Transcript: De Blasio Administration to Help Prevent Homelessness by Adding Resources to Keep New Yorkers in Their Homes

September 28, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well, before we begin on this topic, I just want to just take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary experiences that all New Yorkers had last week with the visit of His Holiness – this is something that truly will be remembered in the history of this city as a great, great moment. And we have seen in Pope Francis a global voice such as I think we’ve never seen before, calling us all to address very, very challenging issues, but doing it in such a positive, compassionate, embracing way. And It think everyone felt energized by his visit, felt inspired. I certainly felt tremendously inspired. And I heard from people all around the city of all faiths how much they appreciated the Pope’s example and what it meant to them to have him here in this city. 

So we’ve been through something extraordinary, something I think will have lasting positive ramifications for this city and for this country. And you know, a year ago, when I was at the Vatican, it was just a hope and a dream that he would come visit us, and now it has happened, and it’s happened in such a powerful way. 

And a lot of credit to all those in this city who made it possible – obviously our partners in the archdiocese, our federal partners – Secret Service, FBI, and other agencies – tremendous coordination. The folks on the ground who work for this city have a lot to be proud of – all the agencies. NYPD in particular played a central role and an incredibly effective role, but to name the others – FDNY, Office of Emergency Management, Sanitation, DOT, Mayor’s Office of Citywide Events, hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. There’s so much to be proud of because these extremely complicated events came off so well – and remember, we’ve never had a situation like this, having a Pope here at the same as the U.N. General Assembly. And this city has a lot to be proud of, and the people of this city should be very proud of the way they comported themselves – put up with some of inconveniences and realized it was for something much greater. But all of our city agencies and all of our city employees deserve a lot of credit for what they did.

I will remind you, we not only had the 80,000 people in Central Park and tens of thousands of people at other points who gathered to see His Holiness, a number of events , all of which came off beautifully, but on top of that, you know, a minor matter on Saturday of the Global Citizen Festival with 51,000 people in Central Park. That was a sidelight compared to all the other things going on, but that also went beautifully. So there’s a lot to be proud of.

Before I turn to today’s topic, I do want to note – His Holiness sent us a powerful message – it’s been amplified by Cardinal Dolan as well – that we have an obligation to treat everyone of our fellow New Yorkers as our fellow human being, as someone we respect and embrace. And that is certainly true when it comes to people whose lives have taken a tough turn. It is certainly true of our fellow New Yorkers who are homeless. We want to be animated by the spirit that Pope Francis brought to this city that we want to help anyone in need and we want to believe in their capacity to end up in a better place. 

I was really struck on Wednesday with the Franciscan brothers talking about their work in the South Bronx, and the fact that they recognized that someone who was homeless – in fact, folks who had additional challenge, like mental health challenges or substance abuse challenges – needed to be brought into help and support by being treated first as valuable human beings – that the actual way to get people off the streets was to treat them with that respect and that dignity. And that work is happening every day in this city – and His Holiness certainly reminded us that’s something we need to aspire to in all we do. 

So a quick quote from what the Pope left us with that I think is very powerful – he said, “Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security. If we want life, let us give life. If we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities.” That’s the guiding spirit of what we are trying to do to address the very substantial challenge of homelessness that we’re facing in this city.

And we’ve seen in recent days, so many of our fellow cities are facing this challenge as well, and some have an even more daunting task than we do. But we believe we can make a big impact here. We believe we can make the kind of changes we need to address this issue head-on, so let me talk about today’s announcement.

We’re investing $12.3 million dollars in a very powerful tool – free legal services for tenants facing eviction and who are victims of harassment by unscrupulous landlords. Whenever I talk about this topic, I say at the outset, the vast majority of landlords are law-abiding and do their work well. There is a subset who are unscrupulous. And there are some who take advantage of innocent tenants to try and make more money. It’s as simple as that. And there are strong and clear laws against such harassment, against forced evictions. 

But so many of our tenants who are in these situations don’t have the legal support they need. They’re facing a huge challenge without having the kind of back-up they deserve. Thousands, thousands of tenants have had to go to housing court facing what turned out to be an inappropriate eviction, but they were alone and they didn’t have the ability to fight for themselves without a lawyer standing near by them. 

This new initiative will mean that they will have a guardian. They will have a lawyer standing by them. They’ll never have to stand alone in a court of law to defend their basic rights and to avoid an eviction, which is illegal, or harassment, which is illegal. 

$12.3 million dollars additional will bring our total investment in these critical services to over $60 million dollars by the time we get to July of 2017. At that point, we’ll be spending about $60 million annually for these kind of legal services for New Yorkers in need. Now that is, by way of comparison, fully ten times more than the city invested just a few years ago in Fiscal 2013. 

One of the best investments we can make – because every time we keep someone in their apartment, every time the law is respected and people get to stay in their apartment, not only do they avoid the horrible disruption to their lives that is becoming homeless, but they also get to stay in an affordable unit for the long-haul, and that affordable unit is protected for the long-term, which is something in the interest of all New Yorkers.

The $60 million, when we get to that point, will give over 113,000 New Yorkers legal services annually to protect against harassment and unnecessary eviction. 

And we will focus, of course, on the neighborhoods where we see the phenomenon happening the most, but anyone who qualifies will have access to these services.

