DeLauro a housing leader

The greater New Haven region, like the state and the nation, is facing a crisis due to a critical shortage of affordable housing. While the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and increased the urgency of the crisis, the widening gap between what families can afford and what property owners charge for rent predates the pandemic and leaves millions of families in jeopardy of housing instability. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the U.S. faces a shortage of 7 million units affordable to extremely low-income families. No state in the country has an adequate supply of affordable housing. In Connecticut, 40 percent of low-income families and 80 percent of very low and extremely low income families are rent burdened — paying far more than they can afford for housing expenses. Connecticut has an estimated need for almost 87,000 more units.

Addressing this need must be a governmental priority. Now, perhaps more than ever, we need elected officials who make this a priority. Here in the Third Congressional District, residents benefit from the leadership of a congresswoman who has a long history of effectively advocating for housing policies that recognize the importance of ensuring that everyone has a safe place that they can call home. Voters have a clear choice in November — a choice between a candidate who knows the needs of this region and brings her experience and passion to create opportunities for all versus a candidate who has a history of displacing low-income residents in efforts to gentrify and create luxury housing for wealthy residents.

As an affordable housing provider in this community and a committee member of New Haven’s Affordable Housing Taskforce and a contributing author to the Taskforce report, I along with others have documented the need for a substantial increase in affordable housing in this region. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro’s record is clear and substantive in fighting for fair and equitable housing policies.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, DeLauro has successfully advocated for inclusion in the HEROES Act of billions of dollars in emergency rental assistance, homeless assistance grants and housing choice vouchers as well as the inclusion of eviction protections. She recognizes the economic impact of this pandemic on families is long term and far reaching.

In efforts to ensure that our rental housing offers safe options for families and that families can maintain their housing, she has introduced timely legislation. Her Know Your Home Act provides protections to renters ensuring easy access to information about a home’s history of lead contamination or other hazards. DeLauro leads in eviction prevention efforts with her Eviction Prevention Act and the Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program Act.

The opposing candidate’s record on housing reflects no commitment to affordable housing and instead represents active efforts to displace lower-income residents during her tenure as president of Newcastle Realty Services, a New York City-based real estate company. According to several reports, her practices got her in “hot water for allegedly breaking New York’s old rent laws” by using illegal methods to force lower income residents out of buildings that she acquired. One account in The Village Voice labeled her as one of “NYC’s 10 Worst Landlords.” A 2019 investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James led to a lawsuit against Newcastle’s former head of operations for illegally deregulating rent-controlled apartments. She cites New York’s enhanced tenant protections as the reason that she moved her business out of New York.

In a region so in need of affordable housing and a commitment to creating equity for families who have been harmed and marginalized by governmental housing policies of the past, the people of the Third Congressional District cannot afford to elect a representative to Congress with a track record of gentrification and displacement of lower-income families. The people need a fierce advocate and effective fighter. Join me in standing and casting your vote for Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro.