ALBANY, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) – Albany County voted down an eviction protection program for tenants back in March. The measure was just one vote short. On Tuesday, the county passed a new version of those protections.
Albany County Legislature decided to move forward with the Eviction Prevention Intervention Collaborative (EPIC) program. It’s meant to address rent affordability.
Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox!
It was first introduced by Albany County Legislator Sam Fein in 2022, the same year the New York State Comptroller’s Office found nearly 38.9 percent of New Yorkers were rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent.
“It just really exemplifies how much people are struggling. We have a housing crisis. We don’t have enough housing, especially affordable housing. Rents are going up. Inflation, of course everyone’s feeling that and we’re seeing the impacts. And if we don’t take action in local governments, then we’re not really doing our job. So that’s why we stepped up to do something,” said Fein.