PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jeannine Cahill-Jackson, Citywide Director of Elder Law at Legal Aid Society
2:23:46
·
3 min
Jeannine Cahill-Jackson from the Legal Aid Society testified about the organization's work in providing eviction defense services to seniors in the Bronx and Brooklyn. She emphasized the importance of rental assistance and affordability in helping seniors age in place, and called for support of recent local laws expanding CityFHEPS eligibility and enhancements to the SCRIE program.
- Highlighted the expansion of Legal Aid's Elder Law Unit, which now includes more attorneys, paralegals, and social workers
- Expressed support for the proposed bills aimed at helping older adults remain in their communities
- Noted the absence of rental assistance measures in the proposed programs and the increasing number of older adults entering the shelter system
- Called for implementation of Local Laws 99, 100, 101, and 102 of 2023, which expand CityFHEPS eligibility
- Suggested enhancements to the SCRIE program, including setting the frozen rent at the amount paid when the tenant turns 62 and exploring expansion to apartments covered by the new good cause law
Jeannine Cahill-Jackson
2:23:46
Thank you.
2:23:48
Good afternoon, Chair Hudson and members of the committee.
2:23:51
And thank you for your commitment to enhancing health and safety and the quality of life for older New Yorkers.
2:23:55
I'm Janine Cahill Jackson, the citywide director of Elder Love with the Legal Aid Society.
2:24:00
Legal aid has a long history of providing eviction defense services to seniors in both the Bronx and Brooklyn.
2:24:05
Currently, the Elder Law Unit is comprised of a multidisciplinary team specializing in eviction defense for seniors in both the Bronx and Brooklyn.
2:24:14
Our team is comprised of attorneys, paralegals, and social workers, and we were recently able to expand our staff doubling in each bureau and extending the amount of social work support, each of each eviction defense attorney gets.
2:24:27
And I just wanna welcome our many of our folks that are here with me today.
2:24:33
So building we're working on building a specialization to help keep the most vulnerable older New Yorkers in their homes.
2:24:40
We support all of the bills that are proposed today and acknowledge the consistent theme of helping older adults remain in the communities through strengthening and expanding the services that are available to them.
2:24:56
I wanted to just note something that seemed really important to raise because while these programs, the Norks, and the other enhanced services for older norkers that are proposed, While they help them remain in place longer in many ways, something that's notably absent is rental assistance or affordability of the current long usually long term units.
2:25:20
There continues to be an increase in numb the numbers of older adults entering the shelter system And as such, it's crucial that rental assistance and the screen rent freeze program remain part of any plan to help seniors age in place.
2:25:34
First, in regards to rental assistance, We call in the city council to continue to support the implementation of local laws 99, a 100, 101, and 102 of 2023, which I referred to as the state.
2:25:48
Sorry.
Crystal Hudson
2:25:49
Can you just list those again, 99100?
2:25:52
Local laws 99100.
2:25:55
101102
Jeannine Cahill-Jackson
2:25:56
in 2023.
2:25:58
They're what I refer to as the CityFects expansion, which removed the requirements that in order for a senior or any low come
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
2:26:07
to New
Jeannine Cahill-Jackson
2:26:07
Yorker to obtain that rental subsidy to either had to have shelter history or an active APS case.
2:26:17
There's a notable connection between the increase in services for folks to age in place which helps them in many ways, but would actually render them even less eligible under the current regimen for CityFeds, which requires that they're in need of APS services.
2:26:36
The other points I realized I meant time to that I wanted to raise was to call on city council to work with state legislature to enhance the scree program, to ensure true affordability of long term regulated apartments.
2:26:50
A few proposals are to set the legal regulated rent to frozen sorry, to set the frozen rent.
2:26:58
At the rent amount, the tenant pays when they turn 62 regardless of the year they apply.
2:27:05
Additionally to freeze the rent at an affordable amount.
2:27:09
Often, seniors that are particularly low fixed income are unable to afford their rent by the time they turn 62.
2:27:16
So it's essentially frozen at a continuously unaffordable rate.
2:27:20
Lastly, we request that it be explored to expand screeth to be available to seniors who live in apartments who are now covered by the new good cause law.
2:27:31
We'll be submitting written testimony to further explain all of those points, and we thank you for our opportunity to testify and for all the work that you do on behalf of older New Yorkers.
