May 2024 Newsletter
There’s SO much going on over at For the Many HQ and we’re so excited to share it with you! We’ve been deep in organizing mode working to expand rent control upstate, elect a working-class champion to the New York Assembly, and help Hudson Valley communities opt-in to Good Cause Eviction protections.
And on May 29, we’ll be starting our weeklong fundraising drive, when our staff and nearly one hundred volunteers ask our friends, family, and neighbors to donate and help power our movement forward. You’ll hear more from us next week, and we hope you’ll pitch in.
We’re doing NON-STOP organizing to make sure as many Hudson Valley tenants as possible are protected from unjust evictions and extreme rent increases. Last month, the New York state legislature passed a gutted version of Good Cause Eviction that excludes upstate tenants and forces municipalities outside of New York City to opt-in individually.
While this version of Good Cause is a betrayal to the millions of upstate tenants who desperately need these protections, we’re doing everything we can to pass Good Cause ASAP in as many Hudson Valley communities as possible, starting with Kingston, Newburgh, and Poughkeepsie. We’re also in the midst of a campaign to expand rent stabilization to Poughkeepsie, which will help keep housing affordable for 1,500 families in the city.
If you live in Poughkeepsie, Kingston, or Newburgh, stay tuned for ways to get involved in these campaigns!
One of the politicians who didn’t lift a finger to ensure upstate tenants didn’t get left out of the Good Cause bill was Assemblymember Didi Barrett, who represents parts of Dutchess and Columbia counties. Didi’s been in office for over a decade, and in addition to failing to stand up for tenants, she’s voted with Republicans against common sense gun safety protections and introduced a bill that would gut New York’s climate laws.
We’re organizing to replace Didi with Claire Cousin, a lifelong Hudson Valley resident, working-class mom of three, and co-founder of an affordable housing nonprofit. There’s just under a month until the Democratic Primary on June 25, and voting has already started for folks with absentee ballots!! We need to talk to thousands of voters in the next month to win this race: help get Claire elected by signing up for a canvassing or phonebanking shift! OR make a donation to help elect a Black working-class organizer and mom to the New York Assembly!
This is going to be a big summer for our movement, and we’re so grateful to be in this fight with all of you. More updates soon!
In solidarity,
Team For the Many
