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NYC Comptroller Scott M. Stringer recently released a new audit that found the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) performed lackluster oversight of its Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT) review processes and its tax collections in Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017. According to the analysis, in 2016 and 2017, the DOF failed to collect at least $620,000 it was due from levies on property sales and more than $2 million in annual assessments on houses, apartments, and commercial properties.
State Sen. Julia Salazar recently introduced a bill in the New York State Senate to place new limitations on buyouts of rent-regulated apartments. The legislation, if approved, would go into effect July 1, 2020.
At a recent Public Housing Town Hall meeting in the Bronx, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she plans to introduce the “Just Cause” and Access to Counsel housing-policy ideas at a federal level. Just cause eviction policies limit the grounds upon which an owner may evict a tenant; typically, allowable grounds for eviction include nonpayment of rent, intentional damage to the unit, or other material noncompliance with the terms of the lease before owners may evict tenants.
The Legal Aid Society and Legal Services NYC recently asked a federal judge for approval to file a motion to intervene in the rent-law case, which was filed earlier this year by landlords' groups, the Rent Stabilization Association and the Community Housing Improvement Program. The organizations hope to eventually file for the case's dismissal. The request was filed on behalf of Tenants and Neighbors and Community Voices Heard, two advocacy groups.
A new interactive map recently released by New York City's Department of Buildings shows 8,000 construction sites where supervisors and workers must have site safety training under Local Law 196 of 2017. The law requires training for workers at large-scale construction projects, such as major alterations or new building projects.
In conjunction with the 29th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Mayor de Blasio and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) Commissioner Victor Calise recently released the 2019 AccessibleNYC report. The fourth annual report provides a comprehensive roadmap to improve quality of life for New Yorkers with disabilities in the areas of: transportation, employment, financial empowerment, housing, health, technology, access to city services, and education.
Mayor de Blasio recently announced that the city financed 25,299 low-income homes in Fiscal Year 2019, and a total of 135,437 affordable homes since 2014. This represents significant strides toward the mayor’s goal to create 300,000 low-income homes by 2026 through the Housing New York (HNY) plan. FY 2019 saw the highest production of units for homeless, seniors, and supportive housing of any year on record.
A Brooklyn Airbnb host who claimed he was unfairly targeted by the city in retaliation for his advocacy against legislation regulating home-sharing activity will move forward with a civil rights lawsuit after a U.S. District Court judge dismissed some of his claims but declined to throw out the suit in full. The Airbnb user had sued New York City in federal court, claiming that the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement retaliated against him for speaking out in favor of the company by hitting him with $32,000 in fines. The lawsuit is funded by Airbnb.
The de Blasio Administration recently announced it submitted formal comments to the federal government in opposition to a proposed rule that would evict thousands of New Yorkers from federally assisted housing based on immigration status. It’s estimated that the rule change would have an immediate effect on approximately 11,400 New Yorkers, including nearly 5,000 children.
Two owner groups, the Rent Stabilization Association and the Community Housing Improvement Program, are expected to file a lawsuit soon challenging the new rent law signed in June by Gov. Cuomo. The lawsuit is likely to be argued on the basis that the new rent law violate owners’ constitutional right against the “unlawful taking of property.”
The legal team is expected to be led by Andrew Pincus, an appellate specialist who has filed numerous challenges to government regulations and argued 29 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
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