In the News

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...

City Council Conducts Hearing on Lead Poisoning Prevention Laws

May 22, 2023    

According to City Council stats, there were 111,509 lead paint violations in the city between January 2018 and March 2023. As of March 2023, 45 percent of all lead-related court cases are concentrated in the Bronx. Brooklyn ranked second for cases. The City Council recently held an oversight...

NYC Pilot Program to Fund Repairs for Vacant Rent-Stabilized Units

April 23, 2023    

Mayor Adams recently announced an initiative that will invest $10 million to repair stabilized units that are empty, and turn them over to tenants with rental assistance vouchers. The pilot program is called “Unlocking Doors,” and the city will provide up to $25,000 for needed...

City Sues Owners for Building Code Violations, Dangerous Living Conditions

January 25, 2023    

Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix recently announced the filing of two lawsuits against Alma Realty Corp. and Empire Management America Corp. for the failure to fix thousands of code violations that created dangerous living conditions for tenants. The lawsuits...

NY Lawmakers Seek to Revive Fight Against Broker Fees

September 12, 2022    

There has been renewed interest to cap or limit broker fees paid by prospective tenants after some high-profile instances of brokers asking for thousands of dollars in fees in exchange for highly coveted apartments have made the news. In one case, a renter paid a broker fee of $19,500 for a rent...

Comptroller's Plan Would Temporarily Legalize Basement Apartments

September 12, 2022    

Shortly before the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ida, which resulted in 11 people drowned in basement apartments during the storm, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a report called “Bringing Basement Apartments into the Light.” The report proposes a path to legalize...

OTDA to Begin Processing Additional ERAP Applications

July 28, 2022    

On July 21, the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) announced that it is “actively reviewing and processing eligible Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) applications submitted through June 30, 2022.” This announcement came about because the 2022–23...

Judge Orders Owner to Pay $70K for Disability Discrimination

July 28, 2022    

HUD recently announced that an Administrative Law Judge found that a Long Island landlord violated the Fair Housing Act when he refused to rent to a mother and her daughter because of the daughter’s cerebral palsy. The judge ordered the owner to pay $50,530 in damages to the family and a $...

Water Board Approves 4.9% Rate Hike Effective July 1

June 28, 2022    

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for proposing water rates, while the Water Board is responsible for establishing the rate following the proposal and subsequent public hearings. DEP delivers over a billion gallons of drinking water, treats 1.3 billion gallons...

RGB Votes for Rent Increases in Preliminary Vote

May 19, 2022    

In a preliminary vote on May 5, the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) recommended increasing rents for rent-stabilized apartment buildings. The RGB is made up of nine mayoral appointees, two of whom represent tenants, two who represent landlords, and another five members who are supposed to act on...

HPD Releases Initial Findings from the 2021 NYC Housing and Vacancy Survey

May 19, 2022    

The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) recently released selected initial findings from the 2021 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS) after state lawmakers voted twice to delay the report by more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to accommodate U...