BILL NUMBER: S10088
SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the county law and the administrative code of the city
of New York, in relation to the docketing of judgments imposing civil
penalties for the violation of certain requirements imposed by the
zoning resolution of the city of New York
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would facilitate enforcement of certain affordable housing
requirements in New York City and collection of penalties from those who
violate them, and continue efforts to diminish burdens on the court
system in New York City by making adjudication of these violations by
the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH)
more effective.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends Subdivision 4 of Section 918 of the Coun-
ty Law to authorize the county clerk to maintain judgments entered and
docketed in the civil court of New York City on behalf of the Office of
Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) relating to violations of
certain affordable housing requirements imposed by the Zoning Resolution
of the City of New York pursuant to Section 26-3309 of the Administra-
tive Code of the City of New York.
Section two of the bill would correct section numbers in Chapter 33 of
Title 26 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York; these are
technical corrections of drafting errors in prior legislation unrelated
to the primary purpose of this bill.
Section three of the bill would amend Section 26-3309 of the Administra-
tive Code of the City of New York to provide that a final decision or
order issued by OATH relating to violations of affordable housing
requirements imposed by the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York
constitutes a judgment that may be entered and docketed in the civil
court of the City of New York and may be enforced without court
proceedings in the same manner as the enforcement of money judgments
entered in civil actions, provided that the judgment does not exceed
$25,000.
Section 26-3309 would also be amended to provide that the terms and
limitations applicable to entry of final orders imposing penalties
pursuant to Section 1049-a of the New York City Charter would apply to
entry of final orders imposing penalties pursuant to section 26-3309,
including the provisions related to methods of service.
Section four of the bill sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In recent years, New York City has established numerous affordable hous-
ing programs in response to the city's affordable housing crisis,
requiring affordable housing and mandated benefits to the public in
exchange for incentives. Among these are a number of programs estab-
lished through the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York and admin-
istered by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and
Development (HPD) that impose various affordable housing requirements on
certain residential properties.
New York City enacted Local Law 45 of 2022 to provide the City with
tools for the enforcement of these provisions, which were codified in a
new Chapter 33 of Title 26 of the New York City Administrative Code of
the City of New York (Chapter 33). Pursuant to Chapter 33, violations
may be heard at the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and
Hearings (OATH), in a manner similar to violations issued by the Depart-
ment of Buildings to enforce New York City's Building Code.
The bill would amend the County Law and Chapter 33 to provide that
orders issued by OATH for violations of the affordable housing require-
ments imposed by the City's Zoning Resolution can be docketed in a
manner similar to judgments related to violations of the City's Building
Code. Orders issued in such matters constitute judgments that may be
entered and docketed in civil court in order to facilitate their
enforcement. The docketing of these types of judgments is already
permitted for violations issued by DOB and other agencies.
This change would improve enforcement of these affordable housing
requirements because automatic docketing of judgments facilitates
collection of penalties. The bill would bring enforcement of these
affordable housing requirements in line with enforcement of other munic-
ipal requirements, which has proven effective.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to actions for
the enforcement of section 26-3309 of the administrative code of the
city of New York, as amended by section three of this act, commenced or
on after such date.

Statutes affected:
S10088: 918 county law, 918(4) county law