Delsenia Glover - NYS Assembly District 70

Why are you running and why are you the best candidate for tenants?

I am running for the NYS Assembly District 70 because there needs to be a change in the status quo here in this district and across the city and a focus on the needs of the people in our community across all spectrums.

I am a social justice advocate and believe there needs to be an acute and drastic change in the direction of not only my district, but the entire state, overall society, and focus on the needs of working families.

I am a community activist and was successful in leading the opposition against the rezoning of an historical 6-building Harlem rent stabilized housing complex where I live.

I have dedicated the last 10 plus years of my life fighting for affordable housing across our state and believe that housing is a human right. I am a founder of the Upstate Downstate Housing Justice for All coalition, and prior to that was the Campaign Manager for the Alliance for Tenant Power which preceded HJ4A was also the movement's primary spokesperson from 2014 through 2019.My core issues: Housing for All New Yorkers, Criminal Justice Reform, Safety and Quality of life for Seniors, Protection for Small Business (we are killing mom & pop businesses in our communities), building black wealth, Black immigrant justice, and mental health support. I am an anti-racist. I believe that the wealth takeover of communities of color are an existential threat to our very existence, our power, and our voices including all in the color spectrum, as well as poor and working class white people.

What are the top three priorities of your campaign?

Affordable housing and ending homelessness; passing Good Cause Eviction legislation;
Education including funding public schools and free public colleges and universities for in-state residents;
Seniors quality of life - seniors are rent-burdened and healthcare cost burdened, we need to fix SCRIE to lower rents to the 30 percent threshold, and pass the New York Health Act to eliminate the cost of managed care Medicare.

How do you define affordable housing?

Affordable housing is defined by the federal government as housing that is accessible at 30 percent of income. However, in cities like New York, most residents cannot afford what is considered based on the use of AMI as a determinant of what is affordable because the wealth of a few skews the scale. Affordable housing is income-targeted housing.

What do you consider the most important issue facing New York State in terms of housing supply and affordable housing, and how would you address it?

There are several, including fixing NYCHA and maintaining it as public housing, however right now, the most important issue is escalating homelessness which will become an even bigger problem with 200,000 eviction cases currently pending in the New York City court system. We can end homelessness. It costs almost three times as much to house a family in shelter as it does to provide vouchers to keep them in their homes. We need to begin the process of dismantling the shelter system, not growing it, by using state and city funds to keep people housed. Housing insecurity has devastating affects on children, and it is documented that children who are in shelter or otherwise experience housing instability have high percentages of doing less well than children who are housing secure. The reverberations of housing insecurity on tens of thousands of adult and children in New York are devastating and needs to be addressed as the acute emergency that it is.

If you had the power to enact one change to our rent and eviction protection laws, what would it be?

Many seniors are rent burdened. First, we should fix the Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption program to lower rents and not just freeze them at the level they are when seniors become eligible for the program. I know seniors who are paying 50 percent and more for rent and on SCRIE. We also need to take a serious look at what is considered "rent burdened." Thirty percent of income for a person living on social security or other fixed income can be a rent burden well below the 30 percent threshold. The rent burden threshold should be adjusted based upon income for all renters.

If elected, what services and resources will you commit to help tenants organize and receive timely repairs?

I look forward the day when tenants do not have to organize to get what they pay for, which is upkeep, maintenance, services and repairs to their apartments and buildings. However, my office will be focused on constituent services, and will certainly support organizing tenant associations - that is my history. A member of my team will be trained in the basics of how to organizing tenant associations, and well as have direct relationships with tenant organizing groups like Tenants & Neighbors where we can refer tenants for support. As a state legislature, my office will have relationships with the NYC Council where we can direct tenants whose issues would more appropriately fall within Council purview. HCR should be better funded and staffed, particularly the Tenant Protection Unit. I understand acutely the power of organizing tenant associations. The tenant association where I live and led for many years, was successful in galvanizing the community to push back upon and ultimately defeat a rezoning and gentrifying infill project to a rent stabilized six-building complex in my community.

The tenant leaders and staff at Tenants & Neighbors are predominantly Black and Brown women, and this is not just coincidence. Because of centuries of structural racism and ongoing discrimination in the housing market, people of color are far more likely than white Americans to face evictions and experience homelessness in the United States today. What is your plan to remedy these injustices and promote housing stability for communities of color?

What we need to do is to push back on government sponsored displacement plans. Gentrification is the last phase of redlining -- disinvest and then take back with a "community renewal" plan. This is no accident. Here are the housing policies I will prioritize to fight against this:

-Good Cause Eviction - as stated, people of color are far more likely to be evicted
-Income-targeted housing;
-Income-based determinant of the definition of "rent-burden" - The definition of "rent burden" is currently set by the US government at more than "30 percent of income." This is a rent burden for many low income and moderate income families. There should be an income-based sliding scale.
-Increased opportunities for home/co-op ownership. The Mitchell Lama co-op programs is one of the best affordable housing co-op programs and it worked.
-Supporting Community Land Trusts. The creation of CLTs, community ownership of land creates permanently affordable housing. The NYS awards land grants for land trusts for preservation projects in districts, and can be participatory in awarding grants for the creation of affordable housing and home ownership opportunities for low and moderate income NYers
-Elimination of racist structures in home appraisals. Until very recently, New York State has awarded a home appraiser license to a single person of color. Until that racist practice changes dramatically, it will continue to be a tool used to diminish wealth in ownership for people of color.
-End 421A - Whatever name you call it, this program does not produce truly affordable housing, it is a tax break to developers that rob the city of revenue that can be used to produce and repair truly affordable housing.