Janine Cahill-Jackson testifies on 82-year-old client facing eviction
Janine Cahill-Jackson of the Legal Aid Society shares a case of an 82-year-old Bronx tenant $3,000 over the income limit and facing eviction after heart surgery, who cried upon learning about the proposed income threshold increase, and urges passage of the bills.
Good afternoon.
My name is Janine Cahill-Jackson.
I'm the Director of Elder Law for the Legal Aid Society.
Thank you, Chairs, for convening this hearing on these important issues.
The Legal Aid Society supports all of the changes proposed to the program that will make it work better for our clients.
But my testimony today will focus on the income increase for screen dry.
Just yesterday, I was in Bronx Housing Court representing an 82-year-old woman who is a rent-stabilized tenant for decades and just survived major heart surgery, but is facing eviction.
She grabbed my arm and looked in my eyes and started to cry because she knew her renewal lease was coming.
She said, am I going to get the rent freeze?
And I immediately asked her, why aren't you on screen?
And she shared her income information, and she was only $3,000 over.
And she says, but I can't get a job.
I'm only getting older.
I have no one else to help me.
What am I ever going to do, even after this lease?
I shared a little bit of the information about today's hearing, and she had a huge smile come across her face and said, well, I hope when my next lease expires, the council will pass the law.
She's been struggling to decide between paying her full rent, cutting back on food, and paying for her necessary heart medications.
Had Scree kept up with inflation, she could have qualified years ago.
Other senior clients that we have are still working to save for retirement, so their income is a little bit too high, yet their rent continues to grow.
So while they save, their most essential expense, rent, only continues to grow.
With the lower rent burden, clients like these will be able to afford the other things that they need, not only a roof over their head.
We support the bills and resolutions before the Council today, increasing access to scree and dree, including
the increase in income limits from $50K to $75K, helping low-income seniors and individuals living with disabilities like the clients I just described so greatly.
We will also be submitting written testimony on the rest of the bills and resolutions.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hopefully we can help your client.