State Assembly 66 Deborah Glick

Website: deborahglick@gmail.com

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What type of housing do you currently live in?
Own a co-op, condo or private home
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)
  Prior to becoming the first openly LGBTQ member of the New York State legislature, I was one of many city workers who fought for the NYC Human Rights Commission to classify sexual orientation as protected under anti-discrimination law. This was due largely to the overwhelming number of LGBTQ New Yorkers being denied housing. It is truly despicable that there are people who lack access to secure housing. We have the capacity to fix this and just need the will to provide stable housing for all.
What type of action have you taken in the past around issues of housing justice? (500 characters)
I have consistently fought for the creation of affordable housing and am especially proud of my sponsorship of the loft law, my work to create a rent cap so low-income New Yorkers with HIV/Aids pay no more than 30% of their income on rent, and helping to increase the income threshold for SCRIE. I also carry a bill to protect seniors from undue eviction and provide them legal counsel during eviction proceedings and am working to ensure older artists in SoHo and NoHo aren’t displaced by rezoning.
What do you think are the most pressing Housing issues & what action would you take to address them as a state representative? (1000 characters)
New York is facing a myriad of housing issues at the moment. Among the most pressing is the push to privatize public housing. Though there are no NYCHA developments within the 66th Assembly district, I firmly believe that public housing should remain a public good and will fight against RAD-PACT in Albany. Additionally, New York is facing a serious affordability crisis. I am proud of the work my office has done to push for affordability guarantees during rezonings in my district, and for my efforts to rid our state of the disastrous 421-A tax credit for the real estate industry. 421-A has come at too great a cost to the state budget while providing little actual affordable housing. I will continue to push for affordable housing guarantees in my district and legislation that will lead to the creation of truly affordable units. I am currently carrying a bill to expand the reach of SCRIE and DRIE so lower income older New Yorkers can remain in the neighborhoods they made popular.
Have you or anyone close to you (relation, friend, etc) been evicted or been threatened with eviction?
No
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)
  The cost of housing in New York is skyrocketing. The influx of new residents to the city combined with a lack of truly affordable housing has made the city unavailable for many. We must combat this by greatly increasing the city’s stock of affordable units, imposing stricter rent controls, and limiting landlords ability to raise rents year-to-year if the cost of maintaining a unit has not increased. I’m pleased we made great strides fighting against short term rentals and ending vacancy decontrol.
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)
In 2017 New York City mandated that all tenants undergoing eviction proceedings have the right to legal counsel. This has provided numerous New Yorkers with a lifeline during very difficult moments in their life. I firmly believe that this right should be extended to tenants across the state, and am proud to sponsor legislation to do so for those above the age of 62.
Do you agree that all evictions are bad?
No
- If no, why not? (500 characters)
  In the very limited circumstance that a tenant is engaged in activities that pose a danger to other residents, for the protection of other tenants I think eviction may be warranted.
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)
  Privatizing NYCHA would lead to negative outcomes for tenants as there would be a lack of proper oversight and management’s decisions would be driven by profit, not what is best 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)
First and foremost the withdrawal of federal support has been devastating, and the lack of effective city management has added to undermining NYCHA. In this upcoming budget we will commit state dollars for NYCHA, but the state cannot replace all of the necessary funding that must come from the federal government. It’s possible that the establishment of a trust may be one way to stabilize funding, but we should continue to lobby our federal representatives for more money from Washington.
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)
In the past I have used my office to write letters to landlords on behalf of tenants, push HPD to look into instances of tenant harassment in my district, and have attended organizing events hosted by tenant associations and organizations like cooper square committee that support affordable housing. I am proud of the work my staff and I have done on behalf of tenants in the 66th district and look forward to continuing this work, which has earned me the support of TenantsPAC.
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)
I will fight for additional funding for ERAP and to allow New Yorkers to receive state funds in order to offset any back rent that may still be due. I would also support legislation to prevent eviction proceedings from occurring if a tenant is deemed to be eligible for ERAP, even if they have yet to apply to the program.
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 will continue to co-sponsor good cause eviction, will participate in any public hearings regarding the bill, and will attend rallies and actions in support of good cause with advocacy groups. Additionally, once good cause makes it through committee, I will speak in favor of bringing it to a floor vote during our conference meetings.
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)
I will my use my office to assist in the organizing of tenants opting into TOPA and will provide support to tenants during negotiations with their landlords. I have always been incredibly supporting of the TIL program and believe TOPA provides an excellent opportunity to allow tenants in non-city owned buildings to collectively purchase their residences as well.
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