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Faced with a rising number of complaints from tenants, particularly in New York City’s fastest growing neighborhoods, Attorney General Schneiderman, Mayor de Blasio, and Governor Cuomo created a joint Tenant Harassment Prevention Task Force in February to investigate and bring enforcement actions, including criminal charges, against owners who harass tenants.
The Democrat-controlled New York State Assembly recently approved legislation to extend and strengthen rent regulations, setting up a battle with the Republican-controlled State Senate. The Assembly’s bill would extend city rent regulations—which expire in June—for another four years. Speaker Carl Heastie (D) praised the legislation as combating “ever-increasing rents” through measures that include the repeal of vacancy decontrol and limiting rent increases associated with building or apartment improvements.
Building on Mayor de Blasio’s “One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City,” the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the New York City Housing Development Corporation recently announced the new Green Housing Preservation Program to assist owners of small to mid-sized multifamily properties across the city in undertaking energy efficiency and water conservation improvements as well as moderate rehabilitation to improve building conditions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in exchange for entering into agreements to restrict rent.
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently proposed a sweeping overhaul of the 421-a tax program to spur a new wave of housing with rent-restricted apartments in New York City. The mayor called for tough new provisions in the 421-a program that will expand requirements citywide, double the amount of rent-restricted housing it generates, and ensure tax benefits are granted only when developers agree that new buildings will have a minimum of 25 to 30 percent of their apartments set aside as rent-restricted.
On May 5, the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) held a preliminary vote on rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments. The chair’s proposal passed by five votes, allowing for 0 to 2 percent increases for one-year leases, 0.5 to 3.5 percent for two-year leases, and 10 percent for sublets. This year’s preliminary vote follows last year’s record low increases. Last year, the board voted to raise rent by 1 percent for one-year lease renewals, and 2.75 percent for two-year renewals.
The de Blasio administration has made recent efforts to increase protections for rent-stabilized tenants, including free legal representation for tenants in up to 15 neighborhoods. It’s also launching a new Tenant Harassment Prevention Task Force with State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to combat illegal practices that push tenants out of their apartments.
As rent laws come up for renewal on June 15, the mayor’s latest focus has been to call for stronger rent laws that are intended to limit deregulation. Among the key changes he wants are the following:
On March 27, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) formally recommended a water rate increase of 3.24 percent to the New York City Water Board. This marks the second consecutive annual increase since Mayor de Blasio took office, but the lowest one in a decade.
Two Brooklyn owners were arrested for intentionally wrecking apartments in order to drive tenants out of their rent-stabilized buildings. The owners, who are brothers collectively known as JBI Management, had destroyed the kitchens and bathrooms of two ground-floor apartments with a sledgehammer, taking down a wall that divided the apartments in the process. The owners said the work was necessary for repairs, and would be done in three weeks; it took 17 months and the hiring of a lawyer for the apartments to be returned to a usable condition, the indictment says.
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently appointed a new chair of the City Commission on Human Rights (CHR): Carmelyn Malalis, a partner at the law firm Outten & Golden LLP. He also appointed eight new commissioners to the agency. Ms. Malalis replaces Patricia Gatling.
“Hailing from Brooklyn to Brazil and ranging from rabbis to pastors, today’s appointees represent a diverse, progressive, and exceptionally qualified group sharing an unwavering commitment to safeguard the rights and dignity of all people in New York City,” de Blasio said in a statement.
As the annual fight on increases nears, Mayor de Blasio has appointed three new members to the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) that sets rents for about one million rent-stabilized apartments in the city, completing the process of filling all nine seats with his selections.
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