In the News

DEP Expands Enforcement Actions Against Delinquent Water Accounts

March 18, 2024    

Delinquent accounts owe a total of $124 million.

 

During the pandemic, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) saw a significant increase in the number and balance of delinquent accounts. In fact, the total of delinquent payments nearly doubled to $1.2 billion...

TPU Secures $514K Settlement Against Landlord for Overcharging Rent

March 18, 2024    

Rent-regulated units were advertised as short-term rentals.

 

HPD Releases Initial Findings of 2023 Housing and Vacancy Survey

February 22, 2024    

In two years, the city’s vacancy rate has dropped from 4.54% to 1.4%.

 

 

Council Passes Bill Allowing Tenants to Report Issues in Vacant Units

December 18, 2023    

The bill’s supporters view it as a step toward quantifying the scale of warehousing.

 

 

City Wins Three Lawsuits Against Notorious Landlord

November 21, 2023    

Mayor Eric Adams recently announced that the city has won around $4.2 million in fines and settlements in three lawsuits against Daniel Ohebshalom and his business affiliates. The city accused Ohebshalom of making more than $300,000 in illegal hotel fees after displacing tenants in rent-...

New York Attorney General Launches Fair Housing Tester Program

November 21, 2023    

New York Attorney General Letitia James is launching a program to fund fair housing testers across the state. The program will use undercover testers to determine if fair housing laws are being followed in New York. The program will include responding to complaints about housing bias, advocating...

Management Company, Owner Sue Airbnb and Tenant for Local Law 18 Violations

October 27, 2023    

On Sept. 5, the city began enforcing Local Law 18 rules that require licenses for short-term rental hosts, banned whole-home rentals, and limited guests to two per reservation. Local Law 18 also requires registration requests to be denied for buildings on a prohibited buildings list. To be...

Judge Dismisses Airbnb Lawsuit Over Local Law 18 Enforcement

August 24, 2023    

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...

City Council Overrides Mayor’s Veto to Expand Rental Vouchers

July 25, 2023    

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...

City Council Passes Lead-Related Legislation

July 25, 2023    

Inspectors may soon have to report on landlords who try to contest their results.

 

Council Votes to Create Citywide Residential Curbside Organics Collection Program

June 22, 2023    

The penalties for not properly sorting out organic waste will be the same for not sorting recyclables.

 

DEP Proposes Water Rate Hike

May 22, 2023    

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...