Before I go on, just want to acknowledge two people who’ve had so much to do with putting this effort together – our Homeless Services Commissioner Gil Taylor and our HRA Commissioner Steve Banks. And I want to thank as well some of our colleagues who’ve been very, very supportive from Legal Aid Society, Civil Law Reform – the attorney in charge, Judith Goldern, I want to thank her for her support.

And from the City Council, the chair of the Council committee on courts and legal services, Rory Lancman, and Council Member Vanessa Gibson, who we’ve worked with on so many issues. You’re going to hear from a couple of the other elected officials in just a moment, but I want to thank them for their extraordinary support. 

Now, to tell you about this initiative, let’s start with a key understanding. Homelessness can happen to anyone. 

When we were in the Bronx last week, the brothers there told us the fact that they had folks who came in for help – some of whom, again, it was because of a mental health challenge; some of whom it was because of a substance abuse challenges; some of whom were well-educated people who had previously been successful, but the bottom fell out economically for them. They lost a job or they lost a home because of rising rents and a lot other things started to spiral downward. They literally talked about people who’ve been very successful in business but later found themselves homeless.

Homelessness can happen to anyone. We have to recognize that. 

And unfortunately, we’re in a new reality because of what’s happened to our economy. There was supposed to be a quote-unquote “recovery.” There was supposed to eb a recovery after the Great Recession. The Great Recession was the greatest economic crisis since World War II – I’m sorry, since the Great Depression. 

But the great recession did not yield a recovery like any we had seen previously, because many, many people continued to be mired in poverty or to lack opportunity. Some people even saw their economic circumstances get worse during time that was supposed to be a recovery. 

And then here in this city, that all got accentuated by the rising cost of housing. We’ve all seen it. The cost of housing has skyrocketed in this city. So if incomes were not moving but the cost of housing was increasing, you can imagine how many people were caught in that vice. 

So we see a different reality than we saw in the past – more and more people homeless for economic reasons, more and more families homeless, more and more working people homeless. And that is what we have to address. We’ve done the research and we see how, unfortunately, so many of our fellow New Yorkers are close tot the edge economically. 

Recent study found that more than half of New Yorkers don’t have adequate savings for an emergency. So that simply means one bad break – lost job, or a serious illness, or an accident could start a spiral that leads to homelessness. That’s a reality today that was not true just a few years ago. 

So our answer to that is in part to stop homelessness before it starts; to address the problem at the front end; to reach people before they get too far down that spiral. And one of the things we found – one of the areas that could be most acted on is when it comes to the danger of eviction, and eviction for illegal or inappropriate reasons. And this why we’re focusing resources here. 

This is a particularly clear example of the traditional phrase an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is where prevention goes a long way. It is the more humane approach. It is the smarter approach. It’s better policy, but it also, I have to say on behalf of my fellow taxpayers, will save the tax payers a lot of money too because stopping the evictions, stopping someone from ending up in the shelter – stopping a family from ending up in the shelter will also cost us a lot less in dollar terms for the long term. It will cost us a lot less in human terms to say the least, and that is the most important measure.

Our efforts have already helped tens of thousands of New Yorkers to stay in their homes. And as you know, this is part of a bigger plan – over a billion dollars in additional investments to have been committed over the next four years to tackle homelessness on many fronts – preventative is the ideal. 

The thing we try and do first, stopping homelessness before it happens. Sheltering those who need shelter and to the maximum extent possible getting people off the streets who have previously been resistant to shelter. And then getting people out of shelter and into permanent housing. All those pieces are being acted on simultaneously. 

We need to do all the above and we need to do them all with great intensity to turn this situation around. We will help people every step of the way whether it’s before they might become homeless, if, God forbid, they find themselves homeless, and most importantly getting them out of shelter and into permanent housing.

Every family should know that there is help for them. And that starts with what we’re trying to say in this ad campaign. 

Now let’s be clear, this ad campaign has a very tough, clear, strong message because people in many cases are on the brink and they need to know help is there. If they can be saved from homelessness they need to know that help is there and that’s why this campaign is so clear. You’ll see it on subways and in bus shelters. It will remind people that if they think they are being harassed or on the verge of being evicted illegally all they have to do is call 3-1-1 or go online nyc.gov and they can access the kind of legal services and other help we’re talking about. They’ll be radio ads, print ads, a lot of different efforts to get this message out, but no one who fears the eviction is inappropriate should hesitate to reach out for this help because it could be a life saver for them. 

In the end, our fellow New Yorkers deserve this support. As Cardinal Dolan said, homeless people are not faceless burdens. They are our fellow New Yorkers. And we aim to help in every way we can. Quickly in Spanish.

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish]

[…]

Alright, we’re going to take questions and then we’ll talk about other topics, but first on the anti-eviction program, Melissa?

Question: What percentage of poor people in this position will be covered with expansion. I know at one point there was a proposal to have all people covered. So does this mean the full?

Mayor: So, let me just start and then Gil or Steve whoever wants to come up. The – we have a particular focus as you know on areas where we think the problem is greatest. And we do know pretty well from history where those are. And then on top of that we’re moving forward rezoning’s where we think some unscrupulous landlords will be more active. But this is a service that anyone can reach out for and potentially qualify for. So the importance of this effort is to say if you think you’re in this danger reach out, and let’s see if we can help you, but we can talk a little bit more about its targeted.

