Despite initial opposition from Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham, the City Council has approved legislation amending the Binghamton Human Rights Law to include the unhoused as a protected class.

Individuals facing homelessness will now be provided with legal protection against discrimination in areas including employment, education and real estate through the law and reaffirming their Fourth Amendment right to privacy and against unreasonable search and seizure. The bill was submitted to the council by the Fair Housing Advisory Board in May and presented by Rebecca Rathmell, a longtime housing activist and a candidate for the council’s sixth district.

Rathmell said the legislation was informed by conversations among the board and community members, as well as her time overseeing the Housing Crisis Response System in Rhode Island — the first state to implement a Homeless Bill of Rights.

“If we are concerning ourselves with the enforcement of local tenants rights and fair housing, we have to also include our unhoused neighbors,” Rathmell said.

After the announcement of a public hearing on the bill in June, Kraham expressed opposition to the legislation, warning that it would permit homeless encampments on public and private property. The bill, Kraham said at the time, would obstruct the city, first responders and residents from taking steps to remove encampments.

A few hours before the Aug. 7 hearing and subsequent passing of the bill, Kraham held a press conference, where he said “we’re comfortable with it at this point” following updates in language that mitigated his previous issues with the bill. He attributed these changes to the advocacy of business owners in Downtown Binghamton and first responders.

“The new language is essentially a statement of what is already clear under the law — unhoused individuals have the same rights as every other citizen,” Kraham said. “They cannot be discriminated against in terms of access to services, and no entity can violate any citizen’s Fourth Amendment rights.”

The passed version was more specific on Fourth Amendment rights and added a clause saying its language would not supersede local charter provisions. Rathmell said Kraham misrepresented the law to the public and the alterations do not impact the actual substance or impact of the legislation.

She suggested a correlation between the Mayor’s last-minute support and what she suspected was a realization that the bill was going to pass. While Kraham has not spoken to Rathmell about his thoughts on the legislation directly, she said she feels the shift is an attempt to make its passing seem like he is making an effort. This sentiment was echoed by the Binghamton City Democratic Committee, which posted on Facebook on Aug. 8 condemning Kraham for standing in the way of progress and attempting to take recognition away from the City Council.

“To try to take credit for championing this effort he had vehemently and very, very specifically opposed, very publicly opposed for so long [was] frustrating,” Rathmell said. “This was a community effort, this was written by advocates, pushed by advocates, approved by city council members who are genuinely concerned about the human rights of our unhoused neighbors.”

Kraham maintains the revisions ultimately swayed his opinion and that his concerns emerged from a desire to keep public spaces safe and sanitary for Binghamton residents. He has also said a solution to homelessness is the central responsibility of social services, not the municipality.

At the Aug. 7 press conference, Kraham emphasized the need for action rather than statements of value, citing his housing record, which includes allocating $11 million toward affordable housing and the arrest of slumlords.

One of the legislation’s goals is to allow the unhoused to make sustainable improvements to their circumstances through access to education, employment and housing, instead of relying on short-term solutions, like moving from shelter to shelter. For instance, a landlord can no longer refuse to rent to someone whose current address is listed as a hotel.

“It protects families [and] individuals, who are making every effort to get out of the situation that they are in,” Rathmell said. “It really reduces barriers they face.”

Editor’s Note (8/22): The headline of an earlier version of this story said that unhoused people were now protected under Binghamton law. It has been edited to reflect that the law has not yet gone into effect.

Editor’s Note (8/23): Clarification was added about the Mayor’s position on the legislation.