On Jan. 15, Governor Cuomo announced a major settlement agreement between New York State's Tenant Protection Unit (TPU) and Castellan Real Estate Partners/Liberty Place Property Management.
Artists living in a former luggage factory in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood are fighting back against rising rents by pushing for their units to be declared rent stabilized. They’re arguing that because the buildings were constructed before 1974 and the landlord hasn’t...
Internal auditors of the New York City Housing Authority have revealed that 319 of NYCHA’s vacant apartments have been vacant for an average of seven years, with some sitting empty for as long as two decades, because the agency can’t afford to make repairs. With nearly 179,000 public...
Building Violations: Displaced Tenants Sue Landlord and HPD for Relocation Costs
In November 2012, HPD inspected landlord's building and issued three Class "I" violations, which directed tenants to vacate their apartments. These orders followed prior HPD violations that...
Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Operations Cas Holloway, and the RAND Corporation recently released a study finding numerous gaps in the National Flood Insurance Program that will significantly increase flood insurance costs for New York City.
Recently, the Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s (DHCR’s) Office of Rent Administration (ORA) released its 2013 Annual Review. The publication gives an overview of ORA’s various bureaus that are charged with effectively administering New York State’s rent laws...
Smart Apartments, a short-term housing operator that put up visitors in illegally converted apartment buildings, will pay a $1 million penalty to the city and be permanently banned from running its operation. “Unregulated illegal hotels are unsafe and pose a danger to the community and...
DOB Violations: Landlord Didn't Add Handicap Ramp During Alterations
DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for failing to provide building access to people with disabilities. The violation stated that there was no ramp at the front entrance of the building. Landlord claimed that...
As part of its continuing efforts to make New York City better prepared for future hurricanes, the City Council recently passed a package of legislation that’s intended to strengthen building standards and enhance building and infrastructure resiliency against the effects of future storms...
A 79-year-old rent-stabilized tenant is at the center of a bankruptcy case that may pose a risk to her and the millions of other New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments.
The tenant, unable to keep up with her bills after her husband’s death, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy...
DOB Violations: Building Staircase Leaning Out of Plumb
DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for failing to maintain its building in a code-compliant manner. DOB's inspector reported that the staircase from the fourth floor to the roof was leaning out of plumb. The stringer,...
The Department of Buildings announced that the deadline to file 2012 Category 1 Elevator Inspection and Affirmation of Correction Reports has been extended to Dec. 31, 2013. This extension applies to reports for unsatisfactory Category 1 inspections for the calendar year 2012 inspection cycle....
