Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an extraordinary advocate and organizer, Michael McKee, who has worked tirelessly on behalf of New York City tenants for over three decades. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the reception honoring him, so I hope to honor him now.
A veteran housing activist, Mr. McKee has made fighting on behalf of tenants his life's work. His combination of committed leadership and innovative organizing has grown the tenant movement into the important force it is today. Few activists have proven as forward-thinking and savvy as Mr. McKee.
When the state legislature began phasing out rent control and rent stabilization in 1971, Michael joined with housing activists statewide to begin a lobbying campaign on anti-tenant legislators. The groups called not only for the restoration of rent laws that would protect tenants in New York City, but also for reforms that would benefit tenants in parts of the state without rent regulation.
The tenant movement became firmly grounded in legislative action, and gave birth in 1974 to Tenants & Neighbors, an advocacy organization that has been at the forefront of tenants rights since its inception. Under the leadership of Mr. McKee, the leaders of Ten ants & Neighbors focused on the warranty of habitability law and the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption. They urged passage of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, which restored rent control and rent stabilization. Later, they led the fight to elect tenants to public housing boards outside of New York City, and helped pass the Disability Rent Increase Exception. Mr. McKee soon joined other advocates to create the People's Housing Network, a program to develop tenant leaders across the state.
As a tenant organizer for the Metropolitan Council on Housing and the Brooklyn Tenants Union, Mr. McKee taught thousands of New Yorkers how to fight for their rights in a meaningful and lasting way. When Tenants & Neighbors began a major overhaul in 1994, membership increased 16-fold in response to Mr. McKee's direct mail and phonebanking programs. This new grassroots approach brought tenants together to pressure elected officials and create a fundraising base.
Mr. McKee is now building on the voter education efforts of Tenants & Neighbors by pouring his energies into political organizing. All too often, tenants lose when their needs are weighed against the financial interests of landlords and property owners. Mr. McKee has successfully encouraged tenants to take an active part in the political process, and has helped to make tenants rights organizations a powerful force in pushing government officials to address tenant issues.
Michael McKee has been not just a key strategist in many of the battles New York City tenants have faced over the past 30 years, but also a graceful public face. On behalf of tenants throughout the five boroughs, I commend his work on behalf of thousands of New Yorkers, and look forward to another 30 years of successful activism.