Homeless & Housing Mtg June 2, 2026: CM Chris Banks, Atty John Low-Beer, MainChance Sueranna Antoine

The June 2026 Homeless and Housing Meeting focused on local and national issues, with participants discussing various ongoing battles to preserve public housing and protect vulnerable communities. John Mudd, the meeting chair, shared the agenda which included updates on legal efforts to block the demolition plans for NYCHA FEC. Attorney John Low-Beer mentioned TRO's (temporary restraining orders) and an upcoming preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for June 11th. John Low-Beer was thankful the 402(b) statute wasn't abolished in the NY State Budget FY2027(*)(***), which Related/Essence could've tried via Governor Kathy Hochul as a backdoor ploy but didn't. John Low-Beer is optimistic and feels we could approach the cusp of victory as soon as mid July. However, he mentioned that Related/Essence are likely to continue with this attempted land-grab. He was reluctant to dive into those possibilities as discussions on our side could give Related/Essence more ideas. Councilmember Chris Banks provided an overview of the mayor's disappointing housing plan for NYCHA, criticizing the continued disinvestment and privatization efforts that have led to chronic issues in privatized developments, and called for a moratorium on future privatization projects while advocating for greater resident involvement in decision-making processes. The meeting also addressed concerns about Mainchance drop-in center's potential closure by the Department of Homeless Services, with Sueranna Antoine explaining that their important services (serving up to 200 people daily and providing critical support to 74 overnight residents) is facing non-renewal of their contract due to the city's preference for stabilization beds over drop-in centers. Participants asked about various strategies for opposing the mayor's housing plans, including legal action, political organizing, and community coalition-building, while expressing skepticism about the administration's commitment to affordable housing given past failures with similar national programs like HOPE VI. Alex announced: bill S9650/ A659 (Krueger/Rosenthal) passed the legislature and awaits the Governor's signature, which would impose $1,000 fines on landlords for providing sinister lease riders. The bill also demands as much clarity as possible regarding affordability expiration dates. Next steps re: the Mainchance possible closure 1. John Mudd: Send an email to Councilmember Epstein to facilitate communications about the possible closure. 2. Sueranna: Send info about the possible closure situation for distribution to help inform letters of support. Rob Robinson: will bring up the Mainchance issue in an upcoming meeting with Councilmember Epstein. Rob also told Sueranna that CM Sandy Nurse and CM Lincoln Restler would care about the closures of drop-in centers and that both should be contacted. Damu said it's a good idea to do a letter in support of Mainchance. Roschel Holland Stearns, a board member of Mainchance, expressed gratitude to everyone and MSCC for supporting Mainchance. Caitlin posted the June 6 flyer for TakeRootJustice's summit about protecting public housing which will be at the lower Chelsea Pratt campus. MSCC's colleague Christina Chaise is the point-person. Karen Ortiz will add more info to her campaign site about the need to save Section 9. Karen wants to start coalition building with people running for office across the country on the issue of saving public housing. Furthermore she wants to educate her neighbors in her building about the issues facing NYCHA and encourage support for NYCHA neighbors. Johnny Rivera, a member of Met Council on Housing introduced himself and his work as an organizer. June 11th court hearing regarding FEC: Will be at the Appellate court at 27 Madison Avenue in the afternoon. Joel Feingold is making a flyer. Gathering spot will be somewhere in Madison Square Park, and Renee Keitt is leading the overall coordination Notes: Despite its name, The State Budget shockingly also allows statutory changes (via Article VII's) even if there's no fiscal component to a statute. This Article VII peril was what John Low-Beer had been worried about, but the peril is gone now that the Budget is a done deal for this year—Any law can be traded away or proposed—or abrogated during Budget negotiations (in March). It's a secretive process which occurs in the last 3 months of the current fiscal year (meaning January-March, but negotiations typically bleed into April and lately beyond). Many advocates are unaware of this cycle, framework, and allowances Only the Governor can water down what she proposes in mid-January, by choice, if the Legislature's 2 top leaders express opposition during their 3-way negotiations in March Fiscal Year 2027 for NY State began on April 1, 2026. Fiscal Year 2027 for the City of New York will begin on July 1, 2026. NY State operates on a "March fiscal" and NYC operates on a "June fiscal." Midtownsouthcc.org