[COMM-ORG] Metropolitan Council on Housing update

Fri Sep 9 13:33:20 CDT 2011

From: Metropolitan Council on Housing <active at metcouncil.net>

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Yes, We Can Help!

Met Council on Housing's Walk-In Clinic Re-opens,

Hotline Resumes 3-days-per-week schedule

Tenants' Rights Hotline

Met Council on Housing's tenants' rights telephone hotline is resuming
its regular
three-days-per-week schedule, following reduced hours over the summer.

For help with a housing problem, call: 212-979-0611

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1:30 to 5 pm

Our dedicated team of Met Council on Housing member-volunteers can give
brief advice
or referrals on matters ranging from eviction prevention, getting
repairs, lease
 renewals, roommates, and more.

Be advised: we receive a very high volume of calls. Please be patient
and call back
if you can't get through the first time. We recommend that you call
after 2:30 pm,
as the first hour is always the busiest.

We need more hotline volunteers! Learn how you can be trained to join
our volunteer
staff (see below).

Walk-In Housing Clinic

Some issues are just too complex to address over the phone. Met Council
on Housing's
weekly tenants' rights walk-in clinic has resumed operation after its
annual August
hiatus. For in-person help, visit:

61 East 4th Street (btwn 2nd Ave & the Bowery in Manhattan)

Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm (be on time!)

Subway: F to 2nd Avenue, 6 to Astor Place.

At the clinic, you can receive brief advice on your housing situation
from an experienced
Met Council on Housing member-volunteer. Please bring all paperwork
associated with
your issue. The clinic operates on a first-come, first-served basis.
Reservations
are not needed, but tenants who arrive late may be turned away.
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New York City Tenants Need You!

Learn How You Can Become a Met Council on Housing Telephone Hotline
Volunteer!

Hotline Orientation and Introduction to

Tenants' Rights in New York City - Open To All!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - 5:30 pm

339 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor  *(walk-up bldg, see below)

(corner of Lafayette & Bleecker Streets in Manhattan)

NO RESERVATIONS NECESSARY, but RSVPs are appreciated:
mario at metcouncil.net [mailto:mario at metcouncil.net]

Subway:6 to Bleecker  St.;

B / D /F /M to Broadway-Lafayette St; or

N / R to Prince St.

Met Council on Housing's tenants' rights telephone hotline is a unique
and incredibly
valuable resource for tenants. Every year, we educate thousands of
tenants about
 their rights and options, often providing them the critical information
they need
to prevent an eviction, stop an illegal rent increase, get long-needed
repairs from
negligent landlords, or avoid being tricked into signing their rights
away. As tenants
are introduced to Met Council on Housing's work, many also become active
in the
fight to improve and expand our affordable-housing protections and programs.

Our hotline is staffed by members like you who volunteer their time to
assist their
fellow New York City tenants. No experience or prior knowledge in
tenants' rights
is necessary - only a willingness to learn. Come to our orientation to
learn about
our hotline, and for an introduction to tenants' rights in New York City.

Currently we only have afternoon hotline hours, but we may expand to
evenings if
 there is sufficient interest among new volunteers.

*Please  note: the meeting, and our hotline location, are on the 3rd
floor of a
 walk-up office building. Unfortunately, there is no wheelchair access
in  the building.
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Housing Notebook

Voice of the Tenant Movement

Housing Notebook will be preempted on Monday, September 12, and will
return the
following week on September 19, at 8 pm. Tune in to Housing Notebook
then for the
latest developments in struggles across New York and around the world
for decent,
affordable housing for all.

Housing Notebook, a production of the Metropolitan Council on Housing,
normally
airs Mondays on WBAI, 99.5 FM, from 8 to 9 PM in the New York
metropolitan area,
 and on the Internet at www.wbai.org
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=h4zklccab&et=1107296058356&s=3080&e=001gRoSJgO-L3o8pJ7uYXGrpVY6_1EPZwpDI1JH5IoRWGwQ_ZlOXlpTRWQADMBpJMWlVI0EGxUvm0S3AUa85RU7y6UCeEbqghHkUw4H1wLFado=].
Programs are archived for 90 days at www.archive.wbai.org
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=h4zklccab&et=1107296058356&s=3080&e=001gRoSJgO-L3pnDDt0TPpbiyh-ab3cQuoSBCm3Iljsdls-5D3kasZisNTeesdLfkhcDfFp1WxdX96Rhk-Tizb4zSAQudU_NCYY1IeEQ3HEksKHUzF71AxDcA==]
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News You May Have Missed

