Town of Haverstraw

Senator James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley) and the Legal Aid Society of Rockland County, Inc. are thrilled to announce that ten residents from the Oak Tree Apartments in Garnerville, Rockland County have been spared from eviction, allowing them to stay in their homes for the holidays. The eviction cases that were pending in court against these residents were withdrawn by the landlord’s attorney, and there are now no eviction proceedings against any Oak Tree residents. 

In October of this year, Skoufis and Legal Aid rallied with concerned tenants, urging the property’s owner, Alexander Property Holdings, to drop their planned eviction of all residents. Approximately 40 households, many including young children, currently live at the apartment complex in Garnerville. For these residents, vacating during an ongoing pandemic and as temperatures begin to drop wouldn’t just be difficult; it would be downright dangerous given the circumstances. The owner’s representatives have publicly stated their intention to evict all residents to allow for demolition of the existing structure and construction of new development. 

These residents’ difficulty in finding other housing arrangements has been exacerbated by the fact that the current rental market in Rockland is exceedingly tight. Additionally, many residents who have sought to apply for emergency rental assistance from the state–available to tenants who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic–have been urged by Oak Tree’s management not to apply. Management has threatened to refuse to fill out the landlord forms needed to obtain rental arrears. Yet, the landlord insists on being paid in full for all rent that may be due and owing.  

Skoufis and Legal Aid have teamed up with other agencies, including the Rockland County Department of Social Services and Haverstraw Center, to assist tenants in securing safe, suitable, and timely alternative housing. While a few tenants have identified new housing arrangements, dozens more eviction notices are expected next month.

“While these tenants are likely to face the threat of eviction in the new year, the fact that nobody is facing eviction just before the holidays is certainly a welcome reprieve,” said Senator Skoufis. “We can’t sit idly by as Rockland families teeter dangerously close to homelessness. I am committed to fighting for these tenants’ rights in the weeks and months ahead.” 

”All the agencies involved in helping the Oak Tree residents will continue their efforts to assist people at Oak Tree,” said Legal Aid Society Executive Director Alex Bursztein. ”We will use all  legal  tools and will exhaust all possible sources of assistance to ensure that the Oak Tree tenants are afforded an orderly and peaceful transition to new housing.”