Online Alerts

Mayor Adams Appoints NYC's First-Ever 'Rat Czar'

April 12, 2023    

Mayor Adams recently appointed Kathleen Corradi as the city’s first-ever citywide director of rodent mitigation, also known as the “rat czar.” In this newly created role, Corradi will coordinate across city government agencies, community organizations, and the private sector to...

Mayor Announces New Rent Guidelines Board Chair

March 15, 2023    

Mayor Eric Adams recently announced the appointment of Nestor Davidson as the new chair of the New York City Rent Guidelines Board. The nine-member Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) is responsible for adjusting rents for the one million New York City apartments subject to the city’s rent...

Federal Appeals Court Rejects Rent Law Challenge

February 8, 2023    

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently ruled against landlords in a lawsuit challenging New York’s rent stabilization law and the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA). The court affirmed the New York Eastern District Court’s decision...

State AG Recovers Illegally Held Security Deposits for 900 Tenants

January 25, 2023    

Attorney General Letitia James’ office recently announced that it had recovered more than $422,000 from Fairfield Properties, one of Long Island’s largest apartment owner. The real estate company illegally withheld full or partial security deposits without providing tenants with a...

Mayor Unveils Plans to Convert Office Space into Apartments

January 11, 2023    

Mayor Eric Adams recently released details of a plan to facilitate the conversion of underused office space into new housing. The plan’s recommendations were made by the Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force, led by NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Dan Garodnick. The task force...

State Bans AC Charges in Rent-Regulated Housing

December 7, 2022    

A bill from State Senator Robert Jackson and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz that prohibits owners from imposing a surcharge on tenants for the use of a tenant-installed air conditioner has been signed into law by Governor Kathy...

HPD Reaches $82,500 Agreement to Settle Lead-Paint Violations

November 16, 2022    

HPD recently reached a settlement agreement with an owner to correct over 80 lead-based paint violations across six Brooklyn buildings. The owner will pay $82,500 in...

Urban Green Council Holds Webinar on LL97 Draft Rules

November 2, 2022    

In October, the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) released its long-awaited draft rules on how building owners can cut their buildings’ carbon emissions to bring themselves in compliance with Local Law 97. Along with the release of the draft rules, DOB has also published the first...

Tenant Harassment Prevention Task Force Reaches Settlement with Large Landlord

October 19, 2022    

The Tenant Harassment Prevention Task Force recently announced a settlement with Greenbrook Holdings LLC. The landlord owns 188 buildings comprising approximately 1,000 units, many of which are rent...

NY Gets $100M More in Federal Emergency Rent Aid

October 5, 2022    

New York's state Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program will get $99.4 million in federal funds reallocated by U.S. Treasury officials. This recent payout to New York State is the third time the state has received federal dollars, and this should empty the first tranche of ERA funds...

Judge Certifies Class Action Over Rent Fraud Claims

September 21, 2022    

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Sabrina Kraus recently granted class action certification to past and present tenants in 11 buildings who have sued their landlords. They are accused of “systemic evasion of the rent regulations” and, according to the judge, the tenants showed in...

A.G. Uncovers Illegal Scheme to Deregulate Apartments

September 7, 2022    

New York State Attorney General Letitia James recently announced that her office had secured $4 million from a group of 29 New York City landlords after uncovering an illegal kickback scheme by the management companies they employed to deregulate hundreds of rent-stabilized apartments in New...