Council slaps Mike, boosts Sect.8 rents for the poor

SIDING WITH low-income tenants,the City Council voted this week to enact a new law--over Mayor Bloomberg's veto to bar rental discriminatiion against tenants with Section 8 vouchers. The 44-to 4 vote by the Council overrode a veto cast by the Mayor last mounth of a bill that was first passed by the Council on Jan. 1.The repassed bill will become law in a few days after it is certified and filed with city lawyers. Known as Intro,61-A, the measure bars landlords from rejecting prospective tenants based on their "lawful source of income" including having governmental housing subsidies such as Section 8 federal housing assistance. Just because a landlord may not like the fact that you use Section 8 or another income program, this bill says they can no longer say, No" said City Council Speaker Cristine Quinn (D-Manhattan ). " If you have the ability to pay, you have to be rented the apartment".
In vetoing the bill, Bloomberg had argued that the measure "essentially makes a voluntary government program involuntary" for landlords.Though he supports Section 8 vouchers, the Mayor said there are some bureaucratic aspects that are unfair to landlords.
He noted that onced a landlord accepts the vouchers for a particular appartment, that "unit is taken of the market while the necessary inspections and paperwork are completed." The delay averages three months, during which the landlord loses rent , he explained. The bill's chief sponsor , Council Bill deBlasio (D-Brooklyn), said the new law will enable aggrieved tenants ---or their avocates ---to file complaints with the city's Human Rights Commission or in state Supreme Court. The bill was originally passed by the Council by a vote of 39 to 8. Supporters needed a minimum of 34 votes for an overide, and did so with 10 votes to spare.
----- adapted from nydailynews Metro News 3-28-2008
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