Departments

Advisory Commission to Recommend Reforms to Property Tax System

June 20, 2018    

Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Johnson recently announced the formation of a new advisory commission to develop recommendations to reform NYC’s property tax system with the goal of making it simpler, clearer, and fairer, while ensuring that there is no reduction in revenue used to...

State Audit Finds False Elevator Inspections, Overlooked Safety Hazards

June 20, 2018    

An audit by state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that annual elevator inspections by outside contracted companies need stronger oversight. The audit looked at work done by certified elevator inspectors who worked for companies contracted by the DOB. While the DOB has 48 staff inspectors (as...

RGB Reports Changes to NYC's Rent-Stabilized Housing Stock

June 20, 2018    

The Rent Guidelines Board recently issued a report highlighting additions and subtractions of dwelling units to and from the rent stabilization system in 2017. These statistics are gathered from various city and state agencies. This report is an update of previous studies done annually...

Landlord v. Tenant: July 2018

June 20, 2018    

RENT OVERCHARGE

Landlord Failed to Prove Pre-Base Date Preferential Rent

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant and ordered landlord to refund an overcharge. The DRA found that, since landlord failed to provide pre-base date rent history...

Comptroller Reports on Airbnb’s Impact on Rents, Regulation Looms

May 22, 2018    

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer recently issued a report detailing Airbnb’s effect on housing affordability from 2009 to 2016. The report says that when people put up their apartments for short-term stays, they are basically removing them from the rental market, lowering the...

Candidate Nixon Proposes Sweeping Overhaul of Rent Regulations

May 22, 2018    

Democratic gubernatorial challenger Cynthia Nixon recently released her plan to overhaul rent regulations. Nixon is promising to work with state lawmakers to reclaim and protect all units that were removed from rent stabilization through vacancy decontrol. She is seeking to re-regulate all of...

Water Board to Vote on FY 2019 Water Rate Proposal

May 22, 2018    

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently proposed increasing the New York City water and sewer rates by 2.36 percent to the NYC Water Board. Water Board rates are based on the cost of providing utility services and servicing outstanding debts that relate to water...

City Council Adopts Rent Regulations Resolutions Package

May 22, 2018    

The City Council recently passed several resolutions calling on the State Legislature to strengthen rent laws. Although the state law on rent regulation doesn’t expire until next June, it’s possible that the State Legislature may pursue the renewal of rent laws before the end of its...

Rent-Stabilized Tenant Ordered to Pay Record High Airbnb Fine

May 22, 2018    

A judge recently ordered a Tribeca rent-stabilized artist to leave her apartment and pay a fine of $185,000 for illegally listing it on Airbnb. The tenant, who paid $1,500 a month for her rent-stabilized two-bedroom apartment, was sued by her landlord in 2014, who claimed she was earning about $...

NYC Sues Airbnb Over Ignored Subpoena

April 19, 2018    

The New York State Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) established the standards for all buildings containing three or more dwelling units. The MDL flatly prohibits unhosted rentals of less than 30 days in “Class A” multiple dwellings. These are buildings occupied by three or more families...

Proposed State Law Would Address Source-of-Income Housing Discrimination

April 19, 2018    

Some state lawmakers in Albany are considering amending the state human rights law to make it illegal to discriminate against tenants based on where they receive their income. The change would include a “lawful source of income” provision that would protect people using government...

RAB and Apartment Building Workers Union Reach Wage Agreement

April 19, 2018    

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...

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