BILL NUMBER: S3877

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the New York city charter, in relation to requiring the
New York city department of buildings to confirm that there are no
tenants living at certain properties prior to approving or issuing
permits for the demolition or the substantial alteration or renovation
of such properties

 
PURPOSE OF BILL:

For far too long, property owners have submitted falsified applications
for permits for construction that state there are no tenants living in
their building, when in fact there are, with lax oversight from the New
York Department of Buildings (DOB). This allows abusive and unethical
property owners to disrupt the affordable housing market and put tenants
safety and lives at risk, all for the sake of profit. This bill provides
that the NYC DOB must independently verify there are no tenants living
in a particular building upon receipt of an application for a permit for
demolition or substantial alteration that states as much.

              

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

  Section  1  amends  the  New York City charter by adding a new section
645-a to provide the Department of Buildings with the power to independ-
ently confirm there are no tenants living at property  when  a  property
owner  submits  a  permit  for  demolition or substantial alteration and
makes a statement to that effect.

  Section 2 specifies when the act shall take place.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Abusive and unethical property owners frequently submit  false  applica-
tions  for  demolition or substantial operation to the NYC Department of
Buildings (DOB). These property owners indicate there are no tenants and
the DOB does not check. Subsequently there are a myriad  of  direct  and
collateral  consequences.  The  landlord  does  not  have to institute a
Tenant Protection Plan and guarantee any safety or health  requirements,
leading to unlivable and dangerous situations. Tenants often do not know
they have any recourse because there are no posted permits alerting them
to the right to tenant protection.

Earlier  this  year  it  was  revealed  that Jared Kushner's real estate
company filed more than  80  construction  permit  applications  for  34
buildings  across  the city between 2013 and 2016 stating that it had no
rent-regulated tenants, when in fact there were over 300  rent-regulated
units.  He  then  used aggressive means of renovation to vacate the most
vulnerable rent-regulated tenants and return those apartments to  market
value in order to turn a profit.

Unfortunately this is actually a widespread practice. Landlords regular-
ly  engage in this behavior, systematically reducing the availability of
affordable housing. This bill aims to put a stop to  this  by  providing
that.  DOB  must independently verify there are no tenants in the build-
ing, thus protecting tenants and protecting affordable housing.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.3156 of 2023-2024 (Hoylman-Sigal): Died in Cities1

A.3208 of 2023-2024 (O'Donnell): Died in Cities

S.0801 of 2021-2022(Hoylman): Died in Housing, Construction and Communi-
ty Development

A.7778 of 021-2022 (O'Donnell): Died in Cities

S.1479 of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Cities

A.7778 of 2019-2020 (O'Donnell): Died in Cities

S.8810 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Cities

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This  act  shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective  immediately,  the
addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
for the implementation of this act on its effective date are  authorized
to be made on or before such date.