Renters, housing activists and even some landlords who have been hounding Kingston city lawmakers to pass a fair "good cause eviction" law are turning some of their attention to state lawmakers.

Professional activists from three groups, including Citizen Action New York, told Spectrum News 1 Tuesday that local boards like the Kingston City Council are being deserted by some state lawmakers, as those boards hold contentious meetings on the issue.

“It’s just an offloading of responsibilities by state legislators,” community organizer Sarahana Shrestha said of some elected Democrats’ hesitance to publicly support recently reintroduced "good cause" legislation in Albany. “They have to stop putting their careers above peoples’ lives,” Shrestha said. “Right now, it seems legislators are legislating for their career. We have too many crises to allow that to keep happening.”

Generally, good cause eviction legislation would cap yearly rent increases and give tenants the right to lease renewals.

Landlords would only to be able to evict for certain reasons — such as criminal activity or nonpayment of rent — and their reasons would require approval from a court.

The activists suspect some state lawmakers are not publicly supporting the state bill for political reasons, leaving its passage in doubt and leaving volunteer boards to take on extra work, criticism and political consequences to try to pass their own laws.

They were particularly critical of state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, who represents Kingston.

“She’s talked with us and our understanding of her thinking is that she thinks this is best to go, do it locally across New York state, which we do not support,” Citizen Action NY organizer Tyler Vanderhaag said. “A fight this big needs to be fought by our elected officials. That’s why we elected them.”

Hinchey declined through a spokesperson to comment on good cause eviction.

Kingston Ward 4 Councilwoman Rita Worthington told Spectrum News 1 she is mainly disappointed that some state lawmakers have not used their positions to help local boards pass local good cause eviction laws.

“I wish that our state lawmakers would come out publicly,” Worthington said when reached by phone Tuesday afternoon. “We would have some kind of support, not only from our local municipalities, but also our state lawmakers.”

Some Kingston council members said they hope to hold a vote on their own local legislation before the state’s eviction moratorium ends on Jan. 15.

Senator Brian Kavanagh, chair of the Senate Housing Committee and a cosponsor of the good cause bill, said:

“We have been pushing for good cause eviction protections since 2019 when my colleagues Senator Julia Salazar and Assemblymember Pamela Hunter initially introduced the legislation, and it has never been more important than it is today. Enactment of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act represented a huge step forward in standing up for tenants, closing loopholes that allowed some landlords to profit from unscrupulous and sometimes predatory practices, stabilizing our communities, and preventing homelessness. But we still have much work to do, and establishing in law the reasonable principles behind the good cause eviction legislation is central to that work."

City councils in Albany, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh have already passed good cause eviction laws. Others, including those in New Paltz and Beacon, have decided to wait until legal challenges play out and until Albany makes its next move on statewide legislation before proceeding with local legislation.

The Kingston City Council held its first reading of good cause eviction legislation Tuesday evening.

Several members of the public asked during the meeting that the council nix an exemption for owners of properties with fewer than four rental units from the latest draft.

Michael Fitzpatrick, ranking member of the Assembly Housing Committee, released the following statement: 

“Good cause eviction is another measure tipping the housing system completely out of balance and closer toward the ultimate liberal-progressive goal of canceling the rent. The state’s small landlords are going on two years without rent and without any recourse. The eviction moratorium was a temporary measure that should have never been extended. Housing courts have been shut down, and small property owners have been pushed to the brink of disaster as they watch their credit scores plummet to the further detriment of municipal coffers. The last thing we need is more one-sided legislation that implements a statewide ‘solution’ to a New York City problem.”