“This does not reflect the reality of how tenant harassment plays out in New York,” the tenant groups wrote in their letter. “Unscrupulous landlords don’t
A group of tenant organizations joined the push to pass a bill that would create new criminal penalties for rent-regulated tenant systemic harassment in a letter urging Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature to include it as part of the state budget negotiations.
The move joins an effort by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who worked to create the bill with state Sen. Brian Kavanagh and Assembly Member Micah Lasher, both Democrats who represent portions of Manhattan. The legislation would lead to criminal enforcement against systemic harassment across multiple buildings. Hochul originally included the bill in her executive budget, but the tenant advocates are aiming to ensure that it is still in contention as budget negotiations with the legislature entering the“The governor will continue to negotiate in good faith with the legislature to deliver a budget that makes New York safer and more affordable,” a spokesperson for Hochul’s office said. As it is now, there are criminal penalties for when landlords repeatedly subject tenants to conditions like heat and hot water outages in the winter, disruptive construction or leaky roofs in order to prompt those in the same building to leave their homes, but nothing to link those infractions across a bigger landlord’s portfolio. “This does not reflect the reality of how tenant harassment plays out in New York,” the tenant groups wrote in their letter. “Unscrupulous landlords don’t typically confine their illegal behavior to one unit or building. Harassment is usually spread out across several buildings, sometimes throughout multiple boroughs.” The new law would create a more severe penalty for landlords who are found to be conducting a harassment campaign in two or more residential buildings, and would make such behavior a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in state prison. The cross-section of government and tenant advocacy behind the bill follows a broader effort that Bragg has made to pursue criminal charges for bad landlords. After taking office he created the Housing and Tenant Protection UnitThe tenant groups including, the Met Council on Housing, Cooper Square Committee and others argued that the state’s tenant harassment law on the books is not enough to hold bad actors accountable, but the new bill would expand the penalties if a landlord had previously been convicted of harassing and repeats the same behavior across other buildings. “This legislation will help address power imbalances in our housing crisis by creating additional measures of accountability and leave a lasting impact on our state. Please pass this bill – our safety depends on it,” wrote the organizers.Long Island dentist who stockpiled ghost guns sues police after botched raid ends in dropped chargesActivists urge AG Letitia James sentence for NYPD sergeant convicted of killing Bronx suspect with thrown coolerMets sticking with 5-man rotation amid busy stretch, Sean Manaea to stay in bullpen Anders Lee’s Islanders future has new layer with Pete DeBoer hiring: ‘You’re not going to avoid yourself thinking about it’Welcome to the ‘Wasteland’: A queer ‘sex memoir’ that throws out all the rules in written word and artNYPD to reopen former 40th Precinct as base of Bronx Patrol Borough South Activists urge AG Letitia James sentence for NYPD sergeant convicted of killing Bronx suspect with thrown cooler
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