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The DOB recently fined Kushner Companies $210,000 for falsifying dozens of permit applications at 17 buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The New York Times first reported that the DOB levied the fines for 42 instances in which Kushner made misrepresentations about the existence of rent-stabilized tenants at buildings, thereby potentially avoiding regulations intended to protect tenants from abuse during periods of construction.

Mayor de Blasio recently announced the creation of a new Tenant Anti-Harassment Unit that will be dedicated to pursuing potential cases of maintenance harassment in multifamily residential buildings and connecting tenants to legal services resources, a complement to the city’s efforts against construction as harassment.

HPD and NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC) recently announced the launch of Partners in Preservation, a new pilot program that will serve as a hub for local anti-displacement initiatives in the Inwood and Washington Heights, East Harlem, and Jerome Avenue neighborhoods. The program will provide funding for community-based organizations to jointly coordinate anti-displacement initiatives – such as code enforcement, tenant organizing and education, legal representation, affirmative litigation, and other strategies – in these neighborhoods.

The de Blasio administration recently announced the new City Fighting Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) program, which will replace the Living in Communities, the Special Exit and Prevention Supplement, and the City Family Eviction Prevention and Exit Plan Supplement programs, creating one unified rental assistance program. The new CityFHEPS program will simplify the rental assistance process, making it easier for New Yorkers in need to get back on their feet and remain in their homes. The new program will also give landlords a simpler process to participate.

The newly formed Department of Social Services (DSS) Source of Income Discrimination Unit recently filed its first two cases against New York City landlords in New York State Supreme Court for discrimination based on source of income. Part of the mayor’s Turning the Tide plan to address the citywide challenge of homelessness, the DSS Source of Income Discrimination Unit was created in 2017 to combat illegal practices that prevent New Yorkers from securing housing opportunities.

Last May, Enterprise Community Partners and HPD launched their Landlord Ambassadors program by selecting community-based nonprofits to reach out and help owners of small and mid-sized multifamily buildings throughout the city take advantage of HPD’s housing programs. HPD is tasked with fulfilling Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York: A Five-Borough Ten-Year Plan to create and preserve 200,000 units for New Yorkers at the very lowest incomes to those in the middle class.           

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Members Brad Lander, Rafael Espinal, and Inez Barron recently proposed legislation to establish a three-year demonstration program to facilitate the creation and renovation of apartments in the basements and cellars of certain one- and two-family homes in Brooklyn Community District 5.

More housing units were created in 2017 than in the previous year, according to the recently released Rent Guidelines Board annual housing supply report. There was an 11 percent increase in the number of apartments created, but the vacancy rate is still very low, and 11.5 percent of housing is considered “overcrowded,” meaning there’s more than one person per room. The city’s housing market, per the report, remains “very tight.”

An investigation from City & State NY has found widespread neglect in the thousands of weathered wooden tanks that supply drinking water to millions of New York City residents. After a review of city records, City & State NY found that most building owners still don’t inspect and clean their tanks as the law has required for years, even after revisions to the health and administrative codes that now mandate annual filings.

Councilman Ritchie Torres, Councilman Robert Cornegy, Councilman Mark Levine, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams recently introduced a bill that would require owners of buildings with the most heat code violations to install heat sensors. If passed, the city would be required every two years to compile a list of the 150 buildings with the most violations of heat codes.