BILL NUMBER: S1944A
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, the
emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four and the emer-
gency housing rent control law, in relation to requiring property owners
to dedicate certain residential units to the same protected status the
unit previously held following demolition and new construction or
substantial renovation
 
PURPOSE OF BILL:
To require that if a landlord renders certain units uninhabitable by way
of construction, and meets certain criteria, then the landlord must
rededicate an equal number of units of equivalent size to the same
status the unit previously held at the rent amount allowable for that
status
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Section 26-512 of the administrative code of the city
of New York by adding a subdivision h that provides if a property holder
practices demolition or extensive regulation that renders uninhabitable
a rent controlled or rent stabilized housing accommodation protected by
the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, the emer-
gency housing rent control law, the local emergency housing rent control
act, the administrative code of the city of New York, or any regu-
lations, rules, and policies enacted pursuant thereto, the property
holder must dedicate another unit of equivalent size to the same status
the unit previously held if some conditions are present.
Section 2 amends Section 6 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of
1974 constituting the emergency tenant protection act by adding a new
subdivision h that provides if a property holder practices demolition or
extensive regulation that renders uninhabitable a rent controlled or
rent stabilized housing accommodation protected by the emergency tenant
protection act of nineteen seventy-four, the emergency housing rent
control law, the local emergency housing rent control act, the adminis-
trative code of the city of New York, or any regulations, rules, and
policies enacted pursuant thereto, then the property holder must dedi-
cate another unit of equivalent size to the same status the unit previ-
ously held if some conditions are present.
Section 3 amends Section 5 of chapter 274 of the laws of 1946 constitut-
ing the emergency housing rent control law by adding a new subdivision 9
that provides if a property holder practices demolition or extensive
regulation that renders uninhabitable a rent controlled or rent stabi-
lized housing accommodation protected by the emergency tenant protection
act of nineteen seventy-four, the emergency housing rent control law,
the local emergency housing rent control act, the administrative code of
the city of New York, or any regulations, rules, and policies enacted
pursuant thereto, then the property holder must dedicate another unit of
equivalent size to the same status the unit previously held if some
conditions are present.
Section 4 establishes that this law shall take effect immediately.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Unscrupulous landlords try to turn a profit on properties by displacing
rent-regulated tenants through the use of major construction as a
harassment technique and subsequently raising rent prices. These tenants
tend to be disproportionately of very low to moderate income. It was
revealed that former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner's real
estate company pushed vulnerable tenants out of buildings by utilizing
late night construction, sawdust, and rat infestations between 2013 and
2016 in order to turn rent regulated units into ones that could be sold
for market value.
Sadly, this is a widespread practice that severely limits the ever-di-
minishing amount of affordable housing in New York. For far too many New
Yorkers there are tales of lead dust in the air, incessant jackhammer-
ing, loss of power and heat and gas shutoffs in the winter that under-
mine quality of life to such a degree that tenants feel they have no
option but to leave apartments they have long called home.
Under this bill, whenever a rent-regulated apartment is rendered uninha-
bitable in the manner described, the landlord must supply another rent-
regulated unit, thereby removing any ability to turn a profit through
such practices and therefore stopping tenants from living in adverse
conditions and protecting communities from unethical, abusive landlords.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.367-A of 2021-2022 (Hoylman): Died in Housing, Construction and Commu-
nity Development
S.2252 of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Housing, Construction and Commu-
nity Development
S.8574 of 2018 (Hoylman): Died in Housing, Construction and Community
Development
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that: a. the
amendments to section 26-512 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the administra-
tive code of the city of New York made by section one of this act shall
expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the
expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law.