Letters

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as the nutrition and anti-racism-based curriculum continues to build in tandem with farm school infrastructure including a greenhouse, hoop house, chicken coop/ run, raised beds, outdoor learning pavilion, working orchard, sensory garden and scholar’s forest, plus garden beds.”

Field trips to the farm create a natural bridge by which the children can gain a multicultural, multilingual perspective on what farming is: a community where all voices can be heard and where all backgrounds can be empowered, to embrace healthy food systems.”

On the farm, the after school program and summer program children are given daily exposure to the great outdoors, as well as multicultural experiences like sushi-making and Japanese garden architecture, double-Dutch jump roping, West African cuisine, native plant and pollinator symbiosis study, indigenous basket weaving, so that working parents can feel secure that their children will be having lots of fun in a safe, healthy setting, connected to their community.”

Recent emails from parents to Christa say things like: “I am so happy that my kiddos get to spend after school with you and your fantastic staff and other campers at your amazing location. Historically, both of my younger children take a long time to come out of their shells. It was a joy to see them so happy and comfortable at pick up. It really makes my heart feel so good and grateful as a parent. Thank you!”

While programming has been piloted at Enfield Elementary School, the Learning Farm after school program will begin taking students K-12 from all schools in the Ithaca City School District, with bus transportation provided, beginning in 2022. The waiting list is open. Students in K-5 are guided and supported by counselors in training (high schoolers), and leaders in training (middle schoolers) who learn childcare, child development, leadership, group collaboration, safety and first aid. “The older students help create activities and teach the little ones. Their input and guidance are vital to the success of the program.”

TCAT

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Vanderpool said some of the funding could go toward providing incentives to employees, paying for training courses and figuring out other ways to entice people to work at TCAT.

He added that he’s still waiting for some details and clarification about how the money has to be used and in what time frame, and any other restrictions that may come along with federal funding, but said he’s already trying to think outside of the box for uses.

As Ithacans, Enfielders and community members hear about the lively happenings, Christa is welcoming more local farmers, contractors, volunteers and observers. “Local farmers have visited our school and shared tips and insights they have garnered throughout sometimes a lifetime of farming, or several generations of ancestors working the land,” she said. “Contractors have dropped in to help build infrastructure large and small — raised beds and a greenhouse, sheep shed and farm animal pens. There’s nothing sweeter than to complete a project successfully together, having gained new skills and developed talents along the way with lots of help from others.”

Woven throughout the joyous times are the issues that our little people will face increasingly as they come of age. Christa said: “Early on, we begin to lift the veil on how food is produced on huge industrial agri-business farms — how things are done when small farms go under and animals spend their entire lives in dark, dirty warehouses, separated at birth from their mothers…As equity is declining in America’s local food chain, we must be and are solution-oriented. It is our responsibility to do better. Our children are the leaders of the future. Together we plant in healthy ways, we care for our precious Earth and our neighbors. We learn to tread carefully in the natural world, trying to disturb as little as possible the miraculous ecosystem we depend upon. The choices we make today will determine our tomorrow and our tomorrow’s tomorrow.

“As we live and learn, we share our growth with our partner school district, then New York State, the region and beyond. When young children are supported and empowered in their embrace of the natural world, we can rest more securely in the knowledge that we’ve done all we can to protect the environments in our care and ensure the natural regeneration of all that Nature so generously provides to us.”

Stay tuned for a late winter announcement about an exciting guest coming to the Equitable and Edible Farm School.

One area that he thinks could use some support is TCAT’s Human Resource Department. Vanderpool noted with everchanging COVID protocols, regulations, and employee shortages, HR has been dealing with a lot.

“I want to concentrate on, as a general manager, how can we support our employees better? And HR is ground zero when it comes to supporting your employees,” he said. “Everyone should be putting more thought into that piece.”

THE TALK AT

YOUR LETTERS

Why we have SWAT

Twenty five years ago on November 17, 1996, officers from the Ithaca Police Department responded to a noise complaint at an apartment on West State Street. It was not the first time they had responded to calls regarding that residence, but it would be their last. Debbie Stagg resided there. She was an individual who had a serious psychiatric illness and had been hospitalized many times in the previous twenty years. Debbie’s illness was so severe that ten years earlier in the midst of a psychotic break, she performed a cesarean on herself with a penknife, delivering a healthy baby and then sewed herself up.

