After saying she would vote against 'good cause' eviction legislation, Councilor Donna Moore now says she'll vote for the legislation. Credit: Courtesy of Donna Moore

“Good cause eviction” legislation has divided the Syracuse community for nearly two years, but the Syracuse Common Council appears to have finally reached a majority decision on whether to opt into the state legislation aimed at protecting tenants.

Councilor Donna Moore told Central Current reporters she would vote against opting into good cause last week. But on Monday, Moore said she’d had a change of heart after hearing a tenant’s story of eviction. 

Moore told a Central Current reporter she had heard other tenants’ stories about rent increases but said those increases were typically in sync with a growing market rate. 

The recent interaction involved a woman who was evicted from her home of nearly 40 years, Moore said.

“What actually flipped me was talking to an older lady who had been renting for a long long time, and her landlord doubled her rent because the market rate demanded that. She had to leave, because she was on a fixed income,” Moore said. “I guess I’ve been wavering on good cause from the get-go, and I think that story just kind of put me over the edge.”

First introduced by Assemblymember Pam Hunter in 2019, ‘good cause’ legislation refers to state law aimed at protecting tenants from unfair, discriminatory, arbitrary, or unreasonable eviction. Local governments can vote to opt into the legislation and adopt those rules for their municipalities.

If the Common Council votes to opt into ‘good cause,’ Syracuse tenants:

  • Could challenge evictions filed in court for reasons not stated in the lease agreement.
  • Could contest at eviction hearings rent increases above 10% of the yearly rent or 5% plus the rate of inflation, whichever is lower
  • Would be allowed to renew their lease automatically if they are caught up on rent and have abided by the terms of their lease
  • The bill also has a slew of exemptions

The Syracuse common council is set to vote on ‘good cause’ in its next voting session on Feb. 23.

Moore represents the council’s second district, which comprises most of Syracuse’s West Side, and succeeded former Councilor Pat Hogan in that seat.  Hogan was a prominent opponent to good cause legislation when he was on the council. 

During campaign season, Moore appeared open to considering opting into good cause, citing that 60% of Syracuse residents are renters.

But in the initial weeks of her first term on the common council, Moore appeared to have decided to oppose a good cause opt-in. 

Moore earned a Working Families Party endorsement during her recent election. Last week, after Central Current reported that Moore would vote against opting into good cause, Moore received public flak on social media from several other prominent officials who ran on that ballot in other races. 

Timeline of stories about ‘good cause’ in Syracuse

Onondaga County Legislator Mo Brown, Senator Rachel May’s chief of staff Zack Zeliff, and other WFP and Democratic elected officials from the city and county criticized Moore’s stance, implying it flew in the face of the party’s platform.

Moore pledged that she and Councilor Hannah Ehrenreich intend to engage landlords to explore how the council can look to shorten the legal process for evicting tenants who aren’t paying rent. 

Throughout good cause discussions inside and outside the council’s chambers, local landlords have frequently cited prolonged legal battles over nonpayment of rent as evidence that landlords, not renters, need more legal protections from local government.

Moore also wants to determine how she and her peers can help landlords evict or otherwise respond to tenants who are destroying property or creating enough of a nuisance to cause other tenants to move out.

“I don’t think any of us feel bad for the landlords that are out of state that don’t care about our community,” Moore said. “But the landlords I heard from were the ones that live here, that own two or three homes, that are just trying to keep their streets up…and try to make sure that they rent to good people who are going to be good neighbors and keep their community up.”

Based on extensive conversations with many tenants and landlords, Moore said she has gained a good understanding of the diametrically opposed stakeholders’ perspectives. 

“I think that I am positioned well to work with both sides to make this happen,” Moore said.

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Patrick McCarthy is a staff reporter at Central Current covering government and politics. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell and Newhouse Schools, McCarthy was born and raised in Syracuse and...