Departments

Councilman Calls for Probe into Uncollected Building and Sanitation Fines

September 20, 2018    

In April of 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed three bills that were designed to help the city collect $1.6 billion in outstanding fines for everything from building code infractions to tickets from the sanitation department. But the latest figures indicate that the value of the city’s...

DOB Hits Landlords of Illegal Hotels with $285K in Fines

September 20, 2018    

The DOB recently issued 43 violations and $285,375 in penalties against landlords for illegal transient use of 11 different buildings. Although the city has long prohibited renting out apartments as hotels, the rise of vacation rental sites such as Airbnb and Homeaway.com have driven a...

De Blasio Administration Releases Mayor's FY 2018 Management Report

September 20, 2018    

The de Blasio administration recently released the Mayor’s Management Report (MMR) for Fiscal Year 2018, an analysis of city agencies’ performance from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018. The MMR presents more than 1,700 metrics from 45 city agencies that measure the city’s...

Mayor Signs Airbnb Disclosure Rules into Law

August 27, 2018    

Mayor Bill de Blasio recently signed into law a landmark bill that forces home-sharing companies such as Airbnb to disclose information about its New York City hosts. The new law will take effect in February 2019 and requires Airbnb to disclose the names and addresses of its hosts. The...

Attorney General Creates $8M Restitution Fund for Former Croman Tenants

August 27, 2018    

Last October, New York landlord Steven Croman was sent to jail for a year and fined $5 million after being found criminally liable for fraud and tax evasion. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood recently announced that Croman’s former tenants could be in for a share of an $8 million...

DHCR Updates Security Deposit and Demolition Fact Sheets

August 27, 2018    

Fact Sheets describe the major elements of rent control and rent stabilization in New York City. The DHCR recently updated Fact Sheet #9, which covers security deposits and other charges, and Fact Sheet #11, which covers demolition.

The update to Fact Sheet #9 says the security deposit...

City Council Approves Inwood Rezoning

August 27, 2018    

The City Council recently overwhelmingly approved a plan to rezone a large swath of Inwood. The proposal is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to rezone up to 15 neighborhoods across the city and create and preserve 300,000 units of low-income housing by 2026. Inwood became the fifth...

Landlord v. Tenant: September 2018

August 27, 2018    

APARTMENT RENOVATIONS 

Landlord Not Responsible for Unauthorized Work Performed by Super  

An independent contractor who performed flooring work in tenant's apartment sued landlord for payment for the work and for actions by the building super, who...

City Council Passes Bill to Require Airbnb to Disclose Host Data

July 26, 2018    

The New York City Council recently passed a bill that requires Airbnb and other home-sharing sites to provide the names and addresses of its hosts to the city. Under state law, it’s illegal to rent out an apartment for less than 30 days unless the permanent tenant is there. If the host is...

Comptroller Issues Report on Security Deposits, Recommends Reforms

July 26, 2018    

City Comptroller Scott Stringer recently issued a report looking at the role security deposits play in the city’s housing market and outlines proposed statewide legislation that would help renters have access to apartments. According to the report, with minimal savings and rising rents...

Mayor Announces Housing Milestone, Formation of Tenant Anti-Harassment Unit

July 26, 2018    

Mayor de Blasio recently touted a new housing record. He said the city financed more than 32,000 low-income homes this past year, and nearly 110,000 since taking office. Of those, about 30 percent are new construction, while the rest have been preserved through subsidy. The mayor said the city...

Landlord v. Tenant: August 2018

July 26, 2018    

LEASES

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