That night in November, having stopped her medications weeks earlier, she again was psychotic. As the officers arrived, they tried a variety of approaches to calm her with the hope they would be able to enter her apartment and take her to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. Eventually, Investigator Mike Padula showed up to add his knowledge of her and assist in taking her into custody. After officers managed to enter the apartment, Debbie retreated into her bathroom. She had a long term fear of people breaking into her home and hurting her. Apparently this fear drove her to burst from her bathroom, knife in hand to inflict a mortal wound on Mike Padula. An officer at the scene then shot and killed Debbie.

In the weeks and months after, the actions of that evening and events leading up to it were reviewed multiple times. As the supervisor of the county mental health clinic that Debbie attended, I was deeply involved in this process. At the time, there was no New York State law to mandate treatment for certain individuals with serious psychiatric illness. There is now. Debbie had refused treatment and claimed to be taking medication. The criteria for “Danger to Self or Others,” forcing her to be taken into custody had not been met prior to that night. After that event, the Mental Health Department became strong advocates for a change in the law. When it was passed, we were one of the first in the state to use it.

The word most often used by officers at the scene was chaos. Imagine a small unkempt apartment filled with police officers while a screaming, cursing psychotic person overwhelms communication as various officers attempt to make contact or offer suggestions.

As the review process went on, headed by Deputy Chief Randy Haas, one idea appeared to emerge. The City and County needed a response that would have changed the outcome of November 17. The two lives lost were part of every discussion. A Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) unit and Critical Incident Negotiations Team (CINT) unit were planned. As Deputy Chief Haas and I wrote the original grants for funding these two additions to police/mental health services, some unique decisions were made. The SWAT team would be an interagency team including the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department, so it could serve the larger community. The CINT team would also be interagency. It not only included members of other departments such as the State Police and Cornell, but also mental health professionals as part of the negotiating team.

Myself, two other social workers, and a mental health nurse joined our law enforcement colleagues in the FBI basic and advanced hostage negotiation courses. We then began a heavy training schedule with the SWAT team to integrate our services in the most effective ways. I authored many of the training scenarios to include a variety of mental health and domestic abuse situations.

One very important element of the training was an understanding of how the process works. A simple view is described this way: SWAT is an arm, CINT is an arm, Incident Command is the head. Law enforcement is para-military. The assigned officer in Incident Command is in charge. No actions are taken without his or her say so. Traditionally that officer is senior to others on the scene.

Fully trained we began to respond to events. One of our first was a response to a domestic violence call that became a hostage taking. This became a common event. In this case, a domestic violence call came in, an officer responded, the man wouldn’t come out and he wouldn’t let his female partner leave. Incident Command had SWAT secure the scene. When we were certain no one was coming or going, the negotiations began, the incident was peacefully resolved.

Over a decade, I was involved in approximately fifty incidents. Some small and brief, some large and long. One lasted 23 hours. The common element in all of these incidents was a lack of chaos. We had achieved our goal. A calm, reasoned approach prevailed and nobody died.

Everyone knows the bad SWAT stories. There is no defense for bad and at times illegal behavior. When there is, it is a leadership problem. Good police departments have good leadership.

As the time comes to review law enforcement in our community, it may be easy for some to come to the conclusion that SWAT is an unnecessary and intimidating part of policing. The national stories pollute our views and hinder our judgement. SWAT is a tool to be used judiciously in the most serious incidents. Having it rechristened as the

IN THEIR WORDS

Tenants, landlords, residents speak out on the Right to Renew legislation

The Planning and Economic Development Committee (PEDC) decided to hold off on voting on amendments to local rental laws to give newcomer to the board Patrick Mehler more time to catch up on the issue. Mehler joined Common Council in October, filling the vacancy from Steve Smith’s resignation. Subsequently, Mehler assumes all of Smith’s duties, including his role on committees. With the entire month of October dedicated to working on the budget, Mehler said he didn’t yet feel comfortable voting on the legislation as he was still working to catch up.

