Letters to the editor

Good cause eviction and more

Letters to the editor October 7 to 13

Posted 10/5/21

Paying for the senior property tax break

Sen. Mike Martucci sent a letter recently that says the following: “I’ve introduced legislation in the Senate (S.4362) that would eliminate …

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Letters to the editor

Good cause eviction and more

Letters to the editor October 7 to 13

Posted

Paying for the senior property tax break

Sen. Mike Martucci sent a letter recently that says the following: “I’ve introduced legislation in the Senate (S.4362) that would eliminate property taxes for those 60 and over.” To pay for this there are “lots of places” to economize in the budget and, “For example, the State’s Medicaid program . . . “

I thought of writing something to satirize this and could think of nothing that just saying it out loud doesn’t succeed in doing. I can only ask, what combination of cynicism and stupidity produces this disingenuous pap?

Roy Tedoff

Fremont, NY

Resolving to have it both ways

In his recent letter, “The Resolution of ‘Why?’,” Robert Doherty would have us believe he’s improving how our county government works. Call me skeptical.

While I agree frank public discussion among legislators is important, it also isn’t new. That he suggests he’s responsible for it strikes me as a public relations ploy—priming the pump, perhaps, for when legislators decide in January if he’ll remain chairman. It’s worth noting, however, his self-congratulatory and deceptive displays aren’t new either.

Consider our county’s notoriously low health index ranking and challenges responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Readers familiar with our legislature’s 23 April 2021 special meeting, presided over by Mr. Doherty, will recall him proclaiming, “The main topic that’s gonna be in every discussion in Executive [Committee meetings] from now on, until we fix this problem, is the health index.”  And those familiar with his Summer 2021 newsletter will similarly recall him admonishing the federal government for, among other things, its lack of funding to address it.  

Yet, as chairman, he’s presided over each subsequent monthly Executive Committee meeting since April, and in not one of them was there any discussion on the health index—not one. And of the more than seven million dollars in federal aid our county recently received to address pandemic-related impacts, how many did Mr. Doherty support going toward actually improving our pandemic response and, by extension, the health index? Same answer.

To these and other concerns with his leadership, he should respond in these pages with “The Resolution of ‘Having It Both Ways?’”

Dave Colavito

Rock Hill, NY

Honors for Dr. Salzberg well deserved

Dr. Salzberg, we are so proud of you!!!!

On Wednesday, September 29, at 2 p.m., Dr. Paul Salzberg was honored by having the Grover M. Hermann Hospital Emergency Department dedicated to him. The Grover M. Hermann Hospital Auxiliary is so pleased with the choice Garnett Health made.

In 1979, Dr. Salzberg graduated from St. Georges University School of Medicine and went on to do his residency in South Nassau Community Hospital. In Callicoon, he was the town doctor. He made house calls, did pain management, specialized in geriatric medicine, internal medicine and family medicine.

He has over 42 years of experience. He fought to keep Grover M. Hermann Hospital open and asked people for donations in order to do so.

Dr. Salzberg is described by his patients as a wonderful, caring man. Many of his patients give him five stars; that is probably why, in 2014, he was awarded the Patients Choice Award. The award reflects the difference a particular physician has made in the lives of his patients.

The auxiliary is sorry that COVID-19 demanded your celebration to be small.  Just the officers of the auxiliary could attend, but you were in everyone’s thoughts that day. Congratulations, Dr. Salzberg.   

Barbara Donatelli, President, Grover M. Hermann Hospital Auxiliary

Joni Johannes

Peggy Richardson

Larry Richardson

Tess McBeath

Heather Guinan

Judy Yavarkovsky

Pam Reinhardt

Dorothy Swick and many more members!

Good Cause Eviction matters everywhere

I’m a homeowner in New Paltz who believes our elected officials must support tenants and good landlords by passing Good Cause Eviction.

As a homeowner and employee of a local small business, I support Good Cause Eviction because New Paltz is experiencing a housing crisis. Four of my coworkers live in their vehicles because they cannot afford to pay rent in New Paltz. New Paltz needs affordable housing, responsible landlords, and elected officials who recognize that our vibrant, artistic community risks turning into a pablum of sameness if the only people who can afford to live here are wealthy.

Good Cause protects against unfair evictions and predatory rent increases. It does not prevent landlords from evicting tenants who break the terms of their lease for non-payment, for crime, etc.

Housing stability saves all of us money. Evictions cost us lost tax revenue. And good landlords already follow what is in Good Cause—this law won’t hurt them. In fact it helps them, because it stops bad landlords from having an unfair advantage in the market over good landlords.

Emma Blauer

New Paltz

Good Cause is good sense

I am writing in support of Good Cause Eviction because I believe we all benefit from increasing housing stability in our neighborhoods, towns and cities. It does not prevent landlords from taking action against tenants who are not paying rent or who have broken the terms of their lease. It protects against unfair and predatory rent increases.

My family lives in Kingston, in a neighborhood of socio-economic, ethnic and racial diversity and where people greet one another and lend a hand as needed. We believe that stable neighborhoods, like ours, are powerful components of healthy communities. Good Cause will ensure that pickup trucks or cars loaded with people’s belongings don’t start appearing because a real estate investor has bought up a property or two and hiked the rents, or that a landlord for some unknown, unjustifiable reason just wants those tenants out.

Think how the atmosphere of your neighborhood would change if rental properties became revolving doors and kids who you saw daily walking to school disappeared?

My husband and I were renters for the first 10 years of marriage. We didn’t realize at the time how privileged we were. We were never at the whimsy of a new landlord taking over and making the rent unaffordable. We did not worry about being kicked out for advocating for better services. When we complained about hot water issues, broken light bulbs in the hallway, or dirty stairwells, it never occurred to us that we could be risking eviction. It also it never occurred to us that when our lease was up it might not get renewed. I cannot imagine going through my daily life with that threat of landlord power hanging out there.

For the sake of stability and sanity, everyone should be assured that they are not at risk of sudden upheaval, of having to find a new place to live, maybe new school for their kids, and maybe even new jobs because of the loss of the roof over their heads for no good reason.

Good Cause Eviction is good sense.  It will protect our community, our neighborhoods, our families. And will help ensure that this region is affordable for the many and not just the privileged few in generations to come.

Donna Schlachman

Kingston, NY

Good Cause Eviction is a movement in New York State to protect tenants. Landlords who want to evict a tenant or significantly raise the rent must show that they have good cause to do so. It has stalled at the state level, but some municipalities are considering passing similar legislation.

property taxes, Medicaid, Robert Doherty, Sullivan County, health index, Dr. Paul Dalzberg, Grover M. Hermann Hospital Auxiliary, Garnet Health, good cause eviction, housing crisis, landlords

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