The City of Ithaca Common Council signaled Wednesday that it would call on the developers of the troubled Asteri Ithaca building to drop all rent debt owed by residents after the company pursued dozens of eviction cases against its tenants this year.
The request was detailed in a resolution Alderperson Hannah Shvertz introduced at the council’s Wednesday committee meeting. The resolution also aks the Vecino Group, Asteri’s owners, allow tenant organizers into the building when residents invite them inside, as well as to suspend all eviction proceedings for non-payment until after the end of winter.
The city, however, has no power to enforce any of the requests set forth in the resolution. Shvetz said the intention is to show that the City of Ithaca supports treating tenants with dignity. Council unanimously passed the resolution out of committee Wednesday and is expected to take a final vote on it at its Nov. 4 meeting.
Asteri, the 181-unit supportive housing complex in the heart of downtown Ithaca, has faced mounting habitability complaints, allegations of mismanagement and lawsuits since it opened in August 2024.
These issues reached a boiling point in March, when city officials vacated the 12-story high-rise after discovering fire safety issues that put residents at risk.
After the building was deemed safe and residents were allowed to move back in, the Vecino Group, which owns the building, pursued dozens of eviction cases for nonpayment and habitability issues.
Nick Scollard, who works as a coordinated entry lead for the Human Services Coalition, said the Vecino Group has issued over 90 evictions during the meetings public comment segment.
Through those proceedings, the company has sought tens of thousands of dollars in back rent from residents. Critics say these eviction warrants and money judgements could have decades-long impacts on Asteri tenants.
Shvetz said she wanted the resolution to also express that the city takes issue with the Vecino Group’s actions, not supportive housing.
“I just think it’s important that we make sure that when we are speaking about Asteri and permanent supportive housing in general, we make it clear that the issue is not with supportive housing but with property managers who don’t do what they’re legally required to do,” Shvetz said.
The Asteri building includes 141 affordable housing units, as well as 40 supportive housing units, which are meant for individuals who were recently homeless.
During public comment at the start of the meeting, several speakers voiced support for the resolution, asking the council to address the rent debt incurred by former Asteri residents and to stop evictions during the upcoming Code Blue season.
Code Blue is a state-mandated program that requires counties to provide shelter to anyone when temperatures drop below freezing for two consecutive hours. The season is expected to run from Nov. 15 to April 15.
Scollard, who worked as a case manager in the building, spoke about their experience working with the Vecino Group.
Scollard said they saw the Vecino Group repeatedly fail to provide a “safe, clean and habitable” living conditions at Asteri while they worked as a case manager between November 2024 and July 2025.
“And those problems that we see today have been present since that time,” Scollard said. “Part of my job in that was to go floor to floor to document the garbage, the property damage and continue to see how long did those things last. And they would last months on end.”
Scollard said they found it hypocritical that the Vecino Group had begun eviction proceedings against more than 90 households for nonpayment and habitability issues, despite those same concerns having persisted since their time as a case manager.
“[Vecino continues] to press for rent arrears between 10,000 to $20,000 for people who are already seeking low-income housing, which is a life ruining amount of money,” they said.
Former Asteri resident Craig Mitchell said he moved to Ithaca from Syracuse to be “stress free” but that moving to the building was “horrible.” Mitchell said he no longer lives in the building, but alleged a former property manager at the time stole $3,000 from his investment in the property.
Mitchell said he still has some belongings in an apartment in the building. He claimed that former Asteri residents are being forced to vacate their units with only 15 minutes to retrieve their possessions, which he called “unacceptable.” It’s a claim that was corroborated by multiple tenant organizers at the meeting.
“Even an hour is unacceptable,” Mitchell said.
He said he wanted accountability and for the building to be shut down.
The post Common Council in support of dropping Asteri resident rent, vote to come appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.