Complaints that Rent Is Illegally High Often Languish
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=h4zklccab&et=1107296058356&s=3080&e=001gRoSJgO-L3ofTtwMhO3qnAdSzKaPXCnkE1LyEiVK_UKbSh90L5bi1mgxmb6dBpc7_yxtXQB7RzGfci7VYNdEL75A6Kv8zT9VnvzxPK19pxJGYNJ2UQUddSBZMrCGpZwAERI-4EKSvMHatWcf-zDigZ2B-_LzdWSP7H5Yht5_yukL_-zmQlIUzZLqQ_MuesO2PLpWppWxD6cbHcF5jJcY8N-CEhXg8eNUeQNTEb0jBrFngn8s_tzGp9zo7ePUAuhNVZRFJ90Vg2GLbczZSGoDBTUohsLx0QluwROzr-QPvlBQZMmF20v8qA==]

In a survey of 200 rent-regulated apartments, Make the Road New York
found that
landlords for nearly half of the units had registered rents above what
they could
legally charge. Worse, enforcement is largely complaint-driven, and
tenants often
don't know their rights.

Her Chinatown Home Is 'Underperforming'
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=h4zklccab&et=1107296058356&s=3080&e=001gRoSJgO-L3qNtUAvWKEZEltndsN3TL4BeGLEiAkcTaHHVTffHE_XFeAKXZhuE5HsxrOBiiIH5Gdtsm9z0g8Tb3b1SHFnYQqDA-u2T8JAvZv-ORNM-E-8ZIKkOh5wj-E2cOkkLeVSbAqa78nx5ZqfJTVYBs_jVdmdn_ck1NSF8lRbaWHPHEvE3KZorwFgqOOyrK-qGODPr2v8p4uox4Qi_hJNnUq-xUJZpjt7IYxdlEunfJvOz19ZkuuuaPYljF7hr62yLDc_CmU8Hyr2tHyRzQ==]

Real estate investment group Madison Capital bought two Chinatown
tenement buildings
for inflated prices in 2008. To turn a profit, each tiny walk-up
apartment will
have to rent for $6,500 per month - over twice what the market will
fetch. With
many units still occupied by long-term rent-stabilized tenants paying
around $1,000,
the landlord has resorted to cutting the heat, refusing to make repairs,
and harassing
the tenants to push them out.
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ARE YOU A MEMBER OF MET COUNCIL ON HOUSING?

Join the Metropolitan Council on Housing today and get involved in the
fight for
 decent, affordable housing!
Our members are the heart and soul of our work - leading our campaigns,
volunteering,
and providing nearly all of our financial support! We depend on the
efforts, and
 the membership dues, of people like you, for everything that we do.
To become a member and learn about the important work of Met Council on
Housing,
 go to: metcouncil.net/join.htm
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=h4zklccab&et=1107296058356&s=3080&e=001gRoSJgO-L3qxEkqwaTRQnalqh8GcWpuJZirxxECjWK8Zf1DlhwQnCCjfKZpHvy6Nxak56e_3WV7vtfHigCMumjyNo_Uk_ezVkJ153gaBrtgp3XtXv3jC0JIJZUYNeh1x]
Members receive a free subscription to our monthly publication,
Tenant/Inquilino.
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TENANTS' RIGHTS TELEPHONE HOTLINE:

Call Met Council on Housing's tenants' rights telephone hotline at
212-979-0611
between the hours of 1:30 and 5:00 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays, for brief
answers to questions about your rights as a tenant, help in organizing a
tenant
association in your building, or referrals.
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TUESDAY NIGHT
HOUSING CLINIC

Met Council on Housing's free clinic offers tenants assistance with
landlord-tenant
disputes.
We meet at the offices of the Cooper Square Committee, located at 61
East 4th Street
in Manhattan, every
Tuesday at 6:30pm. Please arrive by 6:30 in order to be served.
By subway: 6 to Astor Place; F to 2nd Avenue; or N/R to 8th Street.
Please bring all paperwork associated with your case.
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In Solidarity,
Metropolitan Council on Housing

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