Protesters slam Parker for allegedly opposing tenant protections, weakening climate standards

Dozens of tenants and community members held a protest at the Brooklyn home of State Sen. Kevin Parker on Wednesday, calling him out for allegedly putting wealthy donors over constituents by opposing Good Cause eviction protections and trying to water down state emissions standards, according to organizer, Housing Justice for All, a non-profit group.

The group told Caribbean Life that the protest was led by David Alexis, who opposed Parker in last year’s elections.

Housing Justice for All said protestors slammed the senator, who represents the 21st Senate District in Brooklyn, for “continuously ignoring the needs of his district, where gentrification has pushed out long-standing residents and broken up communities, leading to the 7th-highest rate of evictions in New York State.”

“We are desperately fighting for our community to stay housed and safe,” Alexis said. “Kevin Parker has purposefully fought to undo hard won protections, which would allow landlords to price out families from our homes.

“As a community, we need clean air and social housing,” he added. “Parker has made it clear that he is not only clueless to the pains we face but doesn’t care about doing anything about them.”

Housing Justice for All claimed that Parker has “consistently failed to support meaningful tenant protections in his district.”

“In 2021, he withdrew his co-sponsorship of the ‘Good Cause’ bill, which would protect tenants from exorbitant rent increases and unjust evictions, and worked against its passage,” the group charged.

Housing Justice for All said that addressing the state’s growing housing crisis is at the top of Albany’s priority list, as budget negotiations move forward, with tenant protections as a central flashpoint.

Both the Senate and Assembly one-house budget resolutions included support for Good Cause and the Housing Access Voucher Program.

But Housing Justice for All claimed that Gov. Kathy Hochul has refused to support “any meaningful protections” in her Executive Budget, “focusing instead on boosting housing production.”

“I have reached out to Kevin Parker’s office many times to get support when my landlord tried to evict me, but he didn’t do a thing to help,” said Fidele Albert, a Flatbush tenant who is facing a retaliatory eviction from her landlord after raising concerns about living conditions.

“I was left completely on my own,” she added. “Now, Sen. Parker is leaving all of his constituents to fend for themselves by failing to support the tenant protections that we need. Our district deserves better. Kevin Parker must go.”

Additionally, Housing Justice for All said that Parker came under fire last week for “pushing legislation that would gut New York’s nation-leading climate law, a move backed by fossil fuel interests.”

Within days, Housing Justice for All said Gov. Hochul revoked her support for the measure after hundreds of environmental groups and government agencies came out against it.

At the rally, Housing Justice for All said protesters called on Parker to allegedly “stop doing the dirty work of oil and gas companies and instead back the New York State Build Public Renewables Act, which would require the New York Power Authority to provide only renewable energy and power to customers.”

“Instead of trying to gut New York’s climate law, Sen. Parker should focus on passing legislation that will save money and the climate, while creating good jobs, preventing fracking, and improving air quality,” said Eric Weltman, a Brooklyn-based senior organizer with Food & Water Watch.

“Climate action is the key to lower energy bills. The most effective way for Parker to deliver energy savings to New Yorkers is ending our costly reliance on fossil fuels,” he added. “That means championing passage of the All-Electric Building Act and the Build Public Renewables Act – with no industry-backed delays or loopholes – in the budget.”

But, in a statement issued to Caribbean Life on Thursday, Parker said: “As an experienced State Senator and chairman of the Energy and Telecommunications Committee in the Senate, my record stands solid on my advocacy for climate change and support for tenants’ rights long before fighting for climate and tenant protections were today’s thing to do.

“Those protesting my current position on the Good Cause and climate issues also have their rights, which I wholeheartedly respect,” he added. “But, to be clear, I have been fighting for my community since our days in the Senate minority.

“I will continue to advocate zealously for my constituents who have elected me for the past 11 legislative sessions,” Parker affirmed.