(Updated March 7, 2020)
Join us as the HDFC Coalition organizes HDFC shareholders across NYC in 2020!
We must defeat the most urgent threats to the independence of HDFC co-ops since Mayor de Blasio’s and HPD’s 2016 plan to force all HDFCs to sign a new regulatory agreement.
The Threat: Bills introduced by State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein
New York State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, from Manhattan’s Lower East Side, has introduced bills to change New York State law that would have drastic consequences for HDFCs, and he is working with many of the same players that came up with 2016 regulatory agreement plan. He completely excluded HDFC co-op shareholders from the meetings to develop his bills!
The HDFC bills from Assembly Member Epstein would essentially strip away our property rights and give control of our homes to the government. Our private co-ops would, essentially, become public housing. But while government has both control of public housing and the responsibility to maintain it (which government clearly does not have the funds to do), these bills would give control of our private homes to the government, while the responsibility to pay to keep our HDFC co-ops in good repair would remain on our shoulders. And when an HDFC co-op is left unable to keep its building in good condition and goes into distress, HPD would happily foreclose and transfer the building to a non-profit housing group and/or Community Land Trust that are hungry for properties to own.
How can you help the HDFC Coalition to defeat these HDFC bills?
Here’s what we are doing, and how you can help:
1. Tell your neighbors to join the HDFC Coalition mailing list by going to www.hdfccoalition.org, then click the green button on the homepage, or click here. This is the best way to get the latest news on the HDFCs, and to know when we are planning HDFC meetings, demonstrations and more.
2. Educate yourself and your neighbors on HDFC issues and on Assembly Member Epstein’s HDFC bills. More info on these HDFC bills is on this page down below, and updates will be sent to the HDFC community via email, but only to those on our mailing list.
– Read our short summary (in English and Spanish) of Epstein’s draft bill to change the Private Housing Finance law and see his draft bill: Click here.
– Show elected officials in Albany that you oppose Epstein’s “HDFC Ombudsman” bill (which would force every HDFC apt. owner to pay a yearly fee, and would give taxpayer money and the power of the NY State Attorney General’s office to non-profit groups such as UHAB to police and control our buildings) by going to this link and then click the “NAY” button, fill out the form and then click “Oppose this bill.”
3. Take Action! Defeat these bills to protect your home! Every HDFC shareholder must get politically involved – we can’t win by sitting on the couch and hoping for the best. We have won numerous battles before by organizing and taking action politically, but the threat posed by Epstein’s bills is the most dangerous yet. Here’s how to fight and win:
- (a) Contact your elected officials immediately, and (b) join us for organized political action: Look for details soon about a bus trip to Albany by HDFC shareholders to lobby elected officials and a possible demonstration in New York City. (Dates and details for Albany trip and political demonstrations not yet determined – join our mailing list and watch our website for details!)
- Contact your elected officials and say that you oppose these bills. Don’t be shy, their job is to represent YOU! Should you stop by their local district office, or send an email, or retweet our posts on Twitter, or write them a letter and mail it? The answer is ALL OF THE ABOVE. Be a pest until you get a commitment that they will oppose these bills! Remember, your home and your future is at stake!
- Focus on your State elected representatives, as we are working to defeat State bills. For a bill to become NY State law, it must pass in the State Assembly, and the State Senate, and (usually) be signed by the Governor. Here are the key electeds to contact:
– It’s important to contact your local State Senator and local State Assembly Member. Click the links to determine your district’s State elected officials by checking the district maps, get their contact info, and let them know!
– Majority Leader of the NYS Senate Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
– NYS Senate Chair of Housing Committee Brian Kavanagh
– Speaker of the NYS Assembly Carl E. Heastie
– NYS Assembly Chair of Housing Committee Steven Cymbrowitz
– Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
– NY State Attorney General Letitia James - Periodically, we send out sample emails to send to elected officials, and all you have to do is copy + paste the message and the email addresses and hit send. You need to be on our mailing list to get these!
What to write to your elected officials? Here’s a message you can use:
Dear (insert name of elected official):
I am a voter, HDFC cooperative shareholder, and member of the HDFC Coalition. I write to you today because I want you to know that I oppose HDFC bills introduced, and being drafted, to change laws including the New York State Private Housing and Finance Law (PHFL). These new bills would have extremely negative consequences for my affordable HDFC co-op, myself, my family and nearly 100,000 New Yorkers.
