Open Letter from New York City Faith Leaders:

February 15, 2023

 

Mayor Eric L. Adams

Office of the Mayor

City Hall

New York, NY 10007

Speaker Adrienne E. Adams

New York City Council

City Hall

New York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor Eric L. Adams, Speaker Adrienne E. Adams, and members of City Council:

As New York City faith leaders, we urge you to pass the Fair Chance for Housing Act, Intro 0632-2022, to end housing discrimination against our fellow New Yorkers with convictions. We come from different faiths but share a common belief in the humanity of all people and of the possibility for the human spirit to thrive when granted grace and support.   

We believe that no person is beyond redemption, nor should any person be forever defined by their worst mistakes. Through our faith traditions, we encourage our fellow believers to promote justice through compassion. Matthew Chapter 25 teaches us to follow Christ in responding to the greatest needs of our day with love and hope, instead of giving in to fear. The Jewish value of "Tikkun Olam," or "world repair" teaches us to seek dignity for all people in the world through acts of justice and compassion. The Qur’an places great emphasis on helping neighbors in need, including neighbors who are strangers. 

We are people of faith and believers in the spiritual world, but we move in the physical world and see the struggle. That is why we implore you to house the chronically unhoused and end the perpetual punishment of people who have served their sentences. We are committed to setting up New Yorkers to heal and move forward with their lives, but we cannot achieve this goal unless the City acts to end discrimination against people with convictions. 

Housing is a human right. The number of New Yorkers living in city shelters on a nightly basis has grown by more than 30% since the beginning of 2022 to over 70,000 residents – 15,000 to 20,000 of those people are caught in the cycle of homelessness and incarceration. Housing discrimination based on an individual’s conviction record perpetuates homelessness, and undermines families’ opportunity for mobility and success across generations. When an individual is denied an apartment, a whole family is denied a home. 

People with convictions are not only in our shelters, or forced to live on our streets, but also living among us in many other ways.  What of the college graduate who has lived peacefully in their apartment for years, working steadily, who is having a child and needs another bedroom?  If she has a conviction from years past, she may be denied that chance to better her circumstances.  What of the person who is taking in an elderly parent who needs care?  Unfortunately, in our society, convictions follow people forever, no matter how much they have transformed and how much good they seek to do. 

There is a moral imperative to ensure that every New Yorker has a home. Denying a person access to housing because of their past is unconscionable. As Dr. Martin Luther King stated, “Love is the greatest force in the universe.” It is the force that can keep us all safe, should we choose to treat our fellow brothers and sisters with love, and ensure they have a place to rest their heads at night. We ask you to take action now, in the name of love and justice, and pass the Fair Chance for Housing Act.

Sincerely,

Institutions

  1. African Advisory Foundation

  2. First Congregational Church of Rockaway Beach

  3. FPWA

  4. Grace Church Brooklyn Heights

  5. Hindus for Human Rights

  6. Jamaica Muslim Center

  7. Jews for Racial & Economic Justice

  8. Latino Pastoral Action Center, Sanctuary Church, C.H.C.C.M. Council

  9. Malkhut: progressive Jewish spirituality in Queens

  10. Manhattan Church of Christ

  11. Metro Hope Covenant Church

  12. Middle Church

  13. Middle Collegiate Church

  14. Midtown South Community Council

  15. Monte Sion Christian Church

  16. Mott Haven Reformed Church

  17. New Jerusalem Church

  18. Next Step Community Church

  19. Sisters of Charity of New York

  20. Soto Zen Buddhism-Watermoon Hermitage

  21. St Paul & St Andrew UMC

  22. Staten Island Inter-Religious Leadership

  23. The Center for Jubilee Practice

  24. The Church of Gethsemane [PC USA]

  25. Trellis

  26. Tirdof: New York Jewish Clergy for Justice

  27. Union Theological Seminary

  28. Walk With Thee Ministries

Individuals

  1. Rabbi Abby Stein

  2. Ministry Coordinator Andrea Mungo

  3. Rev. Ashley DeTar Birt

  4. Rabbi Dr. Barat Ellman

  5. Rev. Benjamin Perry

  6. Bishop Dr. Raymond Rivera

  7. Pastor Brian C Ellis-Gibbs

  8. Pastor Carl Garrison

  9. Director Carol De Angelo

  10. Rev. Charles Ryu

  11. Chibueze Okorie

  12. Rev. Deborah Schlein

  13. Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper

  14. Pastor Ekama Eni

  15. Rev. Elizabeth G. Maxwell

  16. Chaplain/Imām Gareth Bryant

  17. Rabbi Hilly Haber

  18. Rev. Jacqui Lewis

  19. Rev. Jeffrey Courter

  20. Rabbi Jill Hausman

  21. President John Mudd

  22. Pastor José Humphreys III

  23. Rabbi Joshua Stanton

  24. Pastor Joyce Dugger

  25. Rev. Karen Pershing

  26. Rev. Lauren A Jacobs

  27. Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann

  28. Rev. Lea Matthews

  29. Rev. Luis-Alfredo Cartagena Zayas

  30. Madeleine Fortney

  31. Rabbi Miriam Grossman

  32. Rabbi Shoshana Leis

  33. Rev. Dr. Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft

  34. Rev. Dr. Patricia A. Sealy

  35. Rev. Dr. Serene Jones

  36. Rev. Getulio Cruz Jr

  37. Minister Saundrea I. Coleman, M.Div

  38. Imam Shamsi Ali

  39. Rev. Sharon White-Harrigan

  40. Rev. Sonia Ketchian

  41. Rev. Dr. Susan C. Brown

  42. Rev. Leandra Lisa Lambert

  43. Pastor Zac Martin