
Image credit: New York City Council.
On March 16, 2023, Introduction 124-A (2022) which was originally proposed by Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. was officially passed by the NYC Council. On April 16, 2023, it was officially enacted as Local Law 45. The new law requires the Human Resources Administration to designate housing specialists within all temporary shelters and to submit an annual report on housing specialists, ensuring that New Yorkers residing in shelters have access to housing specialists. (more…)

Governor Kathy Hochul. Image Credit: Office of Governor Kathy Hochul.
On February 24th, 2023, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced a state-wide, $2.2 million investment in New York’s Fair Housing Testing Program. The expansion will be overseen and administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s Fair and Equitable Housing Office. The purpose of the Fair Housing Testing Program is to increase investigations into housing discrimination and enhance education and outreach efforts for fair housing rights, including for individuals with a history of involvement with the criminal justice system. (more…)

Image Credit: NYC HPD
On May 17, 2022, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) released some initial results of the 2021 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey. The survey is the official source of the city’s net rental vacancy rate, which is used to determine the continued need for rent stabilization. From its start in 1965, the survey is the longest running housing survey in the United States. (more…)

The development team and agency officials break ground on Compass Six in West Farms. Image Credit: NYC HPD
The new affordable housing development will house 261 low-income and formerly homeless families. On March 19, 2021, Mayor de Blasio and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced the groundbreaking of a new affordable housing building in the West Farms section of the Bronx. The building, named Compass Six, is located at 1923 West Farms Road. Compass Six is part of the Compass Resident Development, which will consist of eight buildings and be one of the largest-scale affordable housing developments in the area once completed. The groundbreaking of Compass Six marks the beginning of the final phase of development for the Compass Residence project. (more…)

Heat Seek, winner of the NYC[x] Co-Labs Housing Rights Challenge, operates by using sensors around the apartment or home to detect the temperature. The sensors and temperature logs help provide proof that a landlord or property owner is not providing legally required heating to tenants. Image Credit: Heat Seek, www.heatseek.org/explore-the-tech
NYC[x] Co-Labs challenge hopes to address housing rights of NYC’s most vulnerable communities. On November 12, 2020, the New York Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the NYC Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, and the communities of Inwood and Washington Heights announced the winners and the honorable mentions for the NYC[x] Co-Labs Housing Rights Challenge. This challenge invited innovative and tech-enabled solutions to address the housing rights of New York City’s most vulnerable communities. Submissions were solicited from startups, technologists, and innovators from across the globe. To read more about the competition, click
here. The winners of the Housing Rights Challenge are
Heat Seek and
Justfix.nyc with an honorable mention going to
3×3. (more…)