Muhammad Karuma (Youth Alliance for Housing) on COPA as essential legislation

Thank you.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Good afternoon, Chair Sanchez and members of the Housing Committee.

My name is Muhammad Karuma.

I'm a lifelong Brock site.

I'm a tenant in Melrose, and I'm a member of the Youth Alliance for Housing.

Together with them, I've begun organizing with my neighbors to struggle for repairs and against rising costs.

I came here today prepared to describe to the committee a number of the 217 violations my building has had in the last year alone, but it felt trite.

I wanted to bring to you descriptions of the burden our rents place on my neighbors, but that itself felt tired.

It felt cliche.

Because at the end of the day, ours is not a unique challenge or even a particularly severe one by the standards of the Bronx.

Something like it is happening everywhere in our neighborhoods and in our borough.

Furthermore, something like it is happening all across the city.

The housing crisis is total.

It consumes this city and it consumes this country.

It places a pressure on every household in our city.

It presses on them like a pinched nerve.

We ask ourselves as we look at the news why it is that it seems the times are so crazy, why it seems Americans are acting out so much.

We must ask ourselves what pressures.

Americans today are under.

And we must ask ourselves what government can do to alleviate these pressures and what might happen if it fails in that duty.

COPA means that bodies dedicated to, first and foremost, to affordable housing will get the first say in purchasing these buildings.

Organizations administered directly by the tenants can administer necessary repairs, can cohere tenants together,

and build communities.

It means our communities will have a real say in the management of our homes, that they won't be managed by someone who has no real tie to our communities, no real tie to our neighborhoods.

And it may set an example that other American cities may follow at a time in which an example must be set when the housing crisis is only getting worse and it presses on.

Almost every aspect of American life these days.

I came here to ask the committee to lead, to pass this essential legislation, and to stay vigorous in attempting to find a solution to the housing crisis.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Right on time.

And folks from Sponey, thank you for coming in.

It's good to see you outside of the Zoom box.

I hope you appreciated some of the shout-outs today.

Just appreciate your feedback and look forward to more conversation.

Thank you all for your testimony.

Thank you.

And I just, you know, from our last conversation, just a reminder, the most important thing you could do to solve the cost of housing in New York, reform property tax.

It's our largest expense, and it's what makes everything so difficult.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Can I get a quick show of hands from the audience if you plan to testify?

Please keep your hand up.

We just want to count the minutes.

Thank you so much.

The next panel.

Oksana Miranova, Judith Kanepa, Ariel Hirsch, Will Spisak.