State Senate 17 Kristen Gonzalez

Website: www.gonzalezforny.com

Social media: @gonzalez4ny @gonzalez4ny

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)
  No one should worry about being evicted especially when we are all dealing with a global pandemic. I support Good Cause Eviction and would fight and organize to get this passed. In addition I plan to work with housing activists like HJ4A to contact our neighbors by door knocking, phonebanking, and tabling to discuss their needs and offer support with a robust constituent services program, offer tips and support organizing potential tenants unions, and sharing knowledge on tenants rights.
What type of action have you taken in the past around issues of housing justice? (500 characters)
I helped start the Western Queens Community Land Trust, and was on the founding board as Secretary. A CLT is a model of publicly land ownership and permanently affordable housing, through a 99-year lease and below-market rate housing. Increasing the number of land trusts throughout the city is one way to ensure housing justice while keeping public land in public hands. Furthermore, as a Community Board member I have consistently voted against proposals for luxury developments or 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 State’s housing crisis takes a number of different forms: an overabundance of investment properties and an unsustainable funding structure whereby massive influxes of people and development in cities is displacing Black and brown working-class families and exploding housing costs. All of this means that there is both a massive shortage of affordable rental and purchasable housing, while poor people are being forced out of cities and even out of the state in search of the ability to live. Housing as a human right is necessary for New Yorkers to have a dignified life. No one should worry about being evicted especially when we are all dealing with a global pandemic. As a Senator I would support progressive legislation, such as Good Cause Eviction, the Housing Access Voucher Program, and the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. I would support Land Trusts, and work with housing activist organizations such as Housing Justice for All to continually inform our policy.
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?
No
Do you believe that housing should be de-commodified?
Yes
- Please explain your answer (500 characters)
  Housing is a human right, commodification of housing is unjust and antithetical to the caring world we hope to build through our campaign. Huge financial institutions and wealthy individuals should not profit off of housing. Likewise, they should not have the ability to determine the quality of people’s housing based on whether it will provide a good return on investment. I believe that in a just and caring world, housing should be affordable, universal, community-owned and community-focused. I will fight to make that world possible. The commodification of housing is incompatible with a world where everyone can live a dignified life, and I aim to ensure that all people have affordable housing befitting of their dignity.
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)
I would enact Good Cause Eviction protections. Allowing tenants a mechanism to fight eviction is an essential first step in building toward universal housing. Not only that but Good Cause Eviction protections can protect Black and brown families who face eviction and displacement at disproportionate rates. Protecting families against retaliatory landlords from evicting them and profit-seeking landlords from pricing them out will be a significant first step in our work toward housing justice.
Do you agree that all evictions are bad?
Yes
- If no, why not? (500 characters)
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 support fully funding public housing to ensure that all necessary repairs, updates, and expansions are paid for, and investing more into land trusts, limited equity cooperatives, and mutual housing associations.
NYCHA has suffered from chronic underfunding, neglect, and disrepair. What do you see as the best strategies to rectify these problems? (500 characters)
As noted above, I support fully funding public housing. I will commit to funding the $32 billion needed to meet NYCHA’s outstanding financial needs and any further funding required to bring NYCHA up to a level of funding that will allow NYCHA residents to live in facilities that allow them to live dignified lives in housing that is clean, safe, and up to date. I will fight to ensure that New Yorkers in public housing have homes that do more than just meet their bare needs.
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)
I will work with organizations and the community to establish strong tenant unions that will make it easier to hold landlords accountable for harassment and falling behind in repairs. I will also fight to establish a guaranteed right to counsel, ensuring that tenants have access to a free attorney in housing court to help them better advocate for their needs and combat landlord negligence and harassment.
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 COVID eviction protections and to fully fund rent relief and back rent forgiveness at the state level and fight to ensure that those most economically impacted by the pandemic do not have the additional burden of back rent.
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 organize with my fellow legislators and groups supportive of Good Cause to put political pressure on those standing in the way of this necessary legislation. Our campaign will organize phonebanks, canvasses, and mass messaging pushes including phone zaps, sit-ins, and press events to push Good Cause to the top of the legislative agenda and further, get it passed and signed into law.
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 organize information sessions at my district office and promote the program widely with a messaging campaign that can include press conferences, op-eds, and social media campaigns. I will also organize door-to-door canvassing in my district with a coalition of supportive organizations and volunteers. This program is too important not to promote and I will promote it along with other tenants’ rights information and programs through a robust constituent services program.
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