Submitted by David E. Geiger, MEE, PE
I submitted articles in the past that dealt with housing discrimination for those who got out of prison or the psychiatric hospital. What follows is something from the Institute of Justice and Opportunity’s newsletter (formerly Prisoner Re-entry Institute at John Jay College) that deals with recent action taken by the New York City Council on this matter.
On August 27, 2020, Council Member Stephen Levin introduced bill #2047-2020, which would make housing discrimination based on a person's conviction record illegal. On September 15th, City Council held a public hearing on the bill — Alison Wilkey, the Institute's Director of Public Policy; Salik Karim, the Institute's Advocacy Coordinator; and 15 other members of the Institute's Fair Chance for Housing Campaign testified, speaking about rampant housing discrimination and the urgent need for legislative action. Thank you to everyone who testified and those who joined to watch the hearing.
Click here to read Alison's testimony and click here to read Salik's testimony.
The Fair Chance for Housing Campaign has been working with the Council to craft a strong bill without carve-outs for certain types of convictions, and covering as much housing as possible, because everyone deserves housing. This is a big step toward outlawing racist discrimination-based on background check and ensuring a right to housing for all.
Click here to read Council Members Stephen Levin and Keith Powers' joint op-ed in the New York Daily News — "New Yorkers With Conviction Histories Need Homes Too."
Follow the Campaign on twitter here.
David Geiger is a licensed and awarded electrical engineer who spent 7 years in psychiatric hospitals and over 40 years since 1979 in the courts as a result of his schizophrenia.