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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Philip Duncan, Assistant Director for Housing at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation
2:46:29
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3 min
Philip Duncan testifies about the importance of the Anti-Harassment Tenant Protection Program (AHTP) in preserving affordable housing and ensuring housing justice for New York City tenants. He explains how AHTP complements the Right to Counsel program by providing preventative and affirmative legal services, empowering tenants to fight harassment and hold landlords accountable.
- AHTP enables tenant-initiated litigation, supports tenant organizing, and addresses systemic discrimination in housing.
- The program helps divert matters from housing court through pre-litigation strategies and out-of-court negotiations.
- Duncan emphasizes the need to preserve and expand support for AHTP, suggesting coordination with federal and state officials, public advocacy, and contingency planning to protect funding for these critical services.
Philip Duncan
2:46:29
Great.
2:46:30
Thank you, Ross.
2:46:31
Good afternoon.
2:46:31
I'm Philip Duncan.
2:46:32
I'm the assistant director for housing at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation.
2:46:36
While Nimiq is a right to counsel provider, we also provide services through the Anti Harassment Tenant Protection Program or AHTP, which I'm here to talk about today.
2:46:46
AHTP plays a vital role in preserving affordable housing and ensuring housing justice for New York City tenants.
2:46:52
While the right to counsel program offers legal representation for tenants facing eviction, HDP complements RTC by funding preventative and affirmative legal services.
2:47:01
Together, these programs form a comprehensive safety net, but HDP is the only program that empowers lawyers and advocates to go on the offensive, proactively fighting with and for tenants to stop harassment before it escalates into eviction.
2:47:15
HDPE enables tenants to assert their rights in the face of landlord harassment and systemic housing neglect.
2:47:22
It funds tenant initiated litigation, allowing residents to hold landlords accountable for creating an or allowing unsafe environments and for violating rent regulations.
2:47:32
Additionally, AHTP provides vital support for tenant organizing.
2:47:36
It protects groups of tenants who band together to form associations and take collective action against predatory landlords.
2:47:42
It also equips them to with the legal tools to challenge unlawful rent hikes, illegal deregulation of rent stabilized apartments, and other forms of financial exploitation.
2:47:53
Without this infrastructure of legal and community based support, tenants, particularly low income and and immigrant communities, will be left to navigate these complex and often intimidating challenges alone.
2:48:05
The program also plays a critical role in addressing systemic discrimination.
2:48:09
It gives tenants the means to file complaints about housing discrimination based on race, disability, family status, and more, whether through administrative agencies like the city or state commission on human rights or in state and federal courts.
2:48:22
Furthermore, AHTP helps divert matters from from housing court altogether through pre litigation strategies and out of court negotiations.
2:48:29
While this program relies on a smaller portion of federal funds than RTC, HRA has been has made earlier decisions to cut this much smaller pool of AT funds to divert money to a RTC.
2:48:42
Right before the start of this fiscal year, HRA took funding from this critical program and reallocated it to RTC, a cut that this council fought hard to restore and did as part of the city of Yes.
2:48:54
Preserving and expanding support for AHTP is not just a matter of tenant rights.
2:48:58
It's a necessary investment in the health, stability, and equity of New York City's housing system.
2:49:04
So for for the ways to protect funding for these programs, our suggestions is we they we you coordinate with federal elected officials to gather information and advocate for continued funding, coordinate with state elected officials to explore other funding streams, elevate the importance of this funding through public discussions and media, and create a contingency plan for other resources and funding streams to bridge the funding gap.
2:49:28
So thank you for this opportunity to discuss this incredible value provided by these programs for New York City tenants.
2:49:33
We look forward to your continued support in protecting and enhancing our services.