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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

New York City has more apartments and


tenants than any other American city. More
than 2.14 million New Yorkers rent and over 64% of all apartments
citywide are rentals. Unfortunately, New York City is also home to
thousands of broken down buildings where tenants live in deplorable and
unsafe conditions.

Complaints of asthma-inducing mold, peeling lead paint, and broken


plumbing come in to 311 by the thousands every month. For four years in
a row, housing and landlord complaints have been the number one reason
New Yorkers call 311. More than 172,000 New Yorkers reported a lack of
heat this winter alone.

It’s time to break the cycle of deteriorating housing. Given how many New
Yorkers rent their apartments, we must do more to achieve a universal
standard of livability for every tenant. City government needs to use its
leverage to push landlords to act responsibly. We need to give both
tenants and landlords more tools and information to make sure buildings
get repaired faster. Finally, we need to extend and strengthen our rent
regulation laws this year so more than one million families in rent
stabilized apartments don’t lose vital rent protections.

Last year, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio launched the NYC’s Worst
Landlords Watch List to mount public pressure on landlords who let
violations pile up year after year without consequence. The Watch List
targets chronic bad actors, many of whom take advantage of loopholes in
housing laws. Since it was launched in August 2010, more than 400
buildings owned by 331 landlords have been listed, many through direct
submissions from New Yorkers. In the past year, significant repairs have
been made to 67 buildings, resulting in their removal from the Watch List.
Public Advocate de Blasio also wrote the Heat Enforcement for All
Tenants (HEAT) Act, which was signed into law this March. The new law
increases penalties for landlords who repeatedly fail to provide heat and
hot water to their tenants.
This year, Public Advocate de Blasio is launching an eight-point plan for
protecting livability in New York City. By empowering tenants and
improving dilapidated buildings, these efforts will keep the fabric of our
neighborhoods intact and make our homes safer. The plan includes
measures that focus on:
1. Preventing bad landlords who consistently fail to repair their buildings
from receiving taxpayer dollars through City subsidies
2. Partnering with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to
prevent bad landlords from receiving leases from the City
3. Enhancing NYC’s Worst Landlords Watch List, including listing the
Watch List on Craigslist.org
4. Increasing organizing efforts with a goal of removing 20% of buildings
currently on the Watch List by August 30, 2011
5. Assisting law-abiding landlords by connecting every Watch List
landlord to City programs that can provide capital and support for
building repairs
6. Cutting needless red tape and streamlining the certification and
inspection process for landlords in programs like Section 8, so that
responsible landlords are not unfairly penalized
7. Launching an innovative pilot program that will bring in private sector
lawyers to provide pro bono legal assistance and help law-abiding
tenants navigate housing court
8. Advocating for permanent reforms to the housing code on the state
level, including establishing mandatory minimum fines for the most
severe housing violations and extending and strengthening rent
regulations.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s plan for protecting livability will ensure that
every New Yorker—regardless of where they live or how much money
they make—has a safe and well-maintained apartment.

We invite tenants, landlords and all New Yorkers to tell us their ideas on
making our City more livable. Join us online at
www.advocate.nyc.gov/safehousing where you can comment on the
Public Advocate’s proposals and submit your own.
TAXPAYER DOLLARS SHOULDN’T
GO TO NEGLIGENT LANDLORDS

Too often, violations and fines alone are not enough to convince many of
the city’s most irresponsible landlords to make repairs to their buildings.
The City has other tools at its disposal to put pressure on the worst
actors—and it needs to use them. Housing assistance programs and
leases for City office space are a major revenue source for landlords. New
York City pays more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars every year to
landlords as part of housing assistance programs for low-income tenants.
These subsidies flow to good and bad landlords alike, even those with a
long list of hazardous violations. Leases with City agencies for office
space are issued on a similar basis—without considering whether a
landlord’s other buildings have serious repair problems. Even landlords
who have run up a debt with the City for expenses like emergency repairs
(there are $2.9 million in outstanding fees in the Alternative Enforcement
Program alone) can secure a lucrative lease. We must make our housing
policies more coherent and effective by utilizing these housing programs
and leases as economic leverage, to compel landlords to fix their buildings
or risk losing City business.

 Ban Chronic Slumlords from


Housing Programs

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is introducing City legislation that would ban
landlords from receiving taxpayer funded subsidies, including Advantage
and Section 8, if they have qualified for Public Advocate de Blasio’s NYC’s
Worst Landlords Watch list or the Department of Housing, Preservation &
Development’s (HPD) Alternative Enforcement Program for at least three
years. Under this legislation, these landlords would need to first bring their
buildings into a state of good repair in order to re-qualify to receive
taxpayer money. Tenants would be protected by law from eviction in these
cases.
Stop City Leases to Chronically
 Irresponsible Landlords


Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is establishing a partnership with the
Department of Citywide Administrative Services to create a City policy that
would deny new leases to landlords identified on the NYC’s Worst
Landlords Watch List or the Alternative Enforcement Program. In
addition, Public Advocate de Blasio’s office will be cross-referencing all
existing City leases against the Watch List and the Alternate Enforcement
Program to identify all bad landlords currently holding City leases. These
landlords will receive joint notices from the Public Advocate’s Office and
DCAS about their need to repair their buildings.
INFORMING TENANTS ONLINE AND
ORGANIZING THEM ON THE GROUND

New York City tenants face numerous roadblocks when trying to


determine even basic information about their landlord and building. While
a building’s records are available on the Department of Housing
Preservation & Development’s website, it is not possible to recognize the
trends among multiple buildings owned by the same landlord. Information
such as a pattern of housing code violations can help forewarn tenants
about potential problems that could arise with a landlord. And for tenants
already living in dilapidated buildings, it is impossible to find information
about other buildings owed by their landlord and connect with fellow
tenants who may be facing similar problems.

Since the online NYC’s


Worst Landlords Watch
List launched in August
2010, the website has
been accessed more
than 50,000 times to
look up a building or a
landlord. The Watch List
has given a voice to
tenants, and has shined
a media spotlight on
landlords who previously
thrived in anonymity. In
2011, the Watch List is
vastly increasing the
amount of information
tenants can access and
making it simpler for
them to take action.

NYC’s Worst Landlords


Watch List is located
online at: www.LandlordWatchlist.com.
NYC’s Worst Landlords Watch List 2.0—
 Promoted on Craigslist.org

To put this tool in the hands of more tenants and help flag problems
before they sign a lease, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has partnered with
Craigslist, which now links to NYC’s Worst Landlords Watch List from
housing listings on their New York City site. Craiglist.org is the seventh
most visited website in the United States and the initiative has already
tripled traffic to the Watch List website.

Public Advocate de Blasio is also enhancing NYC’s Worst Landlords


Watch List, making it a one-stop-shop where a tenant hunting for an
apartment can not only look up the records of one building, but see every
single building owned by the same landlord. Through the enhanced Watch
List, the Public Advocate will work to make City data on buildings much
more coherent and accessible.

In addition, the Office of the Public


Advocate will use NYC’s Worst
Landlords Watch List to shine a
spotlight on the network of brokers,
building managers and lenders that Total Buildings: 418
help bad landlords thrive. These actors
Manhattan: 201
provide financial backing for deals that
Brooklyn: 129
put buildings into financial distress and
Bronx: 71
support a system of building neglect.
Queens: 16
Through media pressure and
Staten Island: 2
investigations into the worst actors, the
Public Advocate will start holding these
partners to a higher standard.

 Organizing More Tenants


in Watch List Buildings

When tenants join together, they have a much better shot at forcing a
landlord to make repairs. In the last two months, organizers from Public
Advocate Bill de Blasio’s office partnered with community organizations
and knocked on hundreds of doors in Watch List buildings.
By August 30, 2011, the one-year anniversary of the launch of NYC’s
Worst Landlords Watch List, the Office of the Public Advocate’s
Community Organizing department will have led organizing activities in
dozens of buildings. The goal is to secure repairs and remove 80 building
from the Watch List, or 20% of those currently listed. By partnering with
community-based organizations, Public Advocate de Blasio’s organizers
will knock on thousands of tenants’ doors in 2011 and engage in new
partnerships with the following advocacy groups to help identify
problematic buildings in their neighborhoods.

o Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition


o Make the Road New York
o New York Communities for Change
o Asian Americans for Equality
o Committee Against Anti-Asian American Violence (CAAAV)
o Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB)
o Community Action for Safe Apartments
o Flatbush Development Corporation
o Northern Manhattan Improvement Coalition
HELPING LANDLORDS OF DISTRESSED
BUILDINGS MAKE REPAIRS

While there are certainly landlords who seek to profit from neglecting their
tenants’ needs, most landlords want to properly maintain their buildings.
However, some need additional resources to make substantive repairs.
HPD has loan and tax incentive programs set up to assist well-intentioned
property owners, but more landlords can take advantage of these
programs. Moving forward, the Office of the Public Advocate will provide
landlords with information on programs to help them maintain their
properties.

Help Landlords Access


 City Programs and Support

There are 11 tax incentive programs set up to help landlords, ranging from
421-a tax abatements for creating affordable housing to exemptions that
offset the cost of repairs. Another dozen programs offer low-interest loans
to replace outdated water, heating and insulation systems. HPD programs
like Preservation Participation Loans, Home Improvements and Small
Owner Repairs range from $10,000 to $200,000, depending on the
number of units per building and affordability restrictions, and they help
landlords make repairs without having to take out high-interest loans that
will jeopardize their building’s financial future.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio will work to connect more landlords in need
of these programs by engaging them directly and providing information for
how they can obtain support. Using a landlord tip guide developed by
HPD, Public Advocate de Blasio’s office has compiled a comprehensive
Landlord Toolkit that details key support programs for landlords. This
toolkit has been, and will continue to be, distributed to every landlord on
NYC Worst Landlord’s Watch List. In addition, the Public Advocate’s
office will work with HPD to distribute this toolkit to all applicable landlords
in its database.

