The neighborhoods where Make the Road New York is based are plagued by a lack of green space, poor housing stock, rising rents, and serious health issues like childhood lead poisoning and asthma. MRNY's Environmental Justice and Housing Project, ¡Basta!, works on multiple fronts to make New York City's urban environment safe and healthy for all residents, through targeted community action and by advocating for citywide policy change.

Healthy Housing for All
MRNY has drafted and led coalition efforts to pass legislation that ensures justice for New York City's most vulnerable tenants. As a leader of the New York City Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning, MRNY helped to pass Local Law 1: The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act in 2004, after four years of unflagging organizing and advocacy. The Act requires landlords to take every precaution against lead poisoning in buildings where children reside, and mandates that the city correct any violations. It is currently the nation's strongest lead legislation and will prevent thousands of NYC children from being needlessly poisoned every year.

In 2007, MRNY helped to pass the Safe Housing Act, which promotes real accountability for negligent landlords who fail to repair housing code violations that the City of New York deems “immediately hazardous.” This legislation catalyzed a public investment of over $50 million in housing code enforcement over five years.

Following this victory, in 2008 MRNY was able to pass the Tenant Protection Act, which creates serious consequences for unscrupulous landlords who unlawfully push tenants out of rent-regulated housing. This legislation enables victimized tenants to take their landlords to court, where they face steep fines for harassment and lawless behavior.

The Power of Tenant Organizing
For over ten years, our organization has mobilized victimized tenants to take direct action against landlords who violate the law. MRNY member Irania Sanchez had been living with mold, spotty heat and hot water, and “rats as big as cats’ for five years. Irania and other family members living in her building suffered from severe asthma — a direct result of these dangerous housing conditions. Her landlord repeatedly refused to make repairs, so ¡Basta! members organized a rally that garnered front page and prime-time coverage, and worked with the city's Department of Housing Preservation & Development to threaten legal action. The landlord promptly made the repairs.

Betsy Ortiz found herself and her partner the victims of homophobia when they moved into their Bushwick apartment. Upon realizing they were gay, the landlord's family tried to force the couple and their three-year-old daughter out of the apartment by repeatedly threatening them with violence and even trying to run them over with a car. Betsy turned to MRNY for help and quickly became one of ¡Basta!'s most vocal leaders. Together they organized a large protest in front of her home and with the help of MRNY's legal team brought a successful suit against the landlord.

Housing Legal Advocacy
Make the Road’s attorneys provide targeted advocacy, education and representation in housing court and landlord-tenant cases, and work closely with our tenant organizing efforts to maximize impact. Visit our Legal Services page for more information.