This legislation has been a consistent point of discussion at PEDC meetings since the summer. The amendments, as currently written, tackle a host of issues including the following:

• Requiring landlords to return security deposits within 14 days of termination of tenancy or surrender of the premises (whichever occurs later), or to provide the tenant a written statement specifying the reasons for retention of the full or partial deposit • Requiring landlords to provide a minimum of 60 days written notice to current tenants of residential unit before a) renewing the current rental agreement b) showing the residential unit to prospective new tenants c) entering into a rental agreement with new tenants

However, the portion of the legislation that has received the most attention from the public is Article IV: “Prohibition of Eviction Without Good Cause.” Often referred to as the Right to Renew, this section, in its essence, aims to prevent tenants from losing their homes. It not only prevents eviction without good cause, but it also requires landlords to offer lease renewals to tenants who are not in violation of any of the outlined “good causes.”

By Tanner harding

THE GOOD CAUSES INCLUDE: • Failure to pay rent (as long as the lapse in rent did not result from unconscionable rent increases) • Violation of “a reasonable obligation of their tenancy” • A tenant committing or permitting a

nuisance in their housing accommodation or damaging the property either with malicious intent or negligence • Occupancy of the unit is in violation of or causes a violation of law and the landlord is subject to civil or criminal penalties • Tenant is using the unit for illegal purposes • The tenant has unreasonably refused the landlord access to the housing accommodation for the purpose of making necessary repairs or improvements required by law or for the purpose of showing the unit to a prospective purchase, mortgagee, or other person having a legitimate interest • The landlord seeks in good faith to use a unit in a building containing fewer than 12 units for personal use and occupancy for themselves or their partner, spouse, parent, child, stepchild, father-in-law, or mother-in-law when no other suitable unit in such a building is available • The landlord seeks in good faith to recover any or all units in a building with less than five units to personally occupy as their principal residence • When a tenant has refused to enter into a written lease with a landlord (subject to certain criteria being met by the landlord prior)

According to PEDC Chair Seph Murtagh, the goal of the legislation is to fix the city’s issue with non-renewals.

“Tenants are being told they’re losing their home, and in their perspective that’s no different than eviction,” he said. “This happens all the time in the city where properties are purchased with tenants living there and then those tenants’ leases are not renewed. It happens to people who have been living in their homes for decades, who have an attachment to that home and a sense of place.”

Unsurprisingly, many tenants and landlords seem to be diametrically opposed on the issue, as evidenced by a more than hour-long public comment portion of the PEDC’s Nov. 10 meeting. Below, are soundbites from various tenants, landlords and residents. For full public comment, you can watch the PEDC meeting on the City of Ithaca Public Meetings YouTube page.

THERESA ALT: “This law is a good basis for moving forward, but some points need fixing. One problem peculiar to Ithaca is the crazy September/October hunting season for the following year. Nobody knows if their room will be warm in the winter. Nobody knows their plan for next year.”

BARBARA ANGER: “I’m a small landlord. Tenants and landlords have a symbiotic relationship. An ordinance should protect a tenant as well as a landlord. I use my rents to upgrade and maintain apartments and pay mortgage and particularly taxes.”

MICAH BECK: “Adult humans have the right to make promises to each other and then to uphold those promises. A lease is traditionally for a period of time and this is a good thing. Choosing to not renew a lease allows a relationship to die when it has gone sour, without the rancor of involving a court.”

VERONICA BLASCOE: “Earlier this year my landlord told me that if he could find a party large enough to rent the entire house in which my apartment resides, he would not renew my lease for the next year. Thankfully, he was not able to find such a party, but had he been able to do so I would have had to move which would have caused me time, effort and money. I can only imagine the burden that situation would have placed on an elderly person or a family with young children.”

ANGEL: “My stove hardly works, my fridge spoils my food, and there is no room for negotiation for me. And I know I’m putting myself at risk of non-renewal by even telling this story. This shitty little apartment is my home. I have plants, I have pets, and I feel relatively safe in this building — most people do not even have what I have. People need stable homes.”

JONAH FREEDMAN: “The actual outcome of this law will fail to achieve the desired objectives. Finding new renters and turning over apartments often take a large amount of landlords’ time and other resources. It’s expensive to place new tenants, therefore we do everything we can to keep our renters happy.”

ANITA GRAF: “A lot of people who seem to be addressing this issue in favor of it are either people who are transient in our community or have nothing to do with landlording and renting. I think the voice of the landlords is really important because we’re local stakeholders, we’re part of the community. We’re invested literally and figuratively in the community and we’re here for the duration.”

