Landlord Harassment

Due to the rezoning in Chinatown, long time residents have seen an increase in landlord harassment in an attempt to kick them out to raise rent in rent stabilized apartments. As zoning allows for the neighborhood to open up trendy restaurants, shopping centers, and establish the area as a tourist attraction, many wealthier residents have taken an interest in the neighborhood. However, many Chinatown tenement buildings are occupied by residents that are elderly immigrant families that have been able to stay in their apartments due to them being rent stabilized. When a building is rent stabilized, it allows for residents to not worry about dramatic increases in rent and allows them to renew their leases. Since this is the case for many buildings, landlords have resorted to creating housing violations to decrease the “quality of life” to displace these families and make space for those who can pay market rate prices. The CAAAV surveyed many tenants to see how landlords have done so and found that 71% of Chinatown residents have faced “ violations [that] include little or no heat, little or no hot water, lack of running water, leaking pipes, collapsing ceilings, exposed wires and leaking gas.” Since rezoning was created to attract wealthier residents and not include housing protections, tenants have to bear with bad living conditions that jeopardize their security and safety. This forces older immigrants to move out because they are unable to live in unhealthy environments. Other forms of harassments also include buyouts, not providing new leases, or simply rejecting to collect rent. However once these tenants leave, landlords would then make the necessary repairs to attract people to the building. Rezoning creates an atmosphere where landlords are in a rush to force people out. Without implementing policies to protect those from landlord harassment, people are forced to move out of their community.