State Assembly 31 - The Tenant

Khaleel Anderson

Website: khaleel4thepeople.com

Social media: @khaleelanderson @khaleelanderson

What type of housing do you currently live in?
Unregulated Rental Apt
Are you, or have you ever been, a landlord?
No
1. If yes, where & how many apts. do/did you own?
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
1. If so, how can we be assured you will have tenants’ interests in mind? (250 characters)

Values and Vision

Do you believe housing is a human right?
Yes
- If so, what does that mean to you? (500 characters)
  To me, “housing is a human right” means that it is morally right and just for every person to have access to a safe, quality and affordable place to live. I first ran for Assembly as a Homes Guarantee candidate, committing to working to advance Homes Guarantee legislation, reject dark money from real estate corporations and lobbyists, and meet with local leaders regularly to discuss ongoing housing justice work, and remain dedicated to this work as I seek re-election.
What type of action have you taken in the past around issues of housing justice? (500 characters)
I voted for the Emergency Rental Assistance program alongside my colleagues to ensure that renters impacted economically by the COVID-19 pandemic can remain in their homes and also voted alongside my colleagues to fund three years of the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP). I also collaborated to lead #FundNYCHANow rallies alongside my colleagues and housing justice advocates, demanding a long-needed increase in federal funding that would reform and revitalize public housing.
What do you think are the most pressing Housing issues & what action would you take to address them as a state representative? (1000 characters)
I think that one of the most pressing housing issues facing our city at this time is the violent removal of homeless encampments throughout New York City. Instead of working to address persistent homelessness in New York City by implementing lasting reforms to the system that would provide people experiencing homelessness housing vouchers instead of requiring that they move into homeless shelters, the Department of Sanitation and the NYPD are forcibly removing homeless people from their encampments, often clearing them without warning. We must ensure that the HAVP program is implemented and move towards a Housing First homelessness assistance approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to New Yorkers so that they experience the stability needed for them to then work to address other critical challenges that they are facing.
Have you or anyone close to you (relation, friend, etc) been evicted or been threatened with eviction?
Yes
Have you ever had to fight a landlord for repairs or faced harassment?
Yes
Do you believe that housing should be de-commodified?
Yes
- Please explain your answer (500 characters)
  I believe that we need to de-commodify housing because this decommodification will ensure that our state approaches housing as a human right and increases protections for tenants while reducing profits made by developers. The housing market should not prioritize profits over safe and dignified housing for New Yorkers. Some of my colleagues in government have described steps that we can take to move towards a city, state and country that guarantees high-quality housing to everyone and incentivizes the high quality and demand of this housing, and I believe that we must continue to have these discussions and collaborate to achieve a de-commodification model that best supports the quality of life of all New Yorkers.
Do you believe in publicly owned and controlled housing?
Yes
What is one rent and/or eviction protection you would enact if you had the opportunity? (500 characters)
One rent protection that I would enact if I had the opportunity is the Housing Access Voucher Program. I believe that it was a failure that this was not included in the budget and think that It must be enacted by the State Legislature.
Do you agree that all evictions are bad?
No
- If no, why not? (500 characters)
  I think that the process of evictions are bad, but believe that there are instances where individuals must be evicted if they are causing harm to themselves or others. I do not think that anyone should be evicted due to their inability to pay rent, but do think that there are other situations where eviction might unfortunately be the best course of action to ensure the safety of a community.
Do you support the concept of universal rent control?
Yes

Overview on Housing

Do you support the NYCHA 2.0 Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and other privatization schemes?
No
1. Please explain why or why not (250 characters)
  I do not support RAD or other NYCHA privatization schemes because private sector developers might not undergo the oversight and provide the transparency necessary to ensure safe and quality living conditions for residents.
NYCHA has suffered from chronic underfunding, neglect, and disrepair. What do you see as the best strategies to rectify these problems? (500 characters)
NYCHA needs a direct infusion in federal capital funding and operation funding to ensure that there is restoration and repair in NYCHA buildings in the communities I represent and throughout New York City. Thousands of my neighbors join me in the call for this funding, which would advance long-needed repairs and improve overall safety and quality of life in the buildings.
Do you support setting aside 15% of all units created in new state-subsidized affordable housing projects for homeless families and individuals?
Yes
How would you use your office to put pressure on landlords to make repairs and stop harassing tenants? (500 characters)
My office is dedicated to providing ongoing resources to constituents that contact us to share issues that they are experiencing in having repairs fixed by their landlords. We provide information about the tenant’s legal rights to safe and quality housing free from harassment or discrimination and connect them to housing justice advocacy organizations within our district. Additionally, I advocate for legislation that will further hold landlords accountable for illegal harassment tactics.
Do you support regulating the 300,000 deregulated rent-stabilized apartments?
Yes
Will you support increased funding and oversight hearings of DHCR’s Office of Rent Administration to ensure timely responses?
Yes
How will you ensure people who owe back rent due to COVID are not evicted and do not continue to owe money? (500 characters)
My office will help people that owe back rent due to COVID by getting them connected to state programs that can provide relief. In the long-term, we need to advocate for solutions that will help New Yorkers experiencing financial hardship that has only increased because of the rising cost of living in our communities.
Would you support financial and criminal penalties against landlords and brokers that deny a prospective tenant housing based on using a tenant blacklist?
Yes

Current Bills and Campaigns

Do you support Good Cause Eviction Protections?
Yes
If Good Cause is not passed this session, what will you do to ensure it gets passed in 2023? (500 characters)
I am dedicated to advocating alongside my colleagues to advance our strategy for Good Cause Eviction and expand our legislative campaign’s reach to ensure that more working-class New Yorkers are aware of the need of this critical legislation.
Will you support ending MCIs?
Yes
Will you commit to fully funding the Housing Access Voucher Program?
Yes
Do you support the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA)?
Yes
How will you support tenants in your district opting into TOPA? (500 characters)
My office will partner with local tenant associations to ensure that there are training sessons and information sessions available to residents that are eligible for TOPA, because we want to be sure that this information is available for Assembly District 31 residents before the legislation is passed so residents have all of the information they will need to apply and are prepared to submit an application.
Do you support the move to legalize basement apartments and ADUs?
Yes
Do you support tenants’ right to collective bargaining?
Yes
Do you support 421a or Gov Hochul’s proposed 485w?
No
Do you support fully funding the Excluded Workers fund?
Yes
Do you support the “Excluded No More” bill?
Yes
Are you committed to making sure every tenant in the state has free access to counsel in Housing Court?
Yes
Will you commit to fully funding statewide Right to Counsel in 2023’s budget?
Yes