Breaking news: Governor Cuomo has introduced a source of income protection bill! Read his announcement here.
On Tuesday, April 24th, over 70 advocates representing disability, fair housing, veteran, and elderly community groups lobbied for Source of Income protection in Albany. Advocates traveled from all parts of the state to rally for this important cause.
Assembly bill A.10077 was introduced by Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley. It would protect our most marginalized community members by making it illegal for landlords to discriminate against potential renters because they use governmental assistance or legal non-wage income.
The #BanIncomeBiasNY Lobby Day began at six A.M. for advocates bussing in from New York City. During breakfast, group members were able to bond with teammates while listening to quick remarks from Lorraine Collins, Director of Public Policy and External Affairs at Enterprise Community Partners. Ms. Collins recognized the groundbreaking work of Elaine Gross and ERASE Racism for its initial organizing of groups across New York State to form a coalition.
At a press conference, Elizabeth Barnes provided testimony from her personal experience of being unable to secure housing after being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder. Ms. Barnes and her daughter suffered from homelessness after multiple landlords refused to rent to her due to her usage of governmental assistance to pay rent. Ms. Gross then offered remarks and a call to action for passage of the bill and introduced Assemblyman Mosley, who gave impassioned remarks on the importance of statewide policies that protect people using non-wage income to pay for housing from discrimination.
Throughout the day advocates met with legislators and their staff, urging them to support bill A.10077. Many were successful. Prior to Lobby Day, A.10077 received 11 supporters. It now has 20 supporters.
ERASE Racism has been at the forefront of challenging housing discrimination for 17 years. We led the successful efforts to strengthen fair housing protections in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The Statewide Source of Income Coalition was originally organized by ERASE Racism in 2016, as a network of 30 organizations. The Source of Income Coalition is currently led by Enterprise Community Partners and continues the fight to ensure fair housing choice for all New Yorkers. We are proud to remain an active member of the coalition.
Fifty years ago this month, the Fair Housing Act banned housing discrimination. We applaud Assemblyman Mosley and all source of income protection advocates for continuing the fight.
If you are interested in joining the Statewide Source of Income Coalition sign up here.