Question: [inaudible]

Commissioner Steve Banks, Human Resources Administration: This is a program that is targeted to the neighborhoods where the most numbers of families and individuals are coming from in terms of entering the shelter system. We have expanded the program over the course of the last year. Started $6 million as the mayor indicated, it was increased to $13 million, and now it’s being increased to almost $26 million. And we have been increasing it with a very targeted approach. And we want to make sure that we’re covering the neighborhoods where most of the people are entering the shelter system from. The program also is available to people in other neighborhoods, but in a less targeted level. And then this is addition to the anti-harassment program that the mayor announced in the State of the City. So, together these programs will be more than $60 million. And we’re going to keep studying the need in housing court. We committed to do a study to show continuing needs, and we’ll keep being very targeted and very surgical in terms of addressing the kinds of needs like Mrs. Richardson demonstrated.

Question: In total it says the entire program will help 19,000 families when fully implemented. So how much will this $12 million investment – how many families would that help?  And when will it be fully implemented? And with this cash part of the budget approved in June and is being, you know, kind of repackaged now for us, or is it actually new money?

Mayor: I just hate to tell you anything we’re doing is actually for the people who need it – not repackaged for you. But the –

[Laughter]

– it’s a very fair question. What pieces are older? What pieces are newer? Steve do you want to break that up?

Commissioner Banks: Sure. This is additional – clients are going to receive surfaces, and we’re going to be funding it through the HRA budget, and then it will be put into the baseline going forward. When fully implemented – I want to make sure I get all your questions – when fully implemented it’s the combination of the anti-eviction program that we’ve been describing today, and the anti-harassment program that the mayor announced in the State of the City. And the combination of those two programs is what adds up to more than $60 million. And what will enable us to help 113,000 people. The – essentially the program was handling about 10,000 cases, and now we’re going to be able to handle about 19,000 cases with this particular program. But again, I want to be clear, there are two programs working in tandem. One is focused on particular communities where there is rezoning. This one is focused on other communities where there have been high levels of entry into the shelter system, but it is also available for individuals and families that live in other neighborhoods – just not at the same targeted level that I described earlier. Both programs will be fully implemented during FY ’17, but this program will begin to be ramped up right now. It’s already doubled in size over the course of the last year, and it’s going to double again. And we’ve been working with the legal services providers – legal Services NYC, the Legal Aid Society, and the other neighborhood-based programs to be in a position to expand services for more clients because as the mayor says an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We want to make sure that the providers are able to respond as quickly as possible to the increasing need.

Mayor: So, just two points. You know, as we continue to ramp up the capacity – that’s why we are doing this broad outreach to communities all over the city because there is more and more capacity; we can help more and more people. We want people to know this help is there for them. And again, as you heard Shray case, it can make a huge difference in their lives and potentially for lives of other residents of their building. So that’s why anyone who thinks they may qualify should call so we can see what we can do to help. A couple of weeks ago, I met a woman who I think epitomizes, unfortunately, the reverse of what Shray went through. A woman who is about 60 years old; she had worked her whole life, and a couple of years ago she lost a rent-stabilized apartment that she had been in for decades. And she told me that at the time she was looking for help; she couldn’t find help, and she lost the apartment ultimately became homeless. What was so striking to me is someone who had gotten an education; worked her whole life, and now she was struggling, and I know Commissioner Banks has been working to help her. But what was equally painful was there was a unit that had been part of her family for generation or more. And now it’s not affordable housing anymore. So she can still be there. If this help had been available a few years back, she could’ve been still in that apartment for the long-haul, and it would’ve still been affordable housing. That’s what we’re up against now. When we lose a unit of affordable housing, in too many cases that’s forever – it’s never coming back – in a city that needs all the affordable units it can get. So there’s really – that’s very important to recognize. This is about helping individual New Yorkers and individual families, but also doing everything we can to protect the affordable housing we have today. 

Erin.

Question: You mentioned a few times people who qualify [inaudible] income level? And then also you talked a lot about [inaudible] wrongful evictions. Is this only available when in the judgment of the legal organization it’s a wrongful eviction or [inaudible]?

Mayor: When they believe the law might’ve been broken. 

Question: [inaudible] therefore you missed a rent payment. Is it available then?

Commissioner Banks: Eligibility is based upon the standard eligibility for these kinds of services, which is 200 percent of the poverty level.

Question: [inaudible] number?

Commissioner Banks: So $46,000 dollars for a typical family, depending on the poverty rate goes up at different points in time, but that’s about where it is now. In terms of focus, we’re looking to prevent avoidable evictions – preventing avoidable evictions. There’s nothing more frustrating and tragic than the kind of circumstances the mayor described. When you’re talking to a woman who’s in the shelter system and you can see those court papers and you know that if legal services were provided that person or their family would not be in the shelter. So we’re very focused on preventing avoidable evictions. We want to make sure that if a unit should be rent-stabilized, it remains rent-stabilized. We want to make sure that a unit, if it is in deplorable condition, was repaired, so it’s made habitable. All of these factors, which are drivers in homelessness, that’s what legal services that we’re funding now is really targeted to address. And we’ve had good success in terms of the expansion so far, and that’s why we’re continuing [inaudible] expansion.

Question: [inaudible] buy-outs. I mean, some of the neighborhoods that are being targeted by this initiative seem like places of great growth and they could be victims of gentrification. I mean, is it hard to balance the growth and success of the city in that respect with protecting people who’ve been there in these neighborhoods [inaudible]?

