Three-Quarter House Residents Demand Basic Right to Choose their Own Health Care

Tenants of three-quarter houses, along with MFY Legal Services, Neighbors Together, VOCAL-NY and other organizations supporting tenants’ rights rallied at City Hall today to support five bills to improve the lives of these tenants. Holding signs reading “Dear Landlord: My Health Is None of Your Business!,” tenants urged passage of Intro. 1168, which would make it illegal for landlords to force or pressure tenants to undergo or give up medical treatment or discriminate against them. Darryl Gates, a leader of the Three-Quarter House Tenant Organizing Project (TOP), published an op-ed in the Gotham Gazette describing how residents have been evicted for refusing to attend a treatment program chosen by the landlord. Other bills provide better relocation services, ease documentation of residency requirements, mandate “know your rights” materials, and require the city to track and report building violations, rental payments, relocations, and rental subsidies.

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