Credit: CityLaw
New York State in 2021 must redraw the State’s senate, assembly and congressional districts. The process will be different from the process used to draw legislative and congressional district lines in the past. Previously, the State legislature redrew the districts for its own members and for the State’s congressional members. After years of efforts to reform a process seen as too self-interested, New York State voters in 2014 approved an amendment to the State constitution that created a new Redistricting Commission that will propose new district lines to the legislature. The legislature still gets the last word, but the commission process opens the redistricting process up, provides an outside entity to act as the initial proposer, and adds guidelines for map design for fairness. (more…)
Image Credit: NYCHA.
NYCHA put the tenant on probation after the tenant’s dog attacked the NYCHA employee. In April 2015, Lerone Washington’s English bulldog, Onyx, jumped and bit NYCHA’s employee who was delivering a hotplate to Washington’s apartment. A few weeks later NYCHA informed Washington that it considered terminating Washinton’s lease due to his having an unauthorized and dangerous dog in the apartment. Although Washington attempted to register Onyx as a service pet, NYCHA ordered Washington to remove Onyx from the apartment immediately and placed Washington on probation for one year. (more…)
2013 Amsterdam Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps
Landlord of 2013 Amsterdam Avenue served a notice of termination on disabled tenant, after the tenant engaged in a series of housing code violations. After a series of incidents, including causing instances of flooding and refusing to allow the landlord access to effect repairs, 2013 Amsterdam Avenue Housing Association served the notice of termination on its tenant Darren King. King is a paraplegic, wheelchair-bound, double-amputee. (more…)
Coalition rallies to save the Williams Memorial Residence, June 18, 2014. Image Credit: CityLaw.
The City of New York experienced a massive influx of unmarried immigrants prior to World War II. For many of these men and women, hotel-style accommodations were more convenient and affordable than rental apartments. Such units generally did not include kitchens, but some included bathrooms. Many City newcomers preferred the old-world comforts of a communal kitchen.
For many New Yorkers without the physical or socio-economic resources necessary to maintain their own homes, single-room occupancy accommodations (SROs) became preferred housing options. Over the years, SRO units have been found in hotels, apartment buildings and even private homes. Today, SRO units are becoming increasingly difficult to identify and, thus, preserve as a viable form of affordable housing.
The rights of SRO tenants are better defined than is the category of individuals entitled to assert them. No single body of law has been formally cultivated for purposes of governing SRO housing. The web of laws and code sections applicable to SROs has become increasingly difficult to penetrate and apply. Consequently, SRO housing is in danger of vanishing despite historically strong and often well-founded support. The current controversy surrounding The Williams, a 15-story senior residence on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, is a case in point.
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