Mayor: Well, I think what we’re trying to say to people is you have here the option to get legal help and get counsel before you feel intimidated or that you have no choice but to take a buyout. Again, I can understand any struggling family might find a buyout attractive in the first instance, but they shouldn’t take a buyout because they feel they have no choice, if in fact they have legal rights to remain in their apartment. And even if they’re considering a buyout, they should really think about the long-term and what it’s going to mean for them. It might be great for a few months, but then when you can’t find any place to live, suddenly it’s turned into a very bad deal. Again, legal help is one of the ways that you make sense of that – to know that your rights are going to be protected and you get the advice of a lawyer before making any decision – and by the way, you know, situation where New Yorkers should be very careful what they sign, and lawyers can help them to decide whether something they sign from their landlord is appropriate or not. So in too many cases, people have either been forced out or harassed out or offered a deal that was really a bad deal and that they paid for, you know, very soon thereafter. So we want to protect them by getting them the legal help they deserve. 

Question: Talking about unscrupulous landlords, is there any coordinated effort with this as an initiative to crackdown on them, whether it’s through DOI or the district attorneys or – 

Mayor: We’re doing a great initiative with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and with the state Department of Housing, going after landlords who, as Eric Adams said, not only in some cases are up for civil charges, but may be up for criminal charges as well. And that’s really starting to have an impact. I think the word is spreading among those landlords who don’t believe in following the law that there’re going to be real consequences. So those prosecutions will intensify. Our department of housing – HPD – is working with the state and working with the attorney general. Everyone is coordinating their efforts now, so we can show landlords that there’s going be greater and greater consequences if they break the law.

Let me go over to this side – yes, sir. 

Question: We were at [inaudible] in Brooklyn, which has been helped very strongly by Legal Aid and by Eric Adams’ office, and they said programs like this can only help them. Homeless advocates said the same thing. But they’ve both said is, well, they want to hear more from you about building more housing for people who are at risk for being homeless or who are homeless. And the advocate said that she is hoping that more help from Albany can come with your assistance.

Mayor: Yes, sure. I want to separate – that’s a very, very powerful question and we’ve got to separate it into two questions, really. Since – and Gil can over some of the number here. More and more people going into shelter are working people – and that has something to do with both the cost of housing and what’s gone wrong in our economy – that working people’s wages and benefits are not keeping pace with inflation and with the cost of housing. So what we’re finding, again, more families, more working people ending up in shelter. It’s just not like what we knew in the past. Many of those people will ultimately be able to take advantage of our larger affordable housing effort – the effort to create and preserve 200,000 units, which is enough for half-a-million people. If someone is working and they lose their apartment – take Shray as an example – if other affordable housing were available, she could go right into that and continue her life. So one of the most important things this administration is doing is to try and greatly increase the supply of affordable housing overall, including that which we preserve, for any family or any individual who’s on their two feet and can handle it, so long as they have affordable housing. Now there’s another piece of the equation, which is supportive housing. And that’s for folks who have deeper problems and deeper challenges, including, in many cases, a mental health problem or a substance abuse problem or both. That’s where we need the state to step up. That’s where the NY-NY plan, which has worked for decades, needs to be reinvigorated. I went up to Albany in February and called for a major expansion of NY/NY 4. The response we got from the state was not enough, and we’re going to keep working for a much more robust response. And a lot of the legislators in Albany have been tremendously energized to get more resources into supportive housing so that we can help folks with some of the biggest problems. We can’t go far enough on supportive housing without the state’s help, and we’re going to work very, very hard for that. 

Okay, a couple more – yes. 

Question: Okay, you talked about preventable evictions, but what happens if, you know, somebody does not have a legal case? Is there anything at that point that you’re then able to do for a tenant other than say good luck and we’ll see you in the shelters?

Mayor: That doesn’t tend to be what we say. Go ahead, Steve.

Commissioner Banks: In my experience representing lots of tenants over the years, you have to look at the case very closely. And what might appear on the surface as a case that doesn’t have any ability to save that tenant, many times is actually a case that you can make a difference in, which is the reason why we need the experts. It’s the reason why you want to address the reality in housing court, which is it’s David against Goliath. Now I know David won, but that’s not the experience that clients have every day in housing court, which is why we want to put them in touch and refer them to experts who can analyze their cases and do everything possible to keep them in their homes. 

Mayor: Yeah, and I think the other point is that what Homeless Services is doing, what HRA is doing is constantly looking for ways to help more. So the best example is when we can stop homelessness before it occurs, but there’s lots of other ways we can help people, and we look for every way to never let the situation occurs where someone ends up in settler. But even if they do end up in shelter, our job is to get them back out as quickly as possible. As you saw in the Mayor’s Management Report, 38,000 people in the last fiscal year we were able to get out of shelter and into housing. 15,000 of them were from the new programs we’ve just put in place in the last year. So we are finding some real solutions. So honestly, in response to your question, we never say, you know, you’re on your own. We always say let’s find the next tool. Let’s find the next way we can help you and keep things moving and get people back to housing. 

Question: I read here that 32 percent of the people who are currently in shelter were evicted from their homes. What is the percentage break down within that population of people in your estimation who were illegally evicted versus those who maybe [inaudible]?

