“Right now, our city is experiencing an overwhelming housing and homelessness crisis that’s devastating the lives of countless New Yorkers,” said Majority Leader of the City Council Keith Powers at the rally. “As temperatures keep dropping, let these frigid days serve as a reminder: we must do everything in our power to get people off the streets and into stable housing.
“I would call them up and you know, I sound Black,” she said. “So I would have conversations with them. And I would ask them, is the apartment currently still available? ‘Oh, no, we just rented it out.’ But I just looked on the website 10 minutes ago, and ‘oh the website was updated.’ “That’s who I’ve heard opposition from. My team and I, and the majority of the Council—we have over 30 sponsors on this piece of legislation—are ready to debunk any of these myths that some of these landlords are spewing. I think a lot of what we’ve seen are dangerous myths and tropes. And then specifically, just anti-Black. It’s really important [to know] that this is the way the landlord community thinks of Black people. That’s not okay.
“Having a key to your own place to rest your head is the most important thing when you come home from prison. Especially when you’re doing everything that you’re told to do to re-enter society. Get a job, you got to do this stuff—this is what society says and I was doing it.”