Bill Text: NY A01330 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizes commissioner of housing and community renewal to maintain housing registry of accessible or adaptable housing for disabled called "Access-New York"; provides that certain owners shall provide certain information in relation to "Access-New York"; establishes a special advisory review panel to assist commissioner in performance of duties of "Access-New York".
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to housing [A01330 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A01330-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ S. 1552 A. 1330 2019-2020 Regular Sessions SENATE - ASSEMBLY January 15, 2019 ___________ IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the public housing law, in relation to establishing a centralized statewide registry of accessible or adaptable housing for people with disabilities to be known as "Access-New York" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "Access-New York Act". 3 § 2. The public housing law is amended by adding a new section 14-a to 4 read as follows: 5 § 14-a. Additional duties in relation to "Access-New York Act". 1. 6 For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 7 ing meanings: 8 (a) "Accessible unit" means a residential unit in a covered premise 9 which meets the criteria established for such units by the commissioner 10 pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section. 11 (b) "Adaptable unit" means a residential unit in a covered premise 12 which meets the criteria established for such units by the commissioner 13 pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section. 14 (c) "Covered owner" means an owner, manager, operator or other private 15 or public entity engaged in the sale or rental of covered premises in 16 the state of New York, including, but not limited to, housing authori- 17 ties. 18 (d) "Covered premises" means any privately or publicly owned building 19 containing three or more residential dwelling units which are offered 20 for sale or rent. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05431-01-9S. 1552 2 A. 1330 1 (e) "Accessible web site" shall have the same meaning as defined in 2 requirements of section five hundred eight of the Federal Rehabilitation 3 Act of 1973, as amended, and its implementing regulations. 4 2. (a) The commissioner shall develop no later than one year after the 5 effective date of this section and maintain a statewide housing registry 6 called "Access-New York" to consist of a database to track accessible 7 and adaptable units, and to maintain information about such housing 8 availability. The database shall use the latest technology, including 9 but not limited to, accessible web site technology and toll-free tele- 10 communications systems that include a toll-free telephone number to a 11 live operator and a toll-free TTY line. These technologies shall make 12 available ongoing accessible or adaptable housing information to disa- 13 bility agencies, advocacy organizations and people with disabilities. 14 (b) The commissioner shall establish criteria to identify and categor- 15 ize residential dwelling units in covered premises which units are 16 offered for rent or sale and which are accessible to persons with disa- 17 bilities or which are adaptable to accommodate persons with disabili- 18 ties. Such criteria shall be based on the provisions of section one 19 thousand one hundred seven of the building code of New York state and 20 other standards which the commissioner deems relevant. 21 The categories established by the commissioner shall enable persons 22 with disabilities who are seeking accommodations to rent or purchase to 23 readily identify units which will accommodate their needs and shall be 24 designed to enable owners to easily identify and categorize all accessi- 25 ble and adaptable units. 26 (c) The Access-New York database shall include, but not be limited to: 27 (i) location of existing and proposed accessible or adaptable housing 28 units; 29 (ii) rent and purchase price levels; 30 (iii) accessible or adaptable projects receiving local, state or 31 federal government assistance; 32 (iv) whether or not covered owner accepts subsidies such as "Section 33 8", public assistance and/or local, municipal, state or federal housing 34 subsidies; 35 (v) number of bedrooms; 36 (vi) development amenities; 37 (vii) neighborhood features, including whether or not such unit is on 38 a line of public transportation; 39 (viii) year of construction; 40 (ix) particular accessible or adaptable features to assist persons who 41 are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired; 42 (x) particular accessible or adaptable features, as determined by the 43 commissioner; 44 (xi) vacancy status; 45 (xii) waiting list status; 46 (xiii) contact information, including covered owner's name, mailing 47 address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, web site and TTY 48 phone number if available; and 49 (xiv) any occupancy restrictions that apply to the unit. 50 (d) The commissioner shall provide technical assistance to covered 51 owners to assist in identifying and listing accessible and adaptable 52 units. 53 3. Every covered owner of a covered premises shall list all accessible 54 units and adaptable units on the Access-New York registry in accordance 55 with a schedule established by the commissioner but no sooner than sixty 56 days after the registry is operational and the commissioner promulgatesS. 1552 3 A. 1330 1 rules and regulations to implement the registry. Notwithstanding the 2 foregoing, the commissioner may require that covered owners of publicly 3 owned covered premises including but not limited to housing authorities 4 list accessible and adaptable units at any time that the commissioner 5 deems appropriate. 