Mayor: Again, I want to emphasize as we go to – you guys will compare notes for that answer, but the difference – and it’s very important to recognize as we look at the trajectory here, because there’s been some discussion lately about what had been the numbers over the last decades – and if you look at the numbers before, the numbers were largely based on folks with, again, substance abuse problems, mental health problems, very much a result of deinstitutionalization, decades ago, that never went addressed properly by the government; and then as I’ve said before, some very bad policy moves back in 2011 that took away one of the best programs we had to avoid homelessness and get people to housing. But what we see now is the reason those numbers around eviction are so important is now it’s more and more about economics. It’s not about a health condition or some other challenge. It’s about economics. And as the cost of housing has gone up, we see, unfortunately, too many occasions where those unscrupulous landlords try and take advantage of real estate values and push people out. So that’s why that number is so important right now. 

Commissioner Banks: I think you’re referencing the IBO report that found between 2002 and 2012 that about 32 percent of the shelter entries were related to a claim of eviction. Looking back, you can’t analyze which ones of those cases fell into which category, but what we can do is look forward and build upon all the research that’s been done that tells you that substantial numbers of these evictions can be prevented. When you look at the success rate of legal services for New York City – Legal Aid Society and other organizations – they have tremendous success in preventing evictions in court, which is why we don’t want to speculate about what happened in the past except to say if only these programs had been in place then during those ten years we would be looking at a different situation now. But we’re going to look forward, put the programs in place, expand them based upon what we’ve learned over the last year, and rely upon the expertise of organizations that have a tremendous track record in preventing evictions. 

Question: [inaudible] 

Mayor: I’ll start and offer Gil and Steve come on up, but the – obviously the biggest challenge we’re seeing is around renters. I’m certain there are some people who are homeowners who are economically stressed, and if they still have a mortgage, you know, who are dealing with that challenge, but the biggest problem we’re seeing, overwhelmingly, is with renters. And the difference with renters is, again, a lot of those folks are rent-stabilized. So they have very particular rights that are being, you know, overwhelmed by unscrupulous landlords, and we’re not only losing in the sense if that family becomes homeless, we’re also losing the apartment for the long-term, which is different obviously than if we’re talking about a private house. 

Who wants to do it?

Commissioner Gilbert Taylor, Department of Homeless Services: So that is correct. We are seeing predominantly apartment renters who are coming in as a result of eviction. But this type of programming that’s being funded in this initiative is one where, you know, it really will level the playing field in terms of what’s happening in housing court. And to the mayor’s earlier point, we have to consider one bad event, like one sickness, one illness, one stretch of unemployment for a period of time could lead anyone to be financially strapped. And in those instances, this will help them if – in the event that they fall into housing court to help them to avoid becoming homeless. So it is predominantly apartment renters.

Mayor: Okay, last call.

Question: Can you just explain a little more what you mean by preventable? We all understand a case where, you know, the landlord is in the wrong, they’re violating the law, they therefore get defeated in court. But if that is not the case, is there something a lawyer can do as far as, like, working on a deal for a repayment? What else would be considered a preventable eviction?

Mayor: I think the most – you’re right – the most obvious example is where there’s a illegal act by a landlord. But I think the other point is, we want to talk to people. If they’re on the verge of eviction, we want to see if there’s something we can do to help, even if it means getting them to a different kind of housing if they’re on the verge of homelessness. 

Who wants to add to that?

Commissioner Banks: I think what you suggest is exactly one of the tools that’s available to lawyers in court, which is to negotiate a repayment agreement, for example, reduce the rent because potentially this is an illegal overcharge. In some cases, there will be issues with respect to conditions that could reduce the rent going forward. There may be situations in which, with the lawyer’s assistance and working with city agencies, we can obtain a rent subsidy or rental assistance for the individual. So there’s a whole range of different tools. And what this initiative permits us to do is to put in place experts on the ground who can help evaluate individual cases and make the kinds of judgments that are necessary to try to keep the people in their homes or help relocate them elsewhere to avoid going into the shelter system. 

Mayor: So I think your question is a very helpful one because it gets to the point should you only call if you’re sure there’s been an illegal act committed? No. If you think there might’ve been an illegal act committed, if you think you may be inappropriately being evicted, if you think you may be being harassed by your landlord, or even if you just are not sure what to do, take – Shray’s example is a very powerful one. Here’s a hardworking New Yorker, and out of the blue, suddenly the landlord is saying I want you out of here. She did the right thing. She sought help. And when she started to seek help, she started to realize that she had a lot more rights than she knew before. And again, a lawyer not only helped her, it helped the whole building. So the important thing is, when in doubt, call. If you think you’re about to be evicted wrongly, you’re not sure what’s going to happen next, call and let’s see what help we can provide. 

Yes.

Question: A figure for how many people have sought this help and then were turned away, either for the [inaudible]? And then also, do you anticipate over time that this will result in fewer unscrupulous landlords bringing cases – that you’d actually see a kind of drop in the number of these kinds of evictions that are attempted?

Mayor: Okay. Let me say – I’ll bring up the experts on some of the numbers. There’s no question that this was a opportunity that was very limited in the past. As you hear, when we fully build this out, there’ll be ten times as much legal support available to New Yorkers than was available just a few years ago. So I think it’s fair to say a number of people weren’t accommodated in the past because the legal services weren’t funded by the city. Now they will be. On the second part of the question, I’m sorry –

Question: Whether you think, over time, fewer individuals [inaudible]?

