Many New York renters are choosing to leave without reporting illegal evictions

Many New York renters are choosing to leave without reporting illegal evictions

Transcript³

Anyone in New York with a pending⁴ application for federal aid is protected from court-ordered eviction². But some landlords are trying to force tenants⁵ out illegally.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Some federal aid to help renters during the pandemic hasn't arrived yet. In New York state, anyone with a pending application is protected from court-ordered eviction, but some landlords try to force tenants out illegally. Here's Jillian Forstadt of member station WSKG in upstate New York.

JILLIAN FORSTADT, BYLINE⁶: The water at the Garcias' Binghamton home was shut off in early February. Despite multiple court orders, their landlord still hasn't turned it back on. The family has seven kids, all under age 10. Angel Garcia and his wife Deirdre now walk them down the street to their aunt's house to watch.

ANGEL GARCIA: They shouldn't have to walk down the street to bathe. They should be able to do it in their own comfort, in their house.

FORSTADT: The Garcias still cook at home, but they use bottled water. Their landlord, Douglas Ritter, says the family was intentionally⁷ flooding the downstairs neighbors' apartment. The Garcias deny that. Ritter tried to get a court order to evict¹ the family last fall. They fell a few months behind on rent when both parents saw their work hours cut because of COVID surges. But since the family applied⁸ for emergency rental⁹ assistance, their eviction case was paused. The state's ongoing¹⁰ protections for tenants frustrate¹¹ landlords like Ritter. He says his right to evict is being denied.

DOUGLAS RITTER: I would like the state to give me back my federal civil rights law and state constitutional-guaranteed rights of due process by immediate¹² trials and evictions.

FORSTADT: Eviction cases have resumed in New York, but many are paused as tens of thousands of tenants wait to be approved for rental assistance. It's a slow process, especially since the state ran out of money for rent relief months ago. New tenants can still apply for it, but the agency administering the funds says any request after early October 2021 won't get fulfilled any time soon. The Garcias applied in January. And Ritter refuses to verify their application for the program, also known as ERAP. That landlord sign-off is required to receive aid. Bill Niebel represents the Garcias. The legal aid attorney says some landlords are patient with the rental assistance process; some are not.

BILL NIEBEL: There are some who just say, no, I don't want to participate; I want this person out. Mr. Ritter, again, is somewhat extreme in that it seems like he's not participating with any ERAP applications.

FORSTADT: Police arrested and charged Ritter with unlawful eviction for the water issue in February. In New York, that can result in up to a year in jail. But of the 24 landlords in New York arrested on that charge between January 2020 and June 2021, none of them received jail time. Only three were convicted and fined. Marie Claire Tran-Leung of the National Housing Law Project in D.C. says legal action against landlords like this often takes a long time. It's partially¹³ why many families choose to leave without reporting the illegal eviction. Plus, Tran-Leung says, some don't trust law enforcement to help.

MARIE CLAIRE TRAN-LEUNG: Particularly families of color, if you have persons with disabilities, marginalized families, people who are undocumented - they're not trying to bring in more law enforcement.

FORSTADT: Tran-Leung's organization surveyed legal aid attorneys nationwide last fall. More than a third reported an increase in illegal evictions or lockouts since the federal eviction moratorium¹⁴ was lifted in August. Back in Binghamton, the Garcias want to move, but it's hard.

GARCIA: Everything's for college students, or everything is 1,500 and above with no utilities included. And I can't afford that.

FORSTADT: The family will continue to look for places to move.

For NPR News, I'm Jillian Forstadt in Binghamton.

1 evict   

vt.驱逐，赶出，撵走

参考例句：

• The lessor can evict the lessee for failure to pay rent.出租人可驱逐不付租金的承租人。
• The government always says it's for the greater good when they evict farmers from their land.当政府把农民从他们的土地赶出去的时候，总是号称是为了更大众的利益。

2 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

5 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 frustrate   

v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦

参考例句：

• But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心，他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
• They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

14 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。