Bill Would Require Heat Sensor Installation in Buildings with Heat Code Violations

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. The owners of those properties would then have to install an "internet-capable temperature reporting device," with readings accessible to both the tenant and the owner, in every living room to track the internal climate around the clock.

City law requires owners to keep the interior of apartments at 62 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer from October through May, and six degrees higher if the temperature drops below 55 outdoors. If passed, the bill would go into effect beginning in January 2020.