REMARKS
Alexa Avilés on Legislation to Support Fire-Impacted Non-English Speaking Communities
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4 min
Council Member Alexa Avilés advocates for intro 006, legislation designed to aid non-English speaking communities impacted by fires through improved access to in-language resources and information about tenant rights.
- Avilés highlights the plight of non-English speaking residents in her district facing displacement and loss following fires, including instances of tenant harassment.
- She proposes intro 006 to mandate accessible in-language resources and clear information about tenant rights and landlord obligations after fires.
- The bill aims to promote awareness among residents, particularly non-English speakers, about their legal rights and to ensure landlords cannot mislead tenants about reentry after fires.
- It seeks to implement a process involving HPD and FDNY to inform tenants about vacating orders and their rights post-fire in the city’s top 10 most commonly spoken languages.
- Avilés stresses the necessity of official processes to inform and protect tenants, rather than relying on individual council members to fill information gaps.
Alexa Avilés
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Wendell Diaz.
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Good morning.
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And thank you chair Ariola and chair Sanchez for making my bill intro.
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006, part of the conversation today.
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This legislation is especially important to me, becomes because it comes directly from the LIVDICT experiences of residents in my district who have been impacted by fires, many of whom are non English speaking.
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Over the past 2 years, we have experienced quite a number of fires, which have resulted in people being the placed and sent to shelters scattered around the city.
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In one of our largest fires, a 110 adults and thirty children were displaced.
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Most of whom were Chinese speaking migrants who may who who may not be To access the resources necessary to obtain information regarding their rights.
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At that time, there were no adequate resources in language accessible ways for them.
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It depended on community members.
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Who saw the tragedy unfolding to jump in to translate on-site at the time.
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Unfortunately, so many of these families when they attempted to return to their apartments to retrieve whatever possessions remained after the fire, they were prevented from doing so by their landlord.
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Even after the building was deemed safe for reentry.
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In one of the district's more egregious examples, resident possessions were sold by individuals who pretended to work for a moving company.
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Having been granted access by the landlord ahead of the residence.
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From what we can understand from the FDNY, After necessary inspections are performed, post fire, the building is then returned over to the landlord if it has been deemed safe for reentry.
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The landlord is then responsible for learning tenants that they have a right to return.
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If landlords are intentionally misleading tenants, about their rights to reenter.
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This likely constitutes tenant harassment thereby violating existing New York City housing laws.
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However, as with so many of our non English speaking residents, they are not aware that their landlord is, in fact, violating laws and instead resign themselves to complete displacement and loss of all of their possessions.
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This bill aims to close the information gap through a very simple education process, which would be available in the top 10 most commonly spoken languages in our city.
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Through intro006, HPD in consultation with the FDNY would develop procedures that would ensure that occupants are fully informed of the process for vacay orders after a fire, including information regarding their rights as tenants.
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Excuse me, and the responsibilities of the landlords in this situation.
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This legislation slation would allow families to have better chance at reoccupying at recouping their livelihood in the aftermath of a devastating especially for many of those who may be at most rest of displacement.
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And I just have to shout out to council member Jen Gutierrez, who also experienced a good number of fires and whose staff put together information for residents.
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And what we are trying to address here is that it shouldn't be left to council members and their goodwill to fill the gaps of information for New York City families.
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It should be part of a seamless process where we can inform people of their rights.
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So that people can learn how to pick up after such a traumatic situation.
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So I'd look forward to the conversation on the legislation today.
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And, of course, I cannot close without thinking, all the first responders HPD, DOB inspectors, and everyone, American Red Cross, who steps in during a time of crisis we can do better.
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And I truly believe that if we continue to step into the multilingual city that we are, we will be able to meet these really serious needs.
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So thank you so much.
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Thank you, chairs.