Res. No. 1572 Title Resolution calling upon the appropriate committee of the New York City Council to hold a hearing on the need for and lack of sufficient outreach and notification, including to non-English speaking residents, on the rule changes proposed by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) regarding the Division of Alternative Management Program (DAMP) buildings, because of the dramatic impact these rules will have on tenants and the availability of affordable housing in this city. Body By Council Members López, Perkins, Michels, Freed, Boyland, Carrion, Henry, Linares, Marshall and Robles; also Council Members DiBrienza, Eldridge, Espada, Foster, Leffler, Rivera, Watkins, White and Robinson Whereas, The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is proposing changes to two chapters of the rules governing the operation of the Division of Alternative Management Programs (DAMP), the rules of which govern the disposition and management of city-owned building taken by tax foreclosure; and Whereas, The proposal eliminates Section 14-06, part of which requires that tenants who are unable to pay new rent increases, and who are likely to be eligible for subsidies, receive interim payment agreements in which they pay 30% of their income for rent or the public assistance shelter allowance, thus allowing them to remain in their homes; and Whereas, The proposed rules modify the tenants' relocation rights by removing a clause in Section 21-23(d)(6), that requires tenants in buildings undergoing rehabilitation be relocated to a substantially similar housing accommodation in the same or nearby building, and thus if adopted would allow DAMP building the right to remove tenants not only from their building, but also from the neighborhood to which they may have important and longstanding ties; and Whereas, The proposed rules eliminate Section 21-24(i), a provision that requires that a tenant's request to sublet her apartment should not be "unreasonably withheld," thus giving tenants in city-owned buildings the same right to sublet with the landlord's consent that tenants in private buildings have; and Whereas, At the HPD Public Hearing on September 26th many of those present criticized HPD for failing to adequately notify the public and the City Council about these proposed changes, and HPD had only one official to hear the public comments, an Assistant Commissioner who was in her final week on the job prior to relocating to another state; and Whereas, Programs affecting tenants in city-owned housing should work to achieve the important goals of preserving affordability for the mostly very low-income people living in these buildings, strengthening tenants' ties to their communities and ensuring that tenants' rights are protected; and Whereas, The proposed rule changes appear to reduce protections to some of the city's most vulnerable tenants; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the appropriate committee of the New York City Council hold a hearing on the need for and lack of sufficient outreach and notification, including to non-English speaking residents, on the rule changes proposed by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) regarding the Division of Alternative Management Program (DAMP) buildings, because of the dramatic impact these rules will have on tenants and the availability of affordable housing in this city. BT/ LS#3497