Mayor: Absolutely. I think the – we talked a moment ago about the enforcement activity going on with the attorney general’s office, the state Department of Housing, the city Department of Housing. You’ve already – some of you have been at the press conferences, where we announced the criminal charges against some of these landlords – that message is getting around. Plus the fact that [inaudible] meaning a lot of the landlords who try and do the wrong thing will be stopped. And obviously if they’re found to be doing something illegal, that has potentially great ramifications for them. So I think there is a different kind of preventative element to this. It’s going to prevent bad behavior by unscrupulous landlords because there’s a much greater chance they’ll be caught because lawyers are involved on behalf of the tenants. 

Anyone want to add on the numbers?

Commissioner Banks: There are annual reports from the Office of Court Administration regarding access to legal services. And very recently, those reports said that for every, you know, nine people that sought help, eight people got turned away. And more recently, as a result of the impact of some of our programs and some of the chief judge’s programs, now that number’s been reduced to, you know, four out of every five are turned away. We’re hopeful with the additional resources from the mayor’s initiative at the State of the City, the expansion of this program over the past year and the new expansion, it will be able to further narrow that gap and again really target resources to the families and individuals who are most likely to enter the shelter system and communities from which most of them have been coming. 

Question: Just a couple quick numbers, do you know what the eviction rate is – for instance how many people facing eviction actually win or lose? And also do you have an estimate for how many evictions you think you will prevent now with this? And a cost estimate of how much you save.

Mayor: Some of that maybe a will get back to you, but if you want to [inaudible] any of it?

Commissioner Banks: Definitely had to fall to the lead of the mayor on that one. For some of what you’re saying you have to look at a number of realities for tenants. And Mrs. Richardson really illustrates that. So the data shows about 26,000 full evictions by marshals, but that doesn’t include the people who leave their apartments because they are afraid that they’re going get evicted, or they get into court and they are told they have no choice and they leave their apartments. So the number of full evictions conducted by the marshals is not a full picture of the kind of information they are looking for or of the extent of the problem. And we can give you certainly the mathematical information you’re looking for.

Mayor: A lot of folks – let’s face it, some bad landlords do a head fake and they claim they have the right to evict a tenant. And the tenant doesn’t know their rights or doesn’t have a lawyer – they may feel intimidated by that. That’s why we want [people – anyone who thinks they may [inaudible] in that situation to call in and check for the kind of help that they deserve.

Yes?

Question: The Council Members Levine and Gibson both had a bill that will create universal right to counsel – I think the price tag in that was about $100 million. You said this saves money in the long run. Why did you stop at the 12.3? Why not go, you know, for the $100 million for universal?

Mayor: Obviously, the 12.3 is on top of a lot of previous investments as I said. By July on 2017 there will be $60 million dollars a year – 6–0. And so we are very committed to making investments. We need now – the question of whether we go farther I think is going to be partly connected to how this goes, and the results we have from it. SO, there will be another budget process starting up in the spring. And we’ll certainly look at other options then.

Question: You’re open to a universal [inaudible]?

Mayor: Again, don’t misconstrue my words. I’m willing to discuss the option. But the point is, we have a very aggressive effort in play now. We want to see how that goes, and we’ll judge accordingly.

In the back? Someone over there had their hand up – not5 anymore, go ahead.

Question: Do you have any plans – back to the homeowner issue with the foreclosure rates still rising in Brooklyn, and a lot of the communities that are providing people for the shelters – do you have any plans to have a similar prevention program for homeowners? A lot of whom have their own tenants, like two or three family houses as well.

Mayor: We are working with a number of elected officials and community organizations to try and address foreclosure in a number of ways as well. It’s different from what we’re doing here, obviously. But I’m aware of – that that’s a challenge we’re trying to add new options too. So, we’ll have more to say to that when we have a different opportunity.

Okay, last call. On this topic – yes?

Question: Is there any overlap between the areas where there will be rezoning’s and the prevention program there and the neighborhoods where we’re seeing more people going into shelters.? And is there anyway – I mean, will one take away from the other?

Mayor: When you say will one take away from the other – please clarify that.

Question: If there are more people in the rezoning areas who are facing issues with landlords, will that take way from people who are just in the neighborhood who are facing issues?

Mayor: Again, as we’ve said this something that any New Yorker can call for help. This option is available to anyone. We have focused our efforts on where we think the need is greatest, and there’s a lot of documentary evidence of where the need is greatest is. Commissioner Banks was saying we having housing court records that show us where there’s lots of evictions. And that’s where we’re focusing our energy. But anyone can reach out and ask for help, and we’re going to do our best to get it to them. We need to focus first and foremost where we’ve had the biggest eviction problems, and we’re getting ahead of the rezoning. Remember these rezoning’s are just beginning, but we’re sending in the legal services ahead of them to make sure that landlords don’t act in an unscrupulous manner because they expect the rezoning. So, that is a particular point of sensitivity. We want to make sure there’s ample resources there ahead of it.

On-topic last call? Going once. Going twice. Off-topic.

Question: Mallory [inaudible] Channel 7. We understand there are seven people being treated for Legionnaire’s in the Morris Park Center –

Mayor: That’s your cue, Mary Bassett.

[Laughter]

Question: Can you comment on that?

