Res. No. 802

Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.3886/A.5427, in relation to protecting tenants displaced due to fire.

By Council Members Won, Riley, Sanchez, Cabán and Marte

Whereas, New York City has seen a string of fires that have displaced hundreds of residents over the past few years, including a May 2022 fire in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a December 2023 fire in Sunnyside, Queens, a December 2024 fire in the Upper East Side, Manhattan, and a January 2025 fire in Allerton, Bronx; and

Whereas, New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (“HPD”) Emergency Housing Services (“EHS”) shelters, which comprise of family centers and single-room-occupancy hotels in Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, provide temporary shelter to households forced from their homes due to fires or city-issued vacate orders; and

Whereas, EHS shelters are not a permanent housing solution for displaced residents, with residents displaced by the 2025 fire in the Bronx stating that they were told by HPD that their next stop could be a homeless shelter as they would no longer be able to stay in an EHS shelter; and

Whereas, According to a March 2024 report from the New York City Environment & Health Data Portal, the negative health outcomes of housing instability are well-documented , with a study published in the August 2024 issue of medical journal Pediatrics finding that any level of housing insecurity led to negative health outcomes for children; and

Whereas, New York City is experiencing a historic housing availability crisis, wherein HPD’s 2023 Housing and Vacancy Survey reported a 1.4 percent net rental vacancy rate citywide, the lowest measurement since 1968, meaning that recently displaced tenants, especially low- and moderate-income tenants, are likelier to find it nearly impossible to find housing, let alone affordable housing; and

Whereas, The building repairs process after a fire can take months, or even years, with a January 2025 news article reporting that tenants of a building in Soundview, Bronx, had been waiting 19 months for completed repairs, while tenants from a Long Island City, Queens building had been waiting more than a year, and tenants from a Sunset Park, Brooklyn building had been waiting for more than a year to return to their homes; and

Whereas, Tenants have cited property owners failing to directly respond to them to provide updates on when repairs can be expected to be completed, with some property owners failing to even begin construction work months after a fire; and

Whereas, While property owners have mentioned administrative hurdles, such as slow insurance payments, as a reason for why repairs to fire-damaged buildings take so long, elected officials, advocates, and tenants have pointed to a lack of legal and financial incentives to speedily repair buildings, with some tenants filing lawsuits to force quicker building repairs; and

Whereas, S.3886, sponsored by State Senator Michael Gianaris and pending in the State Senate Housing, Construction And Community Development Committee, and companion bill A.5427, sponsored by State Assembly Member Claire Valdez and pending in the State Assembly Housing Committee, would require building owners found responsible for a fire that results in a vacate order to cover the costs of a temporary apartment for displaced tenants until building repairs are completed; and

Whereas, S.3886/A.5427 would provide incentive for negligent building owners to complete building repairs faster, allowing displaced tenants to return to their original homes sooner; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.3886/A.5427, in relation to protecting tenants displaced due to fire.

CCK

LS #18925, 18927, 18933

3/7/2025