ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Housing advocates rallied outside the Monroe County Office Building on Tuesday, demanding more rental assistance from the county.
Members of Citizen Action gathered with signs and later spoke to legislators during the county Legislature’s meeting. They asked lawmakers to use state funds to help pay rent for struggling families, and to increase the allocation offered to families.
“We need emergency policies to keep people in their homes. The shelters are completely overwhelmed here,” C.J. Millitello of Citizen Action said. “We have money coming in from the state government that we could be utilizing for this. This is absolutely the bare minimum that our legislators can do to take care of their constituents.”
Tuesday’s rally follows last month’s meeting walk-out by several Republican county legislators when a Citizen Action spokesperson, Jalil Muntaqim, took the podium. Muntaqim served 50 years in prison for killing two police officers in New York City back in the 1970s.
During the Legislature meeting’s public-forum period, some took the legislators to task for that walkout, insisting that Muntaqim had served his time and deserved to be heard. The majority of commenters called on the Legislature to address what they characterized as a housing crisis in the county.
A sampling of the public comment:
Howard Eagle: “You’re going to give somebody $440 a month for housing? That’s ludicrous in 2026. I’d like to see some of you try to live with an allocation of $440 a month for housing — you’d probably commit suicide; you wouldn’t be able to stand the pressure that you would have to live under those conditions. So do what’s right. Stop being selfish. Stop being evil. Stop being devilish. And do what’s right.”
Joyce Herman: “I am 89 years old. I was here over 50 years ago advocating for fair and affordable housing. We worked together for years and there was some progress. There’s some places in this community where people can buy houses and can rent, despite the racism that still exists. But access in terms of affordable rentals is perhaps worse, and it is so heartbreaking.”
Chrissy Miller: “I am one of the families that’s really homeless. Nowhere to go. Living with family is not great. My child suffers every single day, crying and asking me ‘Mommy, when are we gonna get a new place?’ I say, ‘Baby I’m so sorry, I can’t afford it. But Mommy’s trying.’ … I’m telling you, something needs to be done, and need to be done really fast, because our children are homeless with nowhere to go. I don’t care if shelters is out here; parents don’t want their kids in there, especially with the special-needs children. So y’all need to please help our families. Help ME, and all the families that really need to lay their head and have a house.”
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