City Council Passes Three Bills for Tenants Rights to Counsel and Privacy

Free representation in housing court for low income tenants will now be available citywide. On April 29, 2021, the City Council passed three bills advancing tenants rights. Two of the bills focus on expanding the right to counsel in housing court for tenants citywide and an outreach program to notify tenants of their rights. The third bill focuses on tenant data privacy. All three bills were sponsored by Council Member Mark Levine. 


Owner fined for tenant’s violation

Tenant used property as an illegal short-term rental. On April 12, 2019, the owner purchased a single-family dwelling with a rear building at 13-15 Christopher Street in the West Village in Manhattan.  The tenant had been advertising the property on Homeaway.com, a vacation rental website owned by the Expedia Group. At the time of the purchase, the owner claimed not to have knowledge of the illegal transient use. On May 10, 2019, Buildings issued a … <Read More>



Plumber fined for temporary sidewalk

Plumbing subcontractor completed work at construction site, but did not permanently restore sidewalks. Quality Plumbing, Inc. worked as a subcontractor at four construction sites on Staten Island. The four sites were located at 30 Metcalfe Street, 24-26 Windom Avenue, 65 Todt Hill Road, and 23 Highmount Road. For each address, Quality obtained a street opening permit from the Department of Transportation to perform excavation and plumbing work. Quality completed its plumbing work before the general … <Read More>



HPD Releases Stats and Guidance as City’s Heat Season Begins

The agency received over 98,000 unique complaints about heat or hot water last season. On October 1, 2020, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced the start of the 2020 – 2021 heat season, in which all residential building owners are required to maintain specific indoor temperatures. From October 1, 2020 through May 31, 2021, building owners must maintain indoor temperatures at 68 degrees when outdoor temperatures are below 55 degrees during the daytime <Read More>