On the crisp early morning of March 19th, 2024 100s of tenants from all boroughs in NYC and all towns from upstate were waking up and getting ready to take on their day. As they brushed their teeth and put on their socks they were mentally preparing for their journey to Albany.
Why Albany you ask? Well I am glad you did!
You see our State legislators are upstate right now trying to negotiate the state budget! Which is due at the end of the month. To ensure tenants are getting the protections we need! Its crucial that we make sure our elected officials hear us! Aside from hearing us it's important they see us! See our faces and see who will be effected if tenant protections are not set in place or are watered down.
So while tenants were heading up to Albany they were also preparing for the day ahead. On the bus with sleepy yawns they will introduce themselves and strategize with their seat buddies on which event they wanted to be apart of that day. The bus captains are passing out coffee and getting folks acquainted with the agenda. It goes as follows, "Welcome folks and excited to see you all this morning"! You can tell from everyone's response that they were a sleepy bus. The captains go on to explain the day on how when the buses arrive they will all gather and walk in together, there will be a press conference/ rally and then they will go into marching on all the floors! While marching they will scream out some chants such as, " FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT, HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT" " PASS GOOD CAUSE NOW" and many more. As the bus practiced a bit you can see the energy shifting and the bus was WAKING UP!
The captains then went into give a reminder on why they all woke up so early and half the city and half of upstate is headed to Albany! "To defend tenants’ rights during ongoing budget negotiations!" They went on to explain the current bills we are advocating for, which are Good Cause, Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), Rent Stabilization Reforms, Social Housing Development Authority.
Now the bus had a clear understanding on what awaited them in Albany. So for the rest of the ride they shared stories, napped, laughed together and finally the buses have arrived and Tenants Stormed the Capital!!!!!