Mayor: Dr. Bassett will come in in just a second. Yes, we are watching this situation closely. It’s seven individuals in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx. Just the quick facts – all currently hospitalized, age range forties through seventies. All seven have underlying health conditions, so this is very consistent with what we’ve seen about Legionnaire’s in the past all over the city. The department of health has been on this, working with the state to analyze the situation. Let me have Commissioner Basset talk about the situation. I want to emphasize – seven people hospitalized – thank God, all getting treatment. There have been no deaths in this situation. Just giving you a little height, and it’s yours.

Commissioner Mary Bassett, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As the mayor said, we have identified a cluster of seven individuals diagnosed with Legionnaire’s, all of whom are hospitalized. All of them are connected to a neighborhood in the eastern section of the Bronx, which is called Morris Park. Three of the individuals live there, four have other connections – work or have been there. Because we identified this as a cluster – doesn’t mean that we know what the causes of these infections in these individuals, but they are geographically linked, and for that reason the health department has already sought, identified, and tested all the cooling towers in the area. This task was made much simpler by the fact that we had – due to the efforts of the mayor, the speaker, and our council – a law in place which requires the registration of cooling towers, so we were able to do that rapidly. As everyone knows, all of you here are aware, this is a disease which is due to an environmental exposure. It is not communicable between individuals. It is very important, and the reason we’re sending the word out to all the health care delivery systems, to settings where vulnerable individuals live, is because we want to make sure that people seek care early if they have symptoms. Let me just remind you that there’s a fever, chills, headache, body ache, difficulty breathing – and we want people to seek care right away. And we have also alerted the health care delivery system so that they will diagnose and treat Legionnaires cases promptly. The investigation is ongoing, but it’s very important that we make sure that people get into care and get treated promptly.

Mayor: Melissa?

Question: When were the cooling towers tested?

Commissioner Bassett: Over the weekend.

Question: And do you have results yet?

Commissioner Bassett: No, we don’t. We – the results are on the way to the lab and the results with be forthcoming this week.

Mayor: And just – I’m going to keep you there for any questions on Legionella. 

Commissioner Bassett: Okay.

Mayor: I’ll say it, and tell me if I’m getting it right – that these are all towers that had previously been cleaned as a result of the commissioner’s order and obviously the new legislation.

Commissioner Bassett: That is correct.

Mayor: We’re going back and checking them again, even though they were cleaned quite recently. 

Question: So, isn’t it possible that there could be another source of this?

Commissioner Bassett: Yes, it is possible. And that’s why we go out and we interview people, we take a full history, and try and determine where they were for the full incubation period, which is 14 days. So, we may find other potential sources, but at the moment they’re geographically clustered, and that’s what led us to the cooling towers. As the mayor said, all of these cooling towers were identified by us through the registry and are compliant with the commissioner’s order. So, we nonetheless need to check because we have human cases that we have – all of them are in good shape and that’s why they were all rapidly tested, and the tests will be forthcoming. 

Question: When was the cluster first identified?

Commissioner Bassett: The first case was reported to us on September 21st, but of course it’s not clear initially that that is a cluster. By Friday, we had identified six cases. It’s now seven cases, and it has triggered our algorithm, which says that this is an occurrence of cases that we wouldn’t expect by chance in space and time. It does not tell us that they all got it from one source. We do not yet know the source. 

Mayor: Right, and I was going to – I’ll take over for a second and then call you back. A reminder here – so, in a typical year – several hundred cases of Legionnaires in the city – spread all over the city. So, in the first instance, finding several cases in al larger neighborhood is not necessarily a cause for any unusual assumption. But, as more information is coming in, the health department thought it was important to intensify the efforts to make the pubic announcement. The disease detectives are obviously working to find if there is a particular source. But when we look at what we went through some weeks ago, we don’t have now the kind situation we had with the Opera House Hotel, where we were increasingly certain there was a single source. And we’re looking obviously for all the information we can get, but we do know that those towers were cleaned recently, so it suggests it could be something different, obviously. Yes?

Question: Mr. Mayor –

Mayor: Let’s stay on this – just to make sure we’re staying on this while we have the commissioner. Anything else on this?

Question: [inaudible] Melrose Houses [inaudible] separate cluster – a smaller one, if I understand it. I don’t know if the source has been identified. 

Commissioner Bassett: The Melrose Houses were identified as a potential source because more than one person in the building had developed Legionnaires’ disease in the course of a year. We have examined one of the buildings and exonerated it. The cultures were all negative in the building where the patient was resident. All of the buildings had put in place a copper – silver ionization system, so they are all being treated. 

Mayor: All have been treated.

Commissioner Bassett: All have been treated. Yeah – and it’s ongoing. It’s a preventative measure. So, it’s ongoing. But the building which the patient resided was culture-negative. So, it’s not connected to – the buildings haven’t been associated with any human cases of Legionnaires’ disease.

Mayor: To add to that – so, again, in the case of Melrose Houses, the measures that are in effect do not allow Legionella to reassert itself. And since those measures have been put in, we’ve seen on new cases in the Melrose Houses. On this topic – just want to see if there’s anything else on Legionnaires. Okay, thank you, commissioner. Continue your good work. Yes?

Question: Thank you. Some good-government groups have expressed concerns over the selection of the next – over the process for selecting the next Bronx DA, and I was just curious if you share in any of those concerns.