I STRONGLY OPPOSE THE FOLLOWING HDFC BILLS!
A09608 “Establishes the office of the HDFC cooperative ombudsman”
I strongly oppose this bill introduced by NY State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein on January 27, 2020. I have serious objections to the bill, and I cannot support ANY such bill granting the government new powers over our private homes while Assembly Member Epstein simultaneously seeks to enact radical changes to the NY State Private Housing Finance Law (PHFL) governing HDFCs (see below).
Draft bill #13645-02-0 “Assets and Supervision of HDFCs” – I also strongly oppose this January 6, 2020 draft bill to change the PHFL by Assembly Member Harvey Epstein. This bill seeks to put private HDFC cooperative homes under permanent government control, convert them to non-profit corporation status, and reduce the value of my home.
I WRITE TO TELL YOU THAT I OBJECT!
We do not want New York State or New York City to in any way diminish our equity, independence, property rights or right of self-determination. We must insist that our HDFC co-ops, which are our private homes, be respected in the same manner as any other homeowner.
Over 1,200 HDFC cooperatives exist throughout NYC containing approximately 30,000 apartments. Many of these buildings were sold in poor, as-is condition to low, moderate and middle-income residents who were desperate to end the cycle of slumlords and abandonment. Often, only through sheer determination, sweat-equity and their own limited funds did the residents save their buildings. A 1981 New York Times article from the early days of HDFCs reported: “ ‘In many cases, the city is putting the tenants in leaky boats and telling them to try to cross the ocean,’ said Sandy Bayer, executive director of the private Task Force on City-Owned Property.”
The City benefitted from the creation of HDFC co-ops by getting rid of buildings that it couldn’t afford to manage. The residents struggled but largely benefitted by becoming first-time homeowners. And the City, the new HDFC owners, and the neighborhoods benefitted as people had a real stake in their communities. Conditions improved, and so did tax revenue for the city. A 2005 Furman Center report found that “an analysis of approximate costs and benefits suggests that New York City’s housing investments delivered a tax benefit to the city that exceeded the cost of the city’s subsidies.”
We have spent decades rebuilding our battered buildings. We have helped stabilize our neighborhoods, reduce crime, paid taxes (unlike the former landlords who abandoned these buildings), and ensured that we and our families can afford to remain in New York City for generations to come.
Additionally, while it is important that the “DAMP” partial real estate tax exemption for HDFCs be replaced with a new and preferably permanent tax benefit at some point before its expiration in 2029, this should not be used as a reason, nor as an excuse, to suddenly redefine the rules of HDFC homeownership in a harmful way. We absolutely object to any effort to effectively turn our privately owned homes into “public housing”.
We urge you to work with HDFC shareholders—the true stakeholders—and not against us, so that you can understand our real needs and concerns. Creating further confusion and distress for the more than 30,000 families living in HDFC co-ops is unwarranted. If you are considering changes to the PHFL, we the people who actually live in HDFC cooperatives must be the first ones considered and consulted.
Thank you for your time and attention. Please let me know your position on these issues as soon as possible.
You and your fellow HDFC shareholders CAN help to win this fight and others! We’ve organized and done it before, and we can do it again. But YOU must actually join the fight and take action if we are to be successful yet again. Here is how:
URGENT UPDATE December 2019: Fight to Protect your HDFC co-op and your families future from harmful changes to the NY State Private Housing Finance Law (PHFL)
CLICK HERE FOR OUR SPECIAL PAGE ON THE FIGHT FOR THE PHFL
General Information on How to Become a Politically Savvy HDFC-er
Find your local City Council Member by clicking here: https://council.nyc.gov/districts/
When you email elected officials about HDFC issues, please cc the HDFC Coalition at hdfccoalition@gmail.com as well! If you write an actual letter (politicians love them), please scan it and email it to us!
Also, you and your shareholders can get involved at your local Community Board, and express your concerns at a Housing/Land Use Committee Meeting and also at a General Meeting. Find your Community Board by clicking here: Bronx CBs Brooklyn CBs Manhattan CBs Queens CBs Staten Island CBs
Have you joined our mailing list? Our efforts are gaining traction but we still want and need your involvement to ensure the success of our efforts to protect and preserve our beloved HDFC coops. Please join the HDFC Coalition and keep informed of upcoming news and events by clicking below. And…make sure your fellow shareholders in your building and others do, too. Membership is free, so click the button to join below!