Residents of 63 Tiffany Place, one of the few affordable housing buildings remaining in the Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens, say they face potential rent increases and eviction at the beginning of the new year.
The tenants, along with several elected officials, called on the landlord to sell the building to tenants or a nonprofit during a rally outside the building on Thursday.
The building’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) agreement, which has kept rents affordable for nearly three decades, is set to expire next year, according to a press release. Without action, the expiration threatens to send rents soaring to market rates, forcing out long-term residents and undermining community stability.
"For 30 years, we’ve been part of this community, and we deserve the right to stay and age in place,” said John Leyva, a tenant at 63 Tiffany Pl.
Tenants began negotiating with landlord Irving Langer to sell the building to the renters or a nonprofit, but Langer has walked away from the table, the press release said.
“Irving Langer of E&M Associates is turning his back on tenants once again,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “After years of uncertainty and instability under E&M’s management, tenants made their voices loud and clear: it’s time for a community-based nonprofit to take over the building, not another predatory landlord. With the building up for sale, Langer must re-engage with tenants so that not a single resident is displaced from their homes.”
Tenants and elected officials called for the passage of the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) at the state level and the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) at the city level. These measures would give tenants and nonprofits the first opportunity to purchase residential buildings when they go up for sale. Similar policies in Washington D.C. and San Francisco have proven effective at preserving affordable housing, reducing displacement, and providing tenants with greater control over their homes.
Elected officials at the rally also included Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, State Senator Zellnor Myrie (lead Senate sponsor of TOPA), Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes (lead Assembly sponsor of TOPA), Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Councilmember Shahana Hanif, and Councilmember Alexa Avilés.
The tenants, members of the Southwest Brooklyn Tenants Union, were also supported by Housing Justice for All, the New Economy Project, New York Community Land Initiative, and Carroll Gardens Association.
“Once again, the landlord of 63 Tiffany Place is threatening to displace long-term, working-class residents from one of the last affordable housing options in the Columbia Waterfront neighborhood,” said Hanif. “Today, we stand with tenants and advocates in demanding a fair solution and a continuation of good-faith negotiations to preserve this vital affordable housing option for our neighbors.”
