Int. No. 1086
By Council Members Louis, Gutiérrez, Joseph, Maloney, Farías and Epstein
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to an expansion of the alternative enforcement program
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Subdivisions a, b, c, d, e, f, and v of section 27-2153 of the administrative code of the city of New York, subdivisions a and b of such section as added by local law number 29 for the year 2007, subdivisions c, d, e, and f of such section as amended by local law number 64 for the year 2014, and subdivision v of such section as amended by local law number 7 for the year 2011 are amended to read as follows:
a. [The] No later than March 1 of each year, the department shall identify no fewer than [two hundred] 400 different distressed buildings for participation in the alternative enforcement program [in each of the first two years of such program. For purposes of this subdivision the criteria used to identify distressed buildings shall be:
(i) twenty-seven or more open hazardous or immediately hazardous violations of record which were issued by the department within the two-year period prior to identification of the building for such program; and
(ii) a ratio of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations which were issued by the department within the two-year period prior to identification of the building for such program that equal in the aggregate five or more such violations for every dwelling unit in the multiple dwelling; and
(iii) unpaid emergency repair charges, including liens, in a ratio of one hundred or more dollars for each dwelling unit in the multiple dwelling which were incurred within the two-year period prior to identification of the building for such program]. The department shall set criteria to identify distressed buildings to participate in the program, which may include, but need not be limited to:
(i) the ratio of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations per dwelling unit;
(ii) the amount or ratio per dwelling unit of paid or unpaid emergency repair charges; and
(iii) the number of dwelling units that must exist for a building to qualify for participation in the program.
b. [In the third year of such program the department shall identify no fewer than two hundred different distressed buildings for participation in the alternative enforcement program. The criteria used to identify distressed buildings in such year shall be:
(i) twenty-five or more open hazardous or immediately hazardous violations which were issued by the department within the two-year period prior to identification of the building for such program; and
(ii) a ratio of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations which were issued by the department within the two-year period prior to such identification that equal in the aggregate five or more such violations for every dwelling unit in the multiple dwelling; and
(iii) unpaid emergency repair charges, including liens, in a ratio of one hundred or more dollars for each dwelling unit in the multiple dwelling which were incurred within the two-year period prior to such identification.] No fewer than 100 of the buildings identified pursuant to subdivision a shall be distressed buildings that have previously been discharged from the program. The department shall set criteria to identify such distressed buildings for further participation in the program, which may include, but need not be limited to:
(i) the ratio of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations per dwelling unit;
(ii) the amount or ratio per dwelling unit of paid or unpaid emergency repair charges;
(iii) the number of dwelling units that must exist for a building to qualify for participation in the program;
(iv) the outcomes of a building’s prior participation in the alternative enforcement program, including the total duration of time such building has participated in the program, the number of times the building has been selected to participate in the program, and whether the commissioner has denied such building a certification of no harassment pursuant to section 27-2093; and
(v) whether the owner of a multiple dwelling has changed since such building’s prior participation in the alternative enforcement program.
c. [(1) In the fourth year and each succeeding year of such program the department shall identify no fewer than two hundred different distressed buildings for participation in the alternative enforcement program. The criteria used to identify distressed buildings in such years shall be:
(i) in a multiple dwelling that contains not less than three and not more than nineteen units, a ratio of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations which were issued by the department within the two-year period prior to such identification that equals in the aggregate five or more such violations for every dwelling unit in the multiple dwelling, and in a multiple dwelling that contains not less than twenty units, a ratio of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations which were issued by the department within the two-year period prior to such identification that equals in the aggregate three or more such violations for every dwelling unit in the multiple dwelling; and
(ii) paid and unpaid emergency repair charges, including liens, which were incurred within the two-year period prior to such identification, of two thousand five hundred or more dollars in a multiple dwelling that contains not less than three and not more than nineteen units, and paid and unpaid emergency repair charges, including liens, which were incurred within the two-year period prior to such identification, of five thousand or more dollars in a multiple dwelling that contains twenty or more units.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph one of this subdivision, in the sixth year of such program, and for each succeeding year, the department shall identify no fewer than two hundred different distressed buildings for participation in the alternative enforcement program and may by rule revise criteria related to the ratio of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations per dwelling unit and the amount or ratio per dwelling unit of paid and unpaid emergency repair charges which must exist for a building to qualify for participation in the program.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs one and two of this subdivision, in the ninth year of such program, and for each succeeding year, the department shall identify no fewer than two hundred fifty different distressed buildings for participation in the alternative enforcement program and may by rule set criteria for such buildings to participate in the program, which may include, but need not be limited to: the ratio of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations per dwelling unit, the amount or ratio per dwelling unit of paid or unpaid emergency repair charges and the number of dwelling units that must exist for a building to qualify for participation in the program. The department may by rule add to the criteria set forth in subdivision e of this section relating to which buildings are to be excluded from the program.] Any building participating in the alternative enforcement program that was identified for participation in the program prior to the effective date of the local law that last amended this section shall remain subject to the requirements of this section until such building has been discharged from the program pursuant to the subdivisions of this section.
