Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media the latest housing battle the Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition is facing is their own, as the organization says it will fight a large rent increase at its 361 Main St. office in Catskill by the landlord Foreland. The Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition is a Black-led tenants’ rights group working with low income and public housing tenants in Columbia, Greene and Albany counties. Foreland is an arts organization that recently came to Catskill, and owns several buildings forming a campus near the Catskill Creek. Foreland is raising the rent on their second-floor office 135 percent, from $400 a month to $950 a month. Coalition Director of Operations Elliott Matos said, “We tried working with Foreland to see if this was an increase we could make happen over time, but unfortunately our landlord was unwilling to work with us and only gave us a short extension period.... Stef [Halmos] refused and told us she had to get to market price. Our office lease will now be terminated at the end of this year. We’re extremely upset and disappointed, but the truth is, this story isn’t uncommon. The funny thing about all this is that it’s not the price, it’s the principle.” Usually the housing coalition is working to help others with this problem. Matos said, “We’re experiencing exactly what we’re trying to fight against — displacement due to rising costs of living.... Our experience mirrors what our community faces every day, but instead of losing an office, people are evicted from their homes, pushed out by rents that are ridiculous.” Halmos, nor anyone else from Foreland, immediately returned a call seeking comment. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.