Credit: Mike Greenlar | Central Current

New York State’s elected officials in April handed Syracuse and municipalities around the state a choice: whether to opt in to “good cause” eviction protections for tenants. 

Legislators intended for “good cause” to force landlords to provide a reason for evicting tenants and to prevent rent hikes in limited cases as the state experiences a housing crisis. 

But since the budget passed three months ago, members of Syracuse’s Common Council have largely stayed mum on whether they’ll bring “good cause” for a vote. Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh’s office said they are just beginning discussions about “good cause.” 

In the absence of action, advocates have begun organizing to get city government to embrace the legislation.  

Cea Weaver, the coalition director of Housing Justice for All, along with the area’s tenants union, some local labor unions and Auditor Alex Marion plan to push the city to adopt a Syracuse-tailored version of the law. 

“Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo are much bigger population-wise than some places that have opted in up until now,” Weaver said. “So we’re building the coalition to engage a lot of tenants and win a strong policy that will protect the most people.”

Cities across upstate New York could see a big impact on evictions and rent hikes if they opt into “good cause.” Cities like Albany, Kingston, Ithaca and Poughkeepsie have already adopted the legislation. Rochester and Newburgh have introduced the legislation but have not yet opted in.

This year, more than 1,000 warrants for eviction have been issued in City of Syracuse court, or about five each day, as the city suffers with problems of housing supply and affordability. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment has increased 22% in just a year, according to one study. 

Advocates pushed for the state-level adoption of “good cause” starting in 2019. The legislation was included earlier this year in the state budget but required that municipalities outside New York City opt into the legislation. 

“Good cause” would work like this: The legislation would force some landlords to provide a valid reason for an eviction that would be ruled on by a judge in landlord tenant court. It would also allow tenants to challenge in court rent hikes higher than 5% of their original rent plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lowest. 

Opponents of the legislation have said the legislation could disincentivize developers from building in Syracuse if the city opts in. Second district councilor Pat Hogan, one of only two councilors to go on the record about “good cause,” believes the legislation could hinder the building of new housing at a time when Syracuse needs to increase its housing stock. However, the state law exempts from the legislation for 30 years all apartments built in 2009 or later. 

“We don’t need more regulation,” Hogan said. “What we need is just more housing.”

Where the Common Council stands

Four councilors told Central Current the council has not had any substantive conversations about introducing “good cause.” 

Only two of the council’s nine voting members felt they knew enough about “good cause,” passed three months ago and introduced five years ago, to talk about the legislation. 

Three councilors said they’d need to read up on “good cause” and three others refused to comment on the record about the legislation.  

At-large councilor Rita Paniagua, the only councilor to publicly support “good cause,” would only say she supports the legislation but declined to comment further until the council has had more substantive conversations. 

“I just think that measures to continue to help both ends of the equation are a good thing,” Paniagua said of “good cause.” 

Patrona Jones-Rowser, the chair of the council’s neighborhood preservation committee, which also handles policy relating to homeless and housing vulnerable, has declined to comment on “good cause” throughout the summer. 

Legislation like “good cause” would typically be brought through Jones-Rowser’s committee. 

On June 7, Jones-Rowser told a Central Current reporter that once a meeting with councilors is held, “I will be able to speak more on constituent concerns from both sides,” but would not talk further about the legislation. Jones-Rowser on July 11 said she didn’t have anything to say about “good cause.” 

The only public opposition to “good cause” on the council has come from Hogan, who said he has talked to landlords about the legislation. 

They are apprehensive about “good cause,” Hogan said. He argued the legislation hurts small-time landlords who own 10 to 12 houses. However, landlords who own no more than 10 units are exempted from the state version of “good cause.” 

“I think it’s contrary to what we’re trying to accomplish in the city as far as building housing goes,” Hogan said, “I think it’ll disincentivize private investment in the city of Syracuse.” 

Advocates rally around “good cause” 

Weaver, the Housing Justice for All coalition organizer, has pulled together a coalition in hopes of getting a version of “good cause” passed in Syracuse. 

The coalition includes Service Employees International Union Local 200United, city auditor Alex Marion and the Syracuse Tenants Union. Workers in 1199SEIU are considering becoming part of the coalition as well, though they have not yet decided, according to Mark Spadafore, the president of the Greater Syracuse Labor Council. 

Local 200United represents a portion of the Syracuse University employees who unionized earlier this year. They include service, maintenance and library workers who work at the JMA Wireless Stadium, food services and facility services. 

Workers’ wage increases during the pandemic have been eaten up by equally high increases in rent, Spadafore said. Some unions were part of the push for “good cause” at the state level. 

Spadafore has already had conversations in the last month with Mayor Ben Walsh, he said. 

The coalition will push the Common Council to pass a version of “good cause” tailored for Syracuse in the fall, Weaver said. She wants city officials to remove exemptions for small landlords from the city’s eventual legislation.

Albany eliminated the exemption from its own version of the legislation. Its elimination could help tenants better understand “good cause,” which requires tenants to challenge evictions and rent hikes. Some tenants may not know how many apartments their landlord owns, she said. Often, landlords hold property across many limited liability corporations. 

Weaver believes “good cause” could help stabilize families’ housing situations. Under the legislation, she believes tenants will feel more free to call code enforcement about housing quality problems while also not fearing a retaliatory eviction.

The city’s lack of housing stock and affordability also exacerbate tenants’ fear of filing a complaint with code enforcement. If a tenant gets evicted, there are few places to go, Weaver said.

Micron’s arrival and the growth of the region could exacerbate those problems, making life even more difficult for families who already struggle with housing insecurity. 

“There’s not enough housing to go around,” Weaver said. “When people are evicted in Syracuse, they have nowhere to go because the housing is also quite poor quality. I think ‘good cause’ is going to be a huge deal for the city.”

Eddie Velazquez contributed reporting for this story.

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Chris Libonati is the managing editor of Central Current. He is a founding editorial member of the organization and was hired as Central Current's first reporter. He previously worked at the Syracuse Post-Standard...

Anais Mejia is a freelance journalist covering economic justice in the region. She is focused on stories about housing in Syracuse, Interstate 81 and the redevelopment of public housing. Anais is currently...