Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition has not a new home yet after a large rate increase is forcing them out of Catskill Dec. 31. The group, which works to help the local affordable housing crisis, was a victim of the cause it works for, as landlord Foreland raised the rent on their second-floor office 135 percent, from $400 a month to $950 a month. Elliott Matos, director of operations for the HCHC, said, “We had someone offer us one spot, but unfortunately the building was sold, and so that option was off the table as quickly as it was put on the table.... We’re being displaced, and it’s sad that we’re not going to have a presence in Greene County.” Matos said he has not spoken with Stef Halmos, founder and executive director of Foreland, but last got an email in August. Matos said, “She has not tried to reach out to us in any sort of way.... She never came to me, she never wrote an email, she never said to anyone in our organization, ‘Hey, I’m sorry,’ but what can we do? We can’t do anything. We’re not in that position of power.” Rich Azzopardi, the spokesperson for Foreland, said, “For years Foreland provided HCHC a subsidized rent to the tune of $25,000 and gave them roughly eight months notice that there needed to be a change. In exchange for these efforts, including donating a free event space solely for HCHC’s fundraising efforts, HCHC resorted to personal attacks and selectively released private correspondence in order to portray a unilateral rent increase devoid of years of kindnesses and preemptive efforts made by Foreland. In the wake of such a breach of trust and relentless attacks, Foreland decided to part ways in perpetuity with HCHC. We wish them — and certainly whomever they will be renting from — all the best." Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.