Mayor: I’m focused on the work we have to do. Look, we work very closely with the DA’s, and so much of their work affects out ability to keep the city safe. So, although I don’t know the candidate who is emerging – Judge Clark – I look forward to meeting her, and, if she prevails – obviously look forward to working with her. So, my focus now is on the work we have to do with the Bronx DA’s office. 

Question: [inaudible] comments on –

Mayor: I’m just focused on what we have to do to fight crime in the Bronx and working with the new DA.

Question: Mr. Mayor, Jose Martinez from NY-1 – I want to get your take on the TBU’s latest attack ad in the Daily News today, where you were charactered. And then, to follow up, where do things stand in terms of the conversations that you would like to have with the state and fully funding [inaudible]

Mayor: I think the ad is pitiful. I think it’s misleading. It doesn’t tell people the truth. The truth is the that MTA is the state’s responsibility. The MTA is appointed – the MTA leadership’s appointed by the state, the state has budgetary responsibility for the MTA. So, all of the dire warnings in that ad should be addressed to the state of New York. Now, we’ve said very clearly, we are willing to work with the state if we get a clear sense of some things. We want to understand exactly what the state’s commitment is, going forward. We want to make sure that if the city invest anything, we have an appropriate role in deciding what happens with that money, and appropriate oversight and transparency. And we want to make sure that the MTA budget is not raided by the state of New York, which has happened in the past. That’s not fair to ask taxpayers in New York City to put money into something and then see it go right out the door to the state’s budget. So we still need clarification on all those fronts. I remind you – I said this a couple weeks ago – 73 percent or more of the entire budget of the MTA comes from New York City residents and New York City businesses through taxes and tolls and fares and the city’s contribution to the MTA. So we’re doing a lot for the MTA. The power over the MTA resides in the state, and it’s time for the state to take full responsibility, and then we’re very, very willing to talk about other things that could be done. 

Jonathan.

Question: Mr. Mayor, is there any sense yet as to the cost of the papal visit here? And if not yet, do you have a sense as to when that might be known and how it will be divided among the city, state, and [inaudible]?

Mayor: We – we will get to you as soon as we have our estimates on how the cost breakout occurs. Obviously a lot of the assets in play were federal, and they’re paying for those directly. But again, I think was a tremendously important moment for the city. I think it’s going to generate a lot of good for the city going forward. I also think, to the world, we showed New York City at its finest, which has real ramifications for our role as a global capital. So I’m very, very satisfied it was money well spent, but we’ll get you an accounting, including the city and state shares.

Yes.

Question: We reported last week on the donations that you received through the Campaign for One New York. More than half of those donations came from businesses, corporations, people who were lobbying for things with the city or directly seeking things. And when you were public advocate and in the City Council, you expressed disapproval of corporate spending to try to leverage some kind of outside political influence. What’s changed? What’s [inaudible]?

Mayor: I don’t think that you’re characterizing what I worked on fully. I believe in disclosure. And one of the things that we saw in recent years was a lot of money flowing that wasn’t disclosed. Campaign for One New York is working to further a progressive agenda to help millions of New Yorkers, and it’s doing so in an absolutely legal and appropriate way – it’s disclosing all its donors. That’s appropriate. That’s the kind of thing that should happen with all spending, and doesn’t happen with a lot of spending.

Question: But you also, in an op-ed that you published in The Nation, you said that you had been campaigning against corporate influence in elections, demanding that individual corporations pledge to not spend money in politics. That sounds [inaudible] –

Mayor: Again, the – well, I disagree with you, because in the end we now have a system, which has grown, unfortunately, since the time of the Citizens United decision, a new reality, where there’s a huge amount of such money out there – and as you’ve seen in recent months, plenty of it directed against my agenda. So if there are people who support the agenda, they have every right to make those donations. The important thing is that it be disclosed. And I’m comfortable that it’s being done properly.

Question: Do you think the state is responsible for the MTA ad done by the TWU?

Mayor: You’ll have to ask the TWU what motivated them or who asked them to do it. I’m not here to speculate on that. I think it’s absolutely misleading ad, and it’s a pitiful attempt to disguise where the real responsibility for the MTA lies. 

Question: You spent some time with Governor Cuomo at a few papal events on Thursday evening and Friday. And I wondered if you discussed any city or state goings on in your [inaudible]?

Mayor: We have talked over the last weeks repeatedly on a number of issues, and I will continue to do so. And as I’ve said, you know, the city of New York stands ready to work with this governor in the interests of the people of New York City. And whenever that’s possible, we’re going to do that. So I certainly look forward to any such opportunity. 

Karen Hinton: One more question.

Question: Mr. Mayor, Assemblywoman Paulin sent you a letter –

Mayor: Say that louder please.

Question: Assemblywoman Paulin sent a letter earlier this month because of your opposition to her bill up in Albany that will allow service members to purchase pension credit for their military service.

Mayor: I’m not sure that’s the full definition of the bill. If I remember correctly, I don’t think that characterizes the bill fully.

Question: Well, it would allow for service members during peacetime to buy pension credit for up to three years if they served in the military. There’s a narrower bill that you are supporting that only allows Afghanistan veterans. This bill would make it for –

Mayor: Right, I think the difference – and I don’t want to pretend to speak to the nuances of the bill because I’m not and I haven’t read every detail of it, but the difference between wartime service and peacetime service I think is important here. So, we obviously want to extend the opportunity for those who have participated in wartime service.

Thanks, everyone.