Ithaca College Professor speaks on "Good Cause" bill

Patricia Rodriguez, chair of the politics department at Ithaca College, sent a letter late last month sharing her concern over alderperson Cynthia Brock's bill, "Prohibition of Eviction Without Good Cause." One major point that Rodriguez pointed out about Brock's bill is that non-renewal of a lease is eviction.

Living in Tompkins County for over 14 years, Rodriguez has noticed a drastic change in housing in Ithaca, noting that housing is limited to mostly wealthy people on the area. "People of color," Rodriguez said, "and lower income people do not have the same access."

Working with the Tompkins County Immigrant Rights Coalition, Rodriguez cited one incident involving a family and their landlord not being accountable for the conditions in their apartment, and for his behavior.

"The landlord said to this family that they needed to leave," Rodriguez said. "But the landlord did not fulfill his part of the contract. The bathroom was leaking, the kitchen was open to the upstairs... and the oven was broken [and] was never fixed for a long, long time."

Responding to Brock's statement that there is an expectation of behavior on part of the tenants, Rodriguez states that there is also an expectation on the landlords to be accountable and responsible for any damages and other needs that the tenant or space may have.

"I don't see much in this legislation that they proposed... it's sort of like a blanket," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also raised the concern of who is making classifications like "nuisances" and what is considered "good cause." Rodriguez claims that the term "good cause" is too vague.

When it comes to what Rodriguez would like to see in housing policy in Ithaca, she stated that there should be no evictions at all. Rodriguez actually wants to see more policies and protections in place that were offered by the Ithaca Tenant Union's "Right to Renew" legislation, which was dismissed in late August.

Concerning the confusion surrounding the "Right to Renew" bill by the ITU and the "Prohibition of Eviction without Good Cause" bill, Rodriguez mentioned that she would like to learn more about why the ITU's bill was dismissed, when many of its policies and procedures, according to Rodriguez, would have helped tenants.

Cynthia Brock has stated that she would take the chance to talk to local tenants, however she did not specifically state that she would be talk with the ITU. Rodriguez said that that is not enough, and that in order to create a housing bill that benefits the most, a conversation with all involved needs to take place.

Brock's bill and public comments from community members, including Rodriguez's letter, can be found in the last agenda here:

NovemberAgenda.pdf

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