[Updated, September 16, 2024]  Let’s start with a question.  Do you believe that housing is a human right?  I say yes.  Not only that, I fully believe that nothing that people need to survive should be sold for profit.  Food, clothing, shelter, health care, and I’m adding education to that list as well. 

People with power decided necessities for profit was appropriate a long time ago and the rest of us have not come together to change this. 

Every person in the City of Rochester should have an affordable, accessible, safe place to live, period.  We have the empty houses and apartments.  We have “zombie properties” that landlords have given up on.  The only reason our government allows people to exist in Rochester without a place to live is because.  That’s it.  Because. 

With that, when elected to City Council, I will:

-insist on the use of Eminent Domain to take over abandoned and ignored property, use apprentices working with Union labor to fix such properties, and literally give them to families and individuals who then can focus on other necessities in life.  This would be a modern version of homesteading.

-stop the Rochester Housing Authority from privatizing properties in their possession, then fund* public housing projects that may include new housing (which takes an extremely long time), but will initially focus on rehabilitating empty school buildings, warehouses, etc., into such public housing. Some of these properties are already in the City's possession, others can be bought, or again taken over by Eminent Domain.  Some of these projects can be used for "person centered housing" in order to alleviate the devastating chronic homelessness we have in our city.

-support legislation that brings strict Good Clause Eviction protection as well as complete rent control within the City of Rochester.  (See opening paragraphs)

-propose using City funds and/or find grant money to assist in establishing a non-profit that would use volunteer contractors (retired, et al.) to help city residents in need of upkeep of their house.  This has been done in other municipalities – Syracuse had one for years.

-work with City Hall to create a fund to help renters who are in arrears with their rent.  There are already non-profits who do this, but they cannot handle the demand.  The need for this fund will reduce dramatically once rent control is finalized in Rochester. 

-work to create more emergency shelters, particularly for specific groups, i.e., women, LBGTQ+, people in recovery, etc. for the immediate future; particularly in specific areas of the City. It is expected that these eventually will no longer be necessary if the previous items are enacted.  But they are needed right now. 

-work to have senior citizens who own and live on a property in the City of Rochester and meet specific income requirements (i.e. not having enough income) should be exempt from property taxes.  These taxes will be made up by ending corporate welfare (see future platform plank). 

-insist that the City government no longer use Monroe County for Area Median Income (AMI) when determining apartments that are “affordable”.  This current formula makes a new $1400/month apartment “affordable” even though it truly is not for most who live in Rochester.  AMI should be for the City only if the project is being built in the City.

*In 2025, I will be releasing a platform plank that will explain how to pay for these and other ideas.  Money will come from reallocation of current wasteful spending, lobbying for changing of Federal and State regulations, more focused grant searches, and an end to corporate welfare. 

This is a living document.  It will be adjusted and added to as I continue to talk with and learn from others.  What do YOU think we should do about housing in Rochester?