory. Also referred to as a Linkage Fee Program. Anytime an as of right commercial oand market rate project is constructed there will be a linkage fee per square foot, that fee goes into a Housing Trust Air Marked for the building of low to moderate income housing. This can be a gateway for working class constituents to the middle class.
Have you or anyone close to you (family, friend, etc) been evicted or been threatened with eviction? No
Have you ever had to fight a landlord for repairs or faced harassment? No
Do you believe that housing should be decommodified (publicly owned and tenant-controlled)?
Yes
Please explain your answer. Housing bring tenant controlled allows for a level of independence that many residents would gravitate to. It could also allow for more economic flexibility in Joe one budgets their personal finances.
What is one rent and/or eviction protection you would enact if you had the opportunity?
I would reinforce the 2019 Tenant Protection Act From A City Perspective with a resolution of support and a component that would allow for accountability.
Do you agree that all evictions are violent? Yes
Why or why not? Evictions can be violent due to stripping someone of a home and shelter. In this vein you are backing tenants against a wall and then it can become fight or flight. This kind of situation can easily become volatile.
Do you support the concept of universal rent control? Yes
For decades the Rent Guidelines Board has fueled the affordability crisis it was created to address. Most NYC tenants are rent-burdened, and hundreds of thousands of families, primarily Black and brown, are forced to deprive themselves of necessities to keep a roof over their heads, while owners’ profits hover near the 40% mark. Do you support freezing or even rolling back rents given these circumstances?
Yes
Do you support proposals to revise the RGB to make it more responsive to the needs of the tenants it was created to protect? Yes
Why or why not? Anytime we are addressing a problem, issue or challenge we should look to the root cause/es the genesis of the RGB wa to protect tenants and we as a city need to get to the roots of this initiative.
Do you support the NYCHA 2.0 Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and other privatization schemes? No
Please explain why or why not: I do not believe in the privatization of NYCHA. It was created to give people a leg up in life and that what it did for a very long time. The federal government needs to invest in NYCHA and stop allowing it to slowly crumble.
NYCHA has suffered from chronic underfunding, neglect, and disrepair. What do you see as the best strategies to rectify these problems?
The pressure again has to be put on the Federal Government to make the funds available. Whether we provide walking tours to show those in position to make change or lobbying efforts we have to put pressure on the Federal Government. There may also be internal avenues we can pursue within the state..
How would you use your office to put pressure on landlords to make repairs and stop harassing tenants?
Although it is difficult to legislate people’s behavior what we can propose is a legislation that can be beneficial to both landlords and tenants.
Do you support regulating the 300,000 deregulated rent-stabilized apartments? Yes
Do you support significant expansion of HPD’s emergency repair program, including adequate funding, with the city correcting hazardous violations when the landlord doesn’t act promptly, then bills the landlord for the repairs and takes title to the building if the landlord doesn’t pay, keeping it as social housing? Yes
Why or why not? I support this because this makes for safer more secure shelter for tenants. Whatever a persons socio-economic status all people want a safe and secure home to live in.
Do you support stronger penalties against landlords that practice source of income discrimination? Yes
Despite the city’s commitment to a right to counsel for low income families facing eviction in housing court, currently fewer than half of eligible tenants are getting lawyers. Meanwhile, landlords have pressed the courts to speed up the eviction process so they can take advantage of record high rents, negating efforts to reduce homelessness. Do you support fully funded right to counsel and slowing down the housing court eviction mill?
Yes
What other ideas do you have to address the housing crisis, and what is your strategy for accomplishing them?
I have detailed the Housing Resolution to support the state Legislature Tenant Protection Act, Community Benefit Agreement and The Housing Linkage Policy. Those would the three core initiatives I would bring forth.