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The Department of Buildings (DOB) is proposing to update the Buildings Penalty Schedule to reflect the current construction environment, and to better ensure public safety. The last major overhaul of the Buildings Penalty Schedule occurred in 2008.
The DOB will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule. And the public hearing will take place at 10 a.m. on Jan. 16. The hearing will be in the 2nd floor auditorium at 125 Worth Street.
Attorney General Schneiderman recently announced that Steve Croman, a major multifamily owner who is serving a prison sentence for mortgage fraud, agreed to pay $8 million in restitution to tenants he harassed. An independent manager will run more than 100 of Croman’s properties, and Croman will also have to pay for a court-appointed monitor who will ensure compliance.
The recent tragic fire that spread through a Bronx apartment building claiming the lives of 12 people including five children has been deemed New York City’s deadliest since 87 people were killed at a Bronx club in 1990. According to reports, the flames spread quickly from a ground-floor apartment and up the open stairwell, which the city’s fire chief said “acted like a chimney.” Some tried to flee down stairs that were consumed by flames and smo...
The City Council recently approved the rezoning of East Harlem, the third neighborhood to be rezoned under the mandatory inclusionary housing program (MIH). To get the rezoning plan passed, the council modified it to align more closely to the community-based planning vision and evaluated the location of vulnerable rent-stabilized housing to minimize displacement pressure. The council agreed to reduce the density and the height limits on buildings throughout the 96-block...
The City Council recently unanimously voted on the “Predatory Equity Bill,” which will create a watch list of rent-regulated buildings where tenants are potentially vulnerable to investors who may want to kick them out. The legislation requires HPD to compile a “Speculation Watch List” of rent-regulated properties with sales prices that are unusually high in comparison to similar sales in the area. City officials feel that such transactions could...
The City Council recently passed a bill implementing a new tenant protection policy. The “Certification of No Harassment” (CONH) legislation requires covered building owners seeking to demolish or make significant alterations to their building to prove they have not engaged in harassment before they can get the permits they need from the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB).
Scott Stringer, New York City comptroller, recently issued a report encouraging owners and property management companies to give tenants the ability to opt in to reporting their rent payments as a way to boost their credit scores. Looking at a sampling of tenants paying less than $2,000 a month, Mr. Stringer’s office found that 76 percent of them would see their credit scores improve if their rental payments were included. An additional 18 percent of tenants would...
A state appellate court recently approved the city’s plan to take over an owner’s properties after he allegedly failed to prevent his tenants from “Airbnb-ing” their apartments. In August, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge found the owner of several Midtown rental buildings guilty of contempt of court after a two-year-long legal battle with the City of New York.
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced a new Mitchell-Lama Reinvestment Program. Nearly 20,000 of the city-supervised co-ops and rentals in New York City’s Mitchell-Lama buildings have left the program since 1989. The new program, with an initial infusion of $250 million, will target more than 15,000 homes over the next eight years to save Mitchell-Lamas where affordability is at risk.
Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer recently announced the start of New York City’s “Heat Season,” which legally requires all residential building owners to maintain indoor temperatures at 68 degrees when it falls below 55 degrees outside during the day, and a minimum of 62 degrees indoors overnight, regardless of outdoor temperatures. The 2017-2018 “Heat Season” began on Sunday, Oct. 1 and continue...
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