S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
2461
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 23, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sens. PERKINS, DIAZ, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER,
MONTGOMERY, PARKER, SERRANO, SQUADRON, STAVISKY -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Housing, Construction and Community Development
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the
emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation
to warehousing of housing accommodations and penalties therefor
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds and
2 declares that each person in the state shall have a right to be housed
3 and that such right to housing is a basic human right.
4 The legislature further finds and declares that the practice of "ware-
5 housing", that is of intentionally withholding housing accommodations
6 from the housing market, including the withholding of apartments for
7 purposes of future co-operative apartment conversion, has contributed
8 significantly to the shortage of housing in this state, especially in
9 the city of New York.
10 The legislature further finds and declares that the practice of ware-
11 housing has violated the right to housing of many of the citizens and
12 residents of this state.
13 It is thus the intent of the legislature to eliminate the practice of
14 warehousing by providing strong penalties to deter such practice.
15 S 2. Section 26-412 of the administrative code of the city of New York
16 is amended by adding a new subdivision g to read as follows:
17 G. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL TO HARASS A TENANT TO OBTAIN VACANCY OF HIS OR
18 HER HOUSING ACCOMMODATION OR TO HAVE INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD A HOUSING
19 ACCOMMODATION FROM THE MARKET, INCLUDING WITHHOLDING SUCH ACCOMMODATION
20 FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUTURE CO-OPERATIVE APARTMENT CONVERSION. FOR THE
21 PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, HARASSMENT CONSISTS OF ENGAGING IN A
22 COURSE OF CONDUCT OR REPEATEDLY COMMITTING ACTS WHICH ALARM OR SERIOUSLY
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05301-01-5
S. 2461 2
1 ANNOY A TENANT OR OTHER PERSON RESIDING IN THE TENANT'S HOUSING ACCOMMO-
2 DATION AND WHICH SERVE NO LEGITIMATE PURPOSE.
3 S 3. Paragraph 2 of subdivision c of section 26-516 of the administra-
4 tive code of the city of New York, as amended by section 1 of chapter
5 480 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
6 (2) to have harassed a tenant to obtain vacancy of his or her housing
7 accommodation OR TO HAVE INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD A HOUSING ACCOMMODATION
8 FROM THE MARKET, INCLUDING WITHHOLDING SUCH ACCOMMODATION FOR THE
9 PURPOSE OF FUTURE CO-OPERATIVE APARTMENT CONVERSION, the commissioner
10 may impose by administrative order after hearing, a civil penalty for
11 any such violation. Such penalty shall be in the amount of two thousand
12 dollars for a first such offense and up to ten thousand dollars for each
13 subsequent offense or for a violation consisting of conduct directed at
14 the tenants of more than one housing accommodation.
15 S 4. Paragraph 2 of subdivision c of section 26-516 of the administra-
16 tive code of the city of New York, as amended by section 2 of chapter
17 480 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
18 (2) to have harassed a tenant to obtain vacancy of his or her housing
19 accommodation OR TO HAVE INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD A HOUSING ACCOMMODATION
20 FROM THE MARKET, INCLUDING WITHHOLDING SUCH ACCOMMODATION FOR THE
21 PURPOSE OF FUTURE CO-OPERATIVE APARTMENT CONVERSION, the commissioner
22 may impose by administrative order after hearing, a civil penalty for
23 any such violation. Such penalty shall be in the amount of two thousand
24 dollars for a first such offense and up to ten thousand dollars for each
25 subsequent offense or for a violation consisting of conduct directed at
26 the tenants of more than one housing accommodation.
27 S 5. Clause (ii) of paragraph 3 of subdivision a of section 12 of
28 section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency
29 tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by section 5
30 of chapter 480 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
31 (ii) to have harassed a tenant to obtain vacancy of his housing accom-
32 modation OR TO HAVE INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD A HOUSING ACCOMMODATION FROM
33 THE MARKET, INCLUDING WITHHOLDING SUCH ACCOMMODATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF
34 FUTURE CO-OPERATIVE APARTMENT CONVERSION, the commissioner may impose by
35 administrative order after hearing, a civil penalty for any such
36 violation. Such penalty shall be in the amount of two thousand dollars
37 for the first such offense and ten thousand dollars for each subsequent
38 offense or for a violation consisting of conduct directed at the tenants
39 of more than one housing accommodation.
40 S 6. Clause (ii) of paragraph 3 of subdivision a of section 12 of
41 section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency
42 tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by section 6
43 of chapter 480 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
44 (ii) to have harassed a tenant to obtain vacancy of his housing accom-
45 modation OR TO HAVE INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD A HOUSING ACCOMMODATION FROM
46 THE MARKET, INCLUDING WITHHOLDING SUCH ACCOMMODATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF
47 FUTURE CO-OPERATIVE APARTMENT CONVERSION, the commissioner may impose by
48 administrative order after hearing, a civil penalty for any such
49 violation. Such penalty shall be in the amount of two thousand dollars
50 for the first such offense and ten thousand dollars for each subsequent
51 offense or for a violation consisting of conduct directed at the tenants
52 of more than one housing accommodation.
53 S 7. This act shall take effect immediately provided that the amend-
54 ment to section 26-412 of the city rent and rehabilitation law made by
55 section two of this act shall remain in full force and effect only so
56 long as the public emergency requiring the regulation and control of
S. 2461 3
1 residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in subdivision 3
2 of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control act; and
3 provided further that the amendment to section 26-516 of the rent
4 stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by sections three
5 and four of this act shall expire on the same date as such law expires,
6 and provided further that the amendment to paragraph 2 of subdivision c
7 of section 26-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York
8 made by section three of this act shall not affect the expiration of
9 such paragraph and shall expire therewith when upon such date section
10 four of this act shall take effect; provided further that the amendment
11 to section 12 of the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seven-
12 ty-four made by sections five and six of this act shall expire on the
13 same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
14 such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974,
15 as amended; and provided further that the amendments to clause (ii) of
16 paragraph 3 of subdivision a of section 12 of the emergency tenant
17 protection act made by section five of this act shall not affect the
18 expiration of such clause and shall expire therewith when upon such date
19 section six of this act shall take effect.