To the THOUSANDS of Ithaca renters who have joined since our last update — thank you for uniting your voices together with us to demand a Rent Freeze Now!

The Great Ithaca Rent Freeze is famous! The Ithaca Voice, along with many of you on your own social pages, is spreading the Freeze petition and recognizing the community’s need. As mass unemployment takes down the state’s web site, the need becomes more dire every hour.

In other news, the Governor of New York has frozen all mortgage payments for those facing financial hardship. That’s great for working-class homeowners — but it only affects a small percentage of Ithacans. For landlords who qualify, this means that they can rest easy about their mortgages, but still collect rent from us!

The pressure on city government to institute a Rent Freeze Now is growing. As the state ignores renters, it’s clearer than ever that local government is crucial in helping us keep our heads above water by instituting a Rent Freeze as wave after wave of layoffs decimates our community.

So — what’s next for YOU? TONS of renters have been asking us what they can do, and luckily there’s plenty to contribute! The most important thing is to post the petition to social media, and message it to friends. We’ll be bringing our legal recommendation to the city next week, and we need as many Ithacan voices behind us as possible to demand the city’s immediate action.

And like we said in the last message, join the tenants’ union! It’s where the ongoing conversation around the Rent Freeze campaign is happening, and we need volunteers!