6 The schedule established by the commissioner for the listing of 7 privately owned accessible and adaptable units may provide for phasing 8 in of the requirement by building size, geographic area or other crite- 9 ria over a reasonable period of time. 10 4. Any tenant who occupies an accessible unit or an adaptable unit 11 shall provide at least thirty days written notice to the covered owner 12 of his or her intent to vacate and simultaneously notify the registry by 13 phone or regular mail. Covered owners shall notify the registry of all 14 accessible units and adaptable units that are available for rent within 15 three business days of the time the units become available. 16 5. The commissioner shall promulgate a form of notice that advises 17 tenants of their obligations under this section. The commissioner shall 18 make such forms readily available to covered owners. Covered owners 19 shall provide a copy of such notice to the tenant of every accessible 20 and adaptable unit. 21 6. The covered owner shall collect and retain the contact information 22 of any party who submitted a written application for accessible or 23 adaptable units for at least a twelve month period. 24 7. The commissioner shall notify yearly all public housing authorities 25 and other public entities responsible for funding housing development 26 projects of the requirements of this section and advise them to dissem- 27 inate this information to all developers and managers to which they have 28 disseminated funds. The commissioner shall also notify yearly all inde- 29 pendent living centers within New York state and all New York state 30 agencies that serve people with disabilities of the requirements of this 31 section and advise them to make available this information to interested 32 parties within their service area. 33 8. The secretary of state shall notify yearly all licensed real estate 34 brokers within New York state of the requirements of this section. The 35 secretary of state shall also notify yearly all appropriate entities, 36 including, but not limited to, local boards of realtors, landlord's 37 associations, organizations representing co-ops and condominiums and 38 builders within New York state of the requirements of this section and 39 advise them to disseminate this information to their members or inter- 40 ested parties. 41 9. (a) A special advisory review panel shall be established to assist 42 the commissioner in facilitating the development and management of the 43 Access-New York housing registry. 44 (b) The special advisory review panel shall meet as needed, at least 45 twice a year, and shall consist of three representatives from public 46 housing authorities within New York state, three advocates of the disa- 47 bility community and three representatives of the production, management 48 or marketing of residential real estate, one of each appointed by the 49 governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the 50 senate; and two tenants with disabilities, two representatives from 51 neighborhood and rural preservation companies, one of each appointed by 52 the minority leader of the assembly and the minority leader of the 53 senate. 54 (c) All members of the special advisory review panel shall be 55 appointed no later than thirty days after the effective date of this 56 section.S. 1552 4 A. 1330 1 (d) The members of the special advisory review panel shall serve with- 2 out compensation, but shall be reimbursed for their necessary and actual 3 expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. 4 (e) The special advisory review panel may consult with any organiza- 5 tion, educational institution, governmental agency, or expert in a 6 related field to achieve its goal. Such governmental agencies shall 7 provide such cooperation and assistance, services and data as will 8 enable the special advisory review panel to properly carry out its 9 duties. 10 (f) The special advisory review panel shall issue a report to the 11 governor, the legislature, and interested advocacy organizations and 12 individuals on Access-New York, including recommendations, six months 13 after the effective date of this section and annually thereafter. 14 (g) The special advisory review panel shall perform the following 15 duties, including, but not limited to: 16 (i) determining whether there is sufficient participation of covered 17 owners in the housing registry and make recommendations regarding 18 increased participation; 19 (ii) determining whether the process for participation by covered 20 owners in the housing registry best facilitates accurate listings; 21 (iii) consulting with the operator of Access-New York regarding the 22 review of schedules for contact with covered owners, verification of 23 listings and entry of data to ensure the timeliness of listings; 24 (iv) advising the division of housing and community renewal on strate- 25 gies to market Access-New York to ensure maximum participation by 26 covered owners; 27 (v) assessing the impact of marketing strategies on use of the site by 28 people with disabilities and the organizations that represent and serve 29 them; 30 (vi) evaluating the adequacy of listing information by surveying hous- 31 ing registry users; 32 (vii) examining the benefits and costs of strategies for increasing 33 participation in the housing registry and reliance upon the housing 34 registry by users; and 35 (viii) examining other issues as appropriate. 36 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 37 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment 38 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation 39 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 40 completed on or before such effective date.