Amalia de la Iglesia (East New York CLT) on COPA as tool against speculation
De la Iglesia describes absentee landlords extracting profit from East New York buildings while tenants live with unsafe conditions, and urges passage of COPA to give community land trusts the opportunity to purchase at-risk buildings and keep housing affordable.
Hi, thank you, Chair Sanchez and members of the committee for holding today's hearing and for the opportunity to testify in favor of Intro 905 COPA.
My name is Amalia de la Iglesia.
I'm the housing campaign organizer for the East New York Community Land Trust.
As a tenant organizer living and working in East Brooklyn, I see the impact of speculation and landlord negligence every day.
A large part of the housing stock in East New York is owned by absentee landlords who do not live in the neighborhood and who are extracting maximum profit from their buildings at tenants'expense.
Low-income tenants and their families are paying half of their income in rent while living with unsafe conditions, including lack of heat and hot water, mold, collapsing ceilings, and pest infestations.
At best, tenants are caught in a cycle of fighting tooth and nail for basic repairs with no end in sight.
At worst, they're displaced as their homes are deregulated and flipped.
COPA is a critical tool to disrupt this cycle, protect the buildings that need it most, and allow people to stay in their communities.
When buildings in disrepair or with expiring affordability restrictions are put up for sale, it's the city's responsibility to make sure that housing remains affordable and is put
in responsible hands, like community land trusts, rather than sold off to another absent landlord.
Thank you.