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Members of 32BJ SEIU, one of the city’s largest labor unions, reached a tentative agreement with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, a group of building owners in the tristate area. Following a week of negotiations, a strike by janitors, porters, handymen, and doormen was averted after they secured an 11.3 percent pay rise over the next four years (with the increase in benefits, that number is 13.28 percent). The deal also includes better retirement plan...
The New York City Council recently approved legislation effective April 1, 2019, intended to combat sexual harassment. The Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act mandates that private employers with 15 or more employees in New York City conduct annual sexual harassment training. The New York State Legislature recently passed legislation with a similar mandate for employers in New York State.
The city law provides that training must be conducted by employers with 15 or ...
HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer and Department of Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha recently announced the suspension of 421-a benefits to more than 1,700 owners who haven’t complied with the requirements of the program. The suspensions are the latest phase of a multi-stage, multi-agency enforcement effort to ensure that properties that receive 421-a tax benefits comply with the rules.
HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer recently released the initial results of the 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS). The survey is required by state and city rent regulation laws to determine New York City’s overall vacancy rate for rental housing. It’s conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau at the request of the City of New York every three years. The sample of about 19,000 housing units was drawn from the 2010 decennial census conducted...
In January, the Department of Housing and Urban Development delayed the implementation of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, an Obama-era anti-segregation measure rule, until 2020, saying, “HUD believes that program participants need additional time and technical assistance to adjust to the new AFFH process and complete AFH submissions that can be accepted by HUD.” The measure compelled participating jurisdictions to prepare an Assessment of Fai...
Last year, the City Council voted unanimously on the “Predatory Equity Bill,” which creates a watch list of rent-regulated buildings where tenants are potentially vulnerable to investors who may want to kick them out. Mayor de Blasio recently signed the bill into law.
The state’s highest court recently overturned the lower court ruling that blocked a one-time $183 credit for owners of one-, two-, and three-family dwellings. At the same time, the Water Board increased charges in 2017 for owners of apartment, co-op, and condo buildings. Apartment owners claimed this violated the Public Authorities Law and imposed disproportionate charges on them.
A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2016 found that despite decades of work to reduce lead in paint, dust, and water, about 3 percent of children around the country exhibit high levels of the metal in their blood. According to the study, the problem is particularly acute in parts of the Northeast. The regions with the largest proportions of blood specimens with the highest lead levels were in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
The City Council recently approved a bill that bars owners from asking immigrant tenants for proof of citizenship. Int. No. 1678, introduced by Councilmember Peter Koo of District 20, amends the definition of “harassment” under the Housing Maintenance Code to include discriminatory threats and requests for proof of citizenship. Amending this definition allows tenants to bring harassment claims for such actions in housing court.
The City Council recently passed Councilmember Jumaane Williams’s bill, Intro 1721-A. The bill expands the definition of “harassment” to include to include knowingly providing any false or misleading information to any resident of an apartment, making multiple false violation certifications, or materially misrepresenting the regulatory status or occupancy of a building on a permit application.
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