City Council Committee to hear testimony on a package of bills intended to strengthen protections for tenants subject to harassment by landlords. Since the mid-2000s and largely due to the housing bubble, predatory equity has become a metastasis on the New York City housing market. The expulsion of both rent stabilized and market-rate tenants is accomplished through means both legal, by abusing technical loopholes in State law, and illegal, by dangerous living conditions and intimidation.
Search Results for: Department of Buildings
New Building Approved Without Modifications for Vacant Lot
New development on triangular-shaped corner lot will employ passive house technology and have a facade clad with etched bronze panels. On March 7, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and approved a certificate of appropriateness application for 14 White Street in the Tribeca East Historic District. The site is currently occupied by a parking lot and is being developed by the firm Nava. The development will house ten residential units with retail use … <Read More>
Basement apartment ruled legal; Condo’s “peace” sign ruled illegal
Buildings charged that owner unlawfully converted basement into additional rental apartment. In 2013 the Department of Buildings charged the owner of 345 W 70th Street, a multiple dwelling, with creating an illegal apartment in the basement. At the administrative hearing, Buildings submitted three I-cards for the building from 1916, 1938 and 1945. Before 1938, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development used I-cards to record the occupancy and arrangement of the buildings HPD had inspected. … <Read More>
Committee Hears Testimony from DOB on 21 Pieces of Construction Safety Legislation
Housing Committee hears testimony on 21 pieces of legislation to address 30 deaths at construction sites in past two years, including requiring apprenticeship training citywide. On January 31, 2017, the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings heard testimony on a large package of bills concerning construction safety in New York City. Chair Jumaane Williams began the eight-hour long hearing by reading the names of the 30 workers that lost their lives in construction accidents … <Read More>
Three-Quarter Housing: Council Seeks to Address Blight [UPDATE: City Council Approves Legislation]
UPDATE: On February 1, 2017, the City Council voted 47-0 to approve four bills that would help protect tenants of three-quarter houses in New York City. During the vote, Council Member Donovan Richards called three-quarter houses a wide spread problem that would not be cured by the bills and that the City would need to track progress on the issue to determine future responses. Council Member Ritchie Torres called predatory operators of three-quarter houses the … <Read More>
Council Hears Testimony from BSA on New Oversight Legislation
Executive Director of the Board of Standards and Appeals voices support for some proposed reforms, but states concern about financial and personnel burden to the agency. On December 14, 2016, the City Council’s Committee on Governmental Operations heard testimony on ten proposed bills designed to provide more oversight of the Board of Standards and Appeals. The BSA, which was originally created to be an independent board tasked with granting “relief” from the zoning code, is … <Read More>