New York Places 250 Apartment Buildings in Alternative Enforcement Program
The announcement said the 250 buildings have a total of 4,859 immediately hazardous (C-class) violations, 21,442 hazardous (B-class), and 7,602 non-hazardous (A-class) violations; immediately hazardous violations include inadequate fire exits, evidence of rodents, lead-based paint, and the lack of heat, hot water, electricity, or gas
Owners of 250 apartment buildings in New York City with a total of 4,000 apartments needing significant repair have been placed in the city's 2018 Alternative Enforcement Program, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Feb. 12. The apartment buildings have been placed in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development's program, an initiative created to shine a spotlight on multi-family buildings whose owners have allowed them to fall into dangerous disrepair, according to the city.
Each of the buildings has enough health and safety code violations to allow for enhanced enforcement by the department, including roof to cellar inspections, fees, and an AEP Order to Correct underlying conditions and bring the buildings up to code.
This is the 11th year of the AEP program; the 250 buildings this year house 3,970 families and have a combined total of 26,301 housing code violations.
Since AEP began, 1,647 buildings with 22,033 apartments have been repaired and more than $74 million in repair costs recovered by the department.
"This kind of willful negligence puts tenants in danger. It is immoral and illegal, and we will use every tool we have to go after property owners and make these buildings safe for New York families," de Blasio said.
"HPD is working on all fronts to make sure that landlords live up to their obligations to provide tenants with the safe, quality housing that they rightfully deserve. The Alternative Enforcement Program is a powerful tool to take negligent owners to task and address systemic conditions in buildings," said Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. "I want to thank the hardworking team in HPD's Office of Enforcement and Neighborhood Services, as well as the many elected officials and community groups who partner with us to protect our city's tenants."
"All New Yorkers deserve to live in safe housing and to have hazardous violations resolved immediately," agreed City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. "The Alternative Enforcement Program, established through legislation passed by the City Council, helps protect our most vulnerable tenants who are living in deplorable conditions because of unscrupulous landlords. I thank the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for their continued diligence in improving housing conditions for our city's tenants."
The number of buildings/homes per borough in AEP's Round 11 is:
- Manhattan: 47 buildings/ 940 homes
- The Bronx: 57 buildings/ 1,169 homes
- Brooklyn: 127 buildings/ 1,435 homes
- Queens: 18 buildings/ 370 homes
- Staten Island: 1 building/ 56 homes
The announcement said the 250 buildings have a total of 4,859 immediately hazardous (C-class) violations, 21,442 hazardous (B-class), and 7,602 non-hazardous (A-class) violations; immediately hazardous violations include inadequate fire exits, evidence of rodents, lead-based paint, and the lack of heat, hot water, electricity, or gas. Class B hazardous violations are repair conditions, such as leaks or holes in plaster or sheetrock. Non-hazardous include more minor leaks and chipping or peeling paint when no children under the age of six live in the home.
Also, the Round 11 buildings already owe the city more than $1.5 million to HPD Emergency Repair Program charges, which accrue when repairs are done by HPD to correct immediately hazardous violations that the owner failed to address in a timely manner.