Bill Text: NY A00965 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a priority senior housing waiting list and website through the office of the New York city housing authority for use by adults sixty-five years of age and older.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to housing [A00965 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A00965-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 965 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 14, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMOTAS, L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the public housing law, in relation to the establishment of a priority senior housing waiting list and website through the office of the New York city housing authority for use by adults sixty-five years of age and older The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public housing law is amended by adding a new section 2 402-e to read as follows: 3 § 402-e. Priority senior housing waiting list and website. 1. The New 4 York city housing authority shall develop a website through which indi- 5 viduals sixty-five years of age or older may apply in order to be 6 placed on a priority waiting list to obtain public housing. The website 7 shall be made available through and maintained by the housing authority. 8 2. Any individual sixty-five years of age or older, or an agent acting 9 on behalf of such individual, including but not limited to, a relative 10 or guardian, the state department of social services, the New York city 11 department of homeless services, the New York city department for the 12 aging or a medical provider, may submit an application for housing 13 through the website. Applications submitted through the website shall 14 be given priority by the housing authority over housing lotteries and 15 applications submitted by other means, and over applications submitted 16 by or on behalf of persons under sixty-five years of age. All applica- 17 tions shall be assigned a priority code based upon the information 18 provided as to medical status and need, and, following an eligibility 19 interview, shall be placed on a priority senior waiting list for avail- 20 able housing. Final assessment as to priority shall be determined by 21 the housing authority following the eligibility interview. No priority 22 status shall be assigned or any housing assignment made until completion 23 of the eligibility interview, unless a comparable interview was EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01375-01-9A. 965 2 1 conducted by the housing authority within thirty days prior to the 2 submission of the website application. 3 3. Applications submitted through the website shall be assigned a case 4 number which may be used to track the progress of the application 5 through the website. Applications shall not be tracked through the 6 website by name or social security number of the applicant or a member 7 of the applicant's household. 8 4. Website applications shall be re-evaluated every three days in 9 order to determine priority given to applicants who have completed the 10 eligibility interview. Re-prioritization shall be based on changes in 11 medical status or need. 12 5. (a) The website shall include a list of rental properties which the 13 New York city department of housing preservation and development has 14 determined to be eligible for the J-51 program and which have current or 15 anticipated vacancies. The website shall include a separate list of 16 rental properties which do not qualify for the J-51 program, but which 17 have current or anticipated vacancies and accept tenants using Section 8 18 federal housing allowance program vouchers or certificates or senior 19 citizen rent increase exemptions. The housing authority shall coordinate 20 with the department of housing preservation and development to develop 21 and maintain a listing of J-51 properties. Vacancies shall be listed on 22 the website without charge to the property owner or manager. 23 (b) The owner of rental properties as described in paragraph (a) of 24 this subdivision, or his or her agent, shall notify the housing authori- 25 ty of an impending vacancy within ten days of learning or first becoming 26 aware of the impending vacancy, and shall, by March first of each year, 27 provide the housing authority with a list of vacancies that occurred at 28 each property during the previous calendar year and the date upon which 29 the vacancies were filled. Such list shall be in a form as determined by 30 the housing authority. The housing authority shall monitor the lists to 31 assure that vacancies are being reported promptly to the housing author- 32 ity and that housing is not being improperly denied by the property 33 owner to senior citizens. The housing authority shall report any 34 suspected improper denials of housing in J-51 buildings to the New York 35 city department of housing preservation and development. 36 6. The housing authority shall maintain information concerning the 37 overall number of website applicants, the number of applicants provided 38 with housing accommodations as a result of website applications and the 39 length of time between the applications and the assignments, and shall 40 provide this information in all filings required by law to be made by 41 the housing authority. 42 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 43 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate- 44 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation 45 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 46 authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such 47 effective date.