Public Advocate de Blasio’s Constituent Services Department has also


established a Help Desk to guide landlords to these programs and
increase participation. The Help Desk will help landlords clear resolved
violations from their record, liaise with tenants to coordinate times to make
repairs, and help landlords correct errors in City records that could cost
them unnecessary fines. The help desk can be reached at
gethelp@pubadvocate.nyc.gov or 212-669-7250.

Cut Needless Red Tape that Unfairly


 Penalizes Landlords who Make Repairs

While housing programs like Section 8 can be better leveraged to


pressure bad landlords, we must also ensure that these programs do not
punish responsible property owners. More than 31,000 landlords
participate in NYCHA’s Section 8 housing program. And while Section 8 is
a critical safety net for low-income tenants, it can also be a burdensome—
and occasionally costly—program for landlords. One of the most
frustrating parts of the program for landlords is NYCHA’s annual
inspection for hazardous conditions. If problems are found, landlords are
given 30 days to make and verify repairs before their Section 8 payments
are suspended. The process requires landlords to gain access to a
tenant’s apartment, make repairs and provide proof to NYCHA that they
are in compliance.

A significant portion of the 30-day period can be taken up by mailing forms


and waiting at length for NYCHA’s response. As a result, landlords who
have made repairs on time can still see their Section 8 subsidy
suspended. And once suspended, it can take months to restore payments,
putting otherwise good buildings into financial distress. Public Advocate
de Blasio will work with NYCHA to reduce the necessary paperwork and
agency response times so that responsible landlords are not penalized.
The Public Advocate will also advocate for changes to the system that
make it simpler for landlords to demonstrate that repairs have been made,
such as letting a licensed contractor certify repairs.
HELPING LAW-ABIDING TENANTS
NAVIGATE HOUSING COURT

95% of landlords who walk into Housing Court have legal representation.
Among tenants, the figure is a meager 5%. For the more than 13,000
cases filed because repairs haven’t been made, less than 1% of tenants
have representation. Without legal counsel, many tenants show up to
court unprepared and unaware of their rights.

Representing Tenants in Court –


 A Partnership with South Brooklyn
Legal Services

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and South Brooklyn Legal Services are
launching an innovative pilot project to connect tenants in Brooklyn to pro
bono representation from private sector law firms in repair cases. Public
Advocate de Blasio will recruit private law firms to take on cases pro bono,
while South Brooklyn Legal Services will provide the firms with training
and supervision. The lawyers will be recruited from major law firms, where
associates can use Housing Court cases to gain valuable in-court
experience.

Beginning in June 2011, the partnership will field a team of lawyers who
will each handle one case per month through the end of 2011. Tenants
will have a single lawyer working their case from start to finish who will
offer them legal advice and represent them in court proceedings.
REFORMING THE HOUSING CODE –
STATE LEGISLATION STRENGTHENING
ENFORCEMENT OF SEVERE VIOLATIONS

When someone is issued a ticket for double parking, they face a fine and
escalating consequences if they fail to pay. Yet when a Housing
Department inspector issues a violation to a landlord for failing to provide
heat, the fine can simply be ignored without consequence. Housing
violations are decided in Housing Court where landlords too frequently
settle their cases for a fraction of the fines they actually owe. With 2.75
million uncorrected housing violations on the City’s books, we need a
more effective way to enforce the housing code and incentivize landlords
to make repairs.

 State Legislative Reform: Mandatory


Minimums for Serious Violations and
Rent Regulation

New York State’s rent regulation laws expire in June 2011. If they are not
renewed, more than 1 million rent-regulated apartments are at risk of
becoming unaffordable. We need to extend and strengthen rent regulation
laws so that New York City remains affordable to the middle class.
Working with a broad coalition of reform-minded allies, Public Advocate de
Blasio will push for reforms that prevent the year-by-year loss of
affordable housing, and keep New Yorkers in their homes and in their
neighborhoods.

State laws also have a role in ensuring the safety of our housing stock. To
ensure fines really stick for the most dangerous violations, Public
Advocate de Blasio is advocating for new State legislation that will
establish firm minimum fines for the most serious class of housing code
violations—conditions like peeling lead paint and lack of heat. If a series of
heating violations for $500-$1,000 were issued by HPD, a landlord could
no longer walk away paying anything less than $500 for each, as is
customary today. Mandatory minimum fines could also generate additional
revenue for the City.
State Senator Liz Krueger will introduce legislation in the State Senate
later this year to establish mandatory minimums.

In addition, Public Advocate de Blasio’s office will work with stakeholders


citywide to examine other long-term reforms that will encourage landlords
to better maintain their buildings. The Public Advocate will push for a
system of administrative tribunals similar to those in Chicago, Washington,
Dallas and Boston. Administrative tribunals treat housing violations like
parking tickets: a landlord can pay the fine or contest it before a tribunal
which will process the case in a matter of minutes.

These reforms can ensure New York City’s housing is both safe and
affordable.
Office of New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio
1 Centre Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10007
(212) 669-7200 | www.advocate.nyc.gov

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