d. [For the purposes of subdivisions a and b of this section, those buildings having the highest aggregate ratio of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations for every dwelling unit shall be the buildings identified first for participation in the program. For the purposes of paragraph one of subdivision c of this section, those buildings having the highest amount of paid and unpaid emergency repair charges and liens incurred within the two-year period prior to identification shall be the buildings identified first for participation in the program.] For the purposes of [paragraphs two, and three of subdivision c] subdivisions a and b of this section, the department shall by rule determine the criteria for which buildings shall be identified first for participation in the program.
e. (1) Notwithstanding the criteria set forth in subdivisions a[,] and b[, and c] of this section, a building that is currently the subject of an in rem foreclosure action by the city, or that was the subject of an in rem foreclosure judgment in favor of the city and that was transferred by the city to a third party pursuant to section 11-412.1 of the code within the prior five years, or that is currently the subject of a court order appointing or a proceeding brought by the department seeking the appointment of an administrator pursuant to article 7-A of the real property actions and proceedings law, shall not be included in the alternative enforcement program.
(2) Notwithstanding the criteria set forth in subdivisions a[,] and b[, and c] of this section, a multiple dwelling that is the subject of a loan provided by or through the department or the New York city housing development corporation for the purpose of rehabilitation, as provided in rules of the department, and that has closed within the past two years, shall not be included in the alternative enforcement program, provided further, that a multiple dwelling that has been included in the alternative enforcement program and becomes the subject of such a loan that closes within the first four months after the building has been included in the alternative enforcement program, shall be discharged from such program.
(3) Notwithstanding the criteria set forth in subdivisions a and b of this section, the department may by rule add to the criteria set forth in this subdivision relating to buildings which are to be excluded from this program.
f. (1) Where there are fewer than [two hundred fifty] 400 buildings that meet the applicable criteria set forth in subdivision a, the department shall by rule determine the criteria for additional buildings to participate in the alternative enforcement program.
(2) Where there are fewer than 100 buildings that meet the applicable criteria set forth in subdivision b, the department shall by rule determine the criteria to identify additional buildings that have been previously discharged from the program for further participation in the program.
v. No later than July 31, 2012 and every two years thereafter the department shall conduct a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the alternative enforcement program. Such study shall examine, but shall not be limited to examining, the following:
(1) the program's cost effectiveness, including the amount of fees collected;
(2) whether the criteria established pursuant to subdivisions a[,] and b [or c] of this section were appropriate and if not, how they should be adjusted;
(3) whether the monitoring undertaken by the department is appropriate and if not, what modifications should be made;
(4) an evaluation of the use of the work practices identified in paragraph ii of subdivision i of this section to address mold conditions including the reoccurrence of mold;
(5) for those multiple dwellings in which a building-wide inspection was conducted, an assessment of whether mold was identified in such multiple dwellings and whether the criteria for the issuance of a violation for mold should be revised or enhanced as a result;
(6) an evaluation of the use of the work practices identified in paragraph iii of subdivision i of this section to address vermin conditions;
(7) information on the compliance levels achieved by multiple dwellings which remain in the program for failure to achieve substantial compliance and recommendations on how to achieve higher compliance levels for those multiple dwellings; and
(8) for those multiple dwellings that were discharged from the program, information on the number of such buildings that were able to correct all identified violations prior to discharge or that were able to achieve a higher compliance level than required by this program in order to be discharged and an assessment of why such buildings were able to achieve such results. Such study shall also include recommendations as to whether the program should be continued or modified in any way and the reasons therefore.
§ 2. This local law takes effect 120 days after it becomes law.
WAE
LSR #3799
8/6/2026 2:19 p.m.