The city would clamp down on New York’s worst-heated residential buildings under a bill the Council is expected to pass Thursday.
The Department of Housing Preservation & Development would install heat sensors in the 50 residences with the most heat and hot water violations. Under the legislation, HPD would conduct inspections at those buildings — specifically, ones categorized as “class A multiple dwellings” — every two weeks.
“We are bringing housing code enforcement into the 21st century,” said Councilman Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx), the bill’s prime sponsor.
“We’re sending a crystal clear message: reliable heat and hot water is not a luxury; it is a human right and it’s a right that the city is going to be committed to enforcing proactively and aggressively,” he added.
Once HPD identifies the 50 worst-heated buildings, it will install “internet-capable temperature reporting devices for up to two years.” Torres said landlords will have to pay for the devices.
“The lowest-income communities are hit the hardest by the loss of heat and hot water,” he said. “The Bronx alone accounts for a third of all heat and hot water complaints in the city.”
The Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings is scheduled to vote on the legislation, which has 13 total sponsors, on Wednesday. It is expected to get a full Council vote the day after.
“In the past, there has been no accountability mechanism for landlords who deliberately cut off heat for tenants or don’t act quickly enough to fix it,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who requested the bill.
“This legislation will allow for real-time monitoring of building temperatures, ensuring that no tenants are left in the cold.”
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