FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 2024
State Supreme Court Upholds City of Kingston Vacancy Study, Housing Emergency Declaration as Valid
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble is pleased to announce that the City of Kingston’s vacancy study, and the passage of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA) has been upheld in the State Supreme Court.
Mayor Noble said, “The Appellate Court’s concise and thoughtful decision provides hope and support for our tenants here in Kingston who have been suffering during this housing crisis. The judges unanimously concurred that the City of Kingston correctly applied the 2019 Emergency Tenant Protection Act to our community in an effort to reign in outlandish rent hikes by a few property owners at a time of critically low vacancy. Before ETPA, renters in our community had no support system in place to provide the necessary protections and stabilized rental costs and I am glad that this panel has continued to empower our rent guidelines board. These vital protections have improved the quality of life for thousands of our residents. This decision sets a precedent for the rest of New York State that communities can conduct their own thorough vacancy studies and have a right to declare a housing emergency when warranted. I would like to thank my Corporation Counsel Barbara Graves-Poller for her excellent legal work on this case, as well as my Director of Housing Initiatives for his work on our vacancy study and his efforts stabilize, protect, and build housing in Kingston.”
On Thursday, March 21, 2024, the Appellate Division ruled in favor of the City of Kingston, declaring:
“The record leaves no doubt that [the 2022 study] was conducted in good faith and delivered results that were based upon precise data. It follows that the Common Council could, and did, reasonable rely upon its results to determine that the net vacancy rate for certain properties in the City had fallen below the 5% threshold requited to invoke the provisions of ETPA. As such, the Supreme Court correctly determined that the adoption of the emergency declaration was proper.”