Housing advocates protest in Hempstead after board rejects Good Cause Eviction law

Dozens of voices rang out on a cold December evening in Hempstead Village, chanting and singing in support of a state law increasing eviction protections for tenants and in opposition to the village board's rejection of the legislation.

The rally Tuesday evening in front of Hempstead Village Hall included Hempstead residents and Long Island housing advocates, all seeking another board vote on the "Good Cause Eviction" law. In early November, the village board voted 3-2 against the legislation.

"We cannot rely on individuals who claim that it is through their good nature that we have housing," said Kiana Bierria-Anderson, 32, a housing advocate and village resident who attended the protest.

"To pass Good Cause protects me, protects my family, protects my neighbors, protects the future of Long Island and it addresses the affordability crisis that we have here on Long Island and in the Village of Hempstead."

"Neighbor, neighbor, can’t you see? Good Cause is what you need," several people sang at the rally before heading into Village Hall for the board's regular meeting.

New York municipalities have the option to adopt the state law, passed in 2024, which limits rent increases and requires landlords to prove "good cause" to evict tenants. While several upstate municipalities and New York City have adopted the legislation, it has not been passed anywhere on Long Island.

Reasons for eviction permitted under the law include failure to pay rent, violation of lease terms and illegal occupancy, among others. The law also guarantees lease renewals or the ability to stay in an apartment month-to-month without a lease.

Village Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr., who voted against the law, said that with other protections already existing in New York State, the legislation felt redundant. 

"As a matter of fact," Hobbs told Newsday, "most owners that rent will tell you that out of all the states, New York State is the hardest place to evict a tenant that does not pay rent. In my opinion, and other board members’ opinions, there was no need to duplicate something that’s already in place."

Deputy Mayor Jeffery Daniels and trustee Tanya Carter both voted against the law. Village trustees Noah Burroughs and William Whitaker both voted in favor.

Former village trustee Clariona Griffith said she had supported passing the Good Cause legislation before leaving office.

"How can you be for the residents if you're not for Good Cause law?" Griffith said at the rally. "Shame on the board for not passing it."

Other advocates for the legislation in the village say there's nothing preventing landlords from dramatically raising rents or choosing to not renew a lease, even when a tenant has consistently paid rent on time and followed the terms of their lease.

"Our tenants and community groups are rallying to demand the law be put back on the agenda because people are being displaced and affordability is getting worse," said Will Bailey, senior director at New York Communities for Change and an organizer behind the rally.

Working families, seniors and long-term residents are struggling to keep up with rents rising faster than incomes with little legal protection as recourse, he said, and "without good-cause protections, renters can be priced out or pushed out with little warning."

At the protest, housing advocate and Hempstead local Peggy Moise said she and her three children were evicted a year and a half ago from their apartment in the village even though they kept the terms of their lease and paid rent.

The eviction forced her family into shelters and caused her eldest, a 19-year-old with disabilities, to be separated.

"All this happened because our building did not have Good Cause protection," she said.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.