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A state Supreme Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Airbnb against New York City over what Airbnb called “extreme and oppressive” restrictions and a “de facto ban” on listings of less than 30 days [Airbnb, Inc v. NYC Mayor’s Office of Special Enf’t, August 2023]. Judge Arlene Bluth said the city had acted within its authority and that it was “inherently rational” for it to require hosts to register with a local agency in its attempt to crack down on listings operating illegally.
The City Council recently voted 42-8 to override Mayor Adams’s recent veto of four bills intended to expand eligibility for city-issued rental vouchers. The bills, which initially passed in May, will eliminate several existing qualifications to access City Family Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement, or CityFHEPS, vouchers.
Increase would pay for stormwater resilience and infrastructure upgrades.
The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently proposed increasing the city’s water and sewer rates by 4.42 percent to the NYC Water Board. Water Board rates are based on the cost of providing utility services and servicing outstanding debts that relate to water and wastewater assets.
According to City Council stats, there were 111,509 lead paint violations in the city between January 2018 and March 2023. As of March 2023, 45 percent of all lead-related court cases are concentrated in the Bronx. Brooklyn ranked second for cases. The City Council recently held an oversight hearing in which five lead poisoning-related bills were reviewed and two new bills were introduced.
Mayor Adams recently announced an initiative that will invest $10 million to repair stabilized units that are empty, and turn them over to tenants with rental assistance vouchers. The pilot program is called “Unlocking Doors,” and the city will provide up to $25,000 for needed repairs at each of 400 rent-stabilized homes that are currently vacant and unavailable for rent. The city will then match the rehabilitated apartments with households with City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) vouchers for use.
Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix recently announced the filing of two lawsuits against Alma Realty Corp. and Empire Management America Corp. for the failure to fix thousands of code violations that created dangerous living conditions for tenants. The lawsuits seek to improve the living conditions of tenants in more than 20 buildings collectively owned by the two entities. Additionally, the city also announced a settlement with Sentinel Real Estate Corporation to establish a timeline for repairs.
There has been renewed interest to cap or limit broker fees paid by prospective tenants after some high-profile instances of brokers asking for thousands of dollars in fees in exchange for highly coveted apartments have made the news. In one case, a renter paid a broker fee of $19,500 for a rent-stabilized apartment that rents for $1,725 month on the Upper West Side. New York’s Department of State (DOS), the agency responsible for licensing real estate agents, is investigating the broker.
Shortly before the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ida, which resulted in 11 people drowned in basement apartments during the storm, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a report called “Bringing Basement Apartments into the Light.” The report proposes a path to legalize basement apartments.
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