From Left to Right: Council member Ydanis Rodriguez, Council member Helen Rosenthal, State Assembly member Deborah Glick, and Council member Mark Levine speak at the rally against illegal hotels. Image credit: CityLand

The proposed laws seek to enforce existing State regulations by increasing illegal hotel fines and reporting requirements.  On October 30, 2015, the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings heard testimony on three proposed laws that seek to ramp up enforcement of state laws that prohibit the operation of illegal hotels.  The proposed legislation would regulate only those residential units located in multiple-dwelling buildings—not one- to four-family homes.  The proposed legislation is intended to address property owners who repeatedly and illegally rent out entire apartments, particularly rent-regulated apartments, for less than thirty days.

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The New York State Capitol building in Albany. Image credit: Matt H. Wade

Deal is retroactive to the programs’ expiration on June 15.  On June 25, 2015 the New York State Legislature passed a bill extending rent-regulation protections for New York City.  The laws had expired on June 15, and the Legislature temporarily extended its session to allow time for working on a longer-term solution.  On March 11, the New York City Council passed an extension of the City’s rent-stabilization laws, as well as a package of resolutions calling for reform of rent-increase policies of regulated apartments, a total repeal of vacancy decontrol, and more.

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Council Member Vincent Gentile is working to stop illegal home conversions in New York City. Image Credit: Office of Councl Member Vincent J. Gentile

Pending legislation would make it easier to impose civil penalties for illegal conversions. In recent months, City Council Member Vincent Gentile has introduced two bills to address the issue of illegal home conversions in New York City. According to Ann Falutico, Zoning Committee Chair for Brooklyn Community Board 10, a study of 311 statistics show that since 2010, over 1,000 complaints for illegal home conversions came from communities within the Council Member’s district, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Fort Hamilton.

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Property owners claimed they could not be fined for lessees’ illegal outdoor advertisements. Four separate property owners leased space on their premises to companies that procured, erected, and/or maintained advertisements in the space. The leases were all long-term. The Department of Buildings issued multiple notices of violation to the owners charging them for failing to register as an outdoor advertising company, failing to obtain a permit or a proper permit for outdoor advertising signs, and violating various zoning regulations. Each owner challenged the NOVs at a hearing before an ALJ, arguing that, as property owners, they were not outdoor advertising companies subject to the Code. In each case, the ALJ agreed with the owners and dismissed the charges. DOB appealed all four cases to the Environmental Control Board.

The Board reversed the ALJs’ orders as to the outdoor advertising company determination, imposing civil penalties ranging between $15,000 and $80,000. The Board determined that the owners qualified as outdoor advertising companies engaged in the outdoor advertising business, thus they were subject to the Code’s enhanced penalties for illegal signage. The Code provided that an outdoor advertising company was a person who, as part of his or her regular conduct of business, directly or indirectly made space on signs available to others for advertising. The Board found that by leasing space to advertising companies, the owners directly or indirectly made space on the signs available to others for advertising purposes. The owners failed to rebut this finding with contrary evidence, such as proof that leasing space on their buildings to advertising companies was outside their regular conduct of business. The owners filed article 78 petitions challenging the Board’s determinations, but the lower court denied them all.  (more…)

Mark Silberman

Hobbled by a bad back and recently returned from vacation, the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s General Counsel Mark Silberman sat down with CityLand to talk about his role at the Commission and Landmarks’ role in the City. He brings a perspective on the broader role of historic preservation nationally and in our culture.

A young environmentalist. Raised in Illinois and a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz, Silberman began his career in government and advocacy as a lobbyist in Washington for environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth, an offshoot of the Sierra Club and the first grassroots international environmental organization. Silberman worked on amending the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect groundwater, pesticide reform, and hazardous waste issues.

Silberman decided he could be more effective with a law degree. He attended Hofstra University’s law school, choosing this institution largely for the opportunity to work with environmental lawyer and former Parks Commissioner William Ginsberg. After graduation, Silberman worked at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP’s recently created environmental law group, where, he estimates, he spent around 30 percent of his time working on pro bono cases. Among those cases, Silberman worked with two colleagues representing the Natural Resources Defense Council and the West Harlem Environmental Action Coalition over the operation of the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Harlem, eventually winning a million dollar settlement with the City. (more…)