Mychal works to advance housing affordability in DC. Prior to joining DCFPI, Mychal worked at Community Science, where they conducted research on organizing and power building in the DMV area and beyond. They have also collaborated with Black civic engagement nonprofits in Houston to enhance their use of data to support organizing efforts, worked with the Urban Institute to research the preservation of affordable housing in DC, and served as an analyst with the National Housing Trust, focusing on state housing policy. They hold a bachelor’s in government from the University of Virginia and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University.
The District currently has a dearth of information about our rental housing stock, tenant experiences and conditions, and landlord finances. This information gap has resulted in a patchwork response, one that has relied almost entirely on punitive measures.
While the District is facing budget challenges due to federal intervention, increasing costs, and declining revenues, ignoring the need for rental assistance will only lead to more evictions and their accompanying harms.
The current affordable housing crises call for updating and modernizing the Housing Production Trust Fund to ensure that the District meets its affordable housing goals.
While the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) should provide support to residents facing housing instability, the mayor and DC Council have underfunded ERAP and made drastic changes to the eligibility of the program.
The numbers of District residents paying substantial amounts of their income in rent is unacceptably high and that burden falls disproportionately on Black and brown residents.
Instead of addressing the housing crisis through proven solutions, the DC Council is poised to gut tenant protections by weakening the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) through the RENTAL Act.
The Council is currently considering significant changes to one of the District’s core tools for preservation, TOPA, which gives tenants a seat at the table when their buildings go up for sale.
Good morning, Chairperson White and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Mychal Cohen, and I am a senior policy analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI). DCFPI is a non-profit organization that shapes...
Good morning, Chairperson White and members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Mychal Cohen, and I am a senior policy analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI). DCFPI is a non-profit organization that shapes...