CAROLYN HEDLUM: “I’m a long-term renter in Ithaca. I’m very much part of the community. Not owning property doesn’t mean you’re transient or not part of the community. I would like to say that housing is a human right and housing justice must be a key priority for a city that truly desires to realize its progressive and equity-focused ideals.”

DEEPS ILANGE: “Renters are the lifeblood of Ithaca, there is no Ithaca without us. We’re tired of consistently being spoken over, and saying that high tenant turnover frees up housing for others is ridiculously cynical [...] This is not an anti-landlord bill, this is a pro-tenant protection bill. If you’re a landlord who treats people fairly, this bill will not affect you in the slightest.”

STEPHANIE H: “The idea that tenants who are in favor of a strong right to renew are somehow carpetbaggers is bizarre and offensive and false. I wanted to be calm about this but honestly some of the things people are saying are so ridiculous. Frankly, the arguments against the right to renew are shockingly, embarrassingly bad. This is a very conservative argument that people make against having a minimum wage. If you don’t like working for peanuts, just go get another job. If your landlord or housing situation is bad, go get a better one. I don’t know if people are shockingly privileged and out of touch, or people know these arguments are ridiculous and they’re just making them in bad faith because they have a vested material financial interest, but I think it’s quite clear who has the moral high ground here.”

DOUG KIRSCH: “In August, in the midst of a pandemic, I get an email out of the blue that informs me in cold and legal language that I have 90 days to leave. My lease is not being renewed. No cause is being presented, no conversation, no discussion, no negotiation. Just a landlord seemingly itching to redo the kitchen. After four years of being a great tenant, no cause. Given 40 days to vacate, in Ithaca in the fall, mind you, when finding new housing is almost impossible.”

KAYLA LANE: “This legislation stifles competition for property owners, creates barriers for new owners to enter the market and does not promote quality housing. This will push out smaller property owners and encourage corporations to buy up the local housing stock. Instead of having a working class individual providing housing, it’ll be a corporation. Tenants will be another name in the computer and another rent check received.”

TAYLOR MOON: “The right to renew in the September version of the bill is a moderate and sensible measure, and this committee has an obligation to the people of Ithaca to forward it to the full council. It doesn’t seek to prevent property owners from removing a tenant who poses a legitimate threat to their ability to have a profitable rental business, it simply establishes the requirement that landlords use the criteria that are already established in state law to justify removal. It’s hardly an undue burden.”

VERONICA PILLAR: “The law would largely improve housing stability in the city, and in particular, stop or highly curb this non-renewal as a way of displacing, in particular, more marginalized people. Poor folks without a lot of other housing options, we know this affects Black and brown people more often, we know it affects people who don’t speak English as a first language more heavily and disabled folks.”

SONJA SANDSTROM: “The reality is this proposal is mislabeled as eviction control when it’s really a rent control and a violation of personal property rights. Non-renewal does have a legal definition, this is not based on feelings but facts.”

CERIL SANDSTROM: “I’m angry about this ordinance. I feel this ordinance is hypocritical and misleading of the committee and council at best. I find the title of Good Cause Eviction or Prohibition of Eviction Without Good Cause is misleading, as it’s not about eviction but about non-renewal. Non-renewal is not eviction. This is about rent control and the punishment of homeowners by removing their rights.”

JEN SEIDMAN: “The Right to Renew legislation is intended to shift the burden of proof from the tenant, showing why they deserve a lease renewal, to the landlord, to show why there’s good cause to evict that tenant. The process ensures the landlord cannot remove tenants outside of the judicial process, and in particular for discriminatory reasons.”

GENEVIEVE RAND: “A lot of landlords are coming and telling stories of horror story tenants who are harassing or intimidating or damaging the property and I mean, you guys know, you’ve read the law, those are still valid reasons to evict. And I think a lot of landlords, if it’s that dangerous, would evict immediately, rather than waiting until the end of a lease for a non-renewal. There’s also a lot of landlords who are coming and saying ‘Oh I always offer lease renewals, I’m a good landlord, I don’t raise my rent too much,’ et cetera et cetera. Then great, keep doing that, you’re going to see zero effect to your business because of this law.”