HPD targets 250 properties with a combined total of 3,704 apartments in need of significant repair due to owner negligence.
New York, NY – February 3, 2016 – (RealEstateRama) — New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Vicki Been released the new list of residential buildings that have been placed into the agency’s Ninth Round of the Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP). The AEP is aimed at increasing the pressure on the owners of the City’s multifamily residential buildings that have fallen into disrepair, many of which are rent-regulated, to bring the properties up to code so that the residents are not forced to live in substandard and hazardous conditions. Buildings in the Ninth Round of the program have a combined total of 25,686 hazardous and immediately hazardous open violations of the New York City Housing Maintenance Code and New York State Multiple Dwelling Law.
“No one should fear for the safety of their family or themselves in their own homes. The Alternative Enforcement Program is one of many enforcement tools HPD uses to ensure that landlords and owners properly maintain their buildings for New York families,” said HPD Commissioner Vicki Been. “I am pleased that the Mayor and the City Council continue to support the expansion of the AEP program. I want to thank the dedicated team in the division of Enforcement and Neighborhood Services, specifically those in the divisions of Code Enforcement, Special Enforcement, Housing Litigation, Neighborhood Preservation and Maintenance for their efforts to improve the conditions of these severely distressed properties and protect our City’s tenants.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio working closely with the New York City Council made significant adjustments to the AEP to improve the process and allow for the inclusion of more buildings in need of repair. A local law amendment and additional financing from both Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Council allowed for the permanent increase in the number of buildings in each round from 200 to 250.
This strong support from the Mayor and the City Council allowed for additional AEP staff, and an increase in the number of emergency repairs that can be made by HPD. The 2014 amendments also included an added requirement for property owners with buildings placed in AEP to post a notice to tenants about the program so residents are informed about the process and HPD involvement in the building’s eminent repair.
Together, the 250 buildings in Round 9 carry a total of 6,492 non-hazardous (A-class), 20,543 hazardous (B-class) and 5,143 immediately hazardous (C-class) violations. Violations classified as non-hazardous, or A-class, include infractions such as minor leaks, chipping or peeling paint when no children under the age of six live in the home, or lack of signs designating floor numbers. Violations classified as hazardous include infractions such as public area doors not self-closing, inadequate lighting in public areas, or the presence of vermin. Generally, immediately hazardous violations include infractions such as inadequate fire exits, evidence of rodents, lead-based paint, and the lack of heat, hot water, electricity, or gas.
The buildings in Round 9 owe the City more than $980,000 in Emergency Repair Program (ERP) charges. ERP charges accrue when repairs are done by HPD to correct immediately hazardous violations that the owner failed to address in a timely manner. Additionally, HPD’s Housing Litigation Division (HLD) is currently active in 224 housing court cases against the owners of 138 of these buildings. The HLD caseload included, but was not limited to, cases for access warrants to allow HPD and their contractors onto some properties to perform repairs to immediately hazardous conditions, Comprehensive Cases seeking to correct all violations within a building and/or civil penalties, and Heat and Hot Water Cases in which HPD seeks an order to restore and maintain heat and hot water at a residential building and enact civil penalties. HLD also provided support for Tenant Action Cases which are cases initiated by one or more residential tenants against their landlords.
Number of Buildings/Units per Borough in AEP Round 9:
- Manhattan: 67 buildings/ 1,101 units
- Bronx: 47 buildings/ 1,045 units
- Brooklyn: 121 buildings/ 1,373 units
- Queens: 11 buildings/ 94 units
- Staten Island: 4 buildings/ 91 units
To be discharged from the program, a building owner must act affirmatively to demonstrate that conditions at the property are improving. This means correcting all violations associated with heat and hot water, all C-class and 80% of B-class mold violations, 80% of all violations related to vermin, 80% of all remaining B- and C-class violations, and correct all related underlying conditions detailed in the AEP Order to Correct. The owner must also submit a pest management plan to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene if there is an infestation, submit a valid property registration statement, and repay all outstanding charges and liens for emergency repair work performed by HPD or enter into a repayment agreement with the NYC Department of Finance.
Buildings/Units discharged throughout all previous rounds of the AEP (Rounds 1-8):
- Manhattan: 106 buildings/ 2,491units
- Bronx: 358 buildings/ 7,164 units
- Brooklyn: 615 buildings/ 4,779 units
- Queens: 45 buildings/ 266 units
- Staten Island: 4 buildings/28 units
A total of 1,128 buildings have been discharged to date, with a combined total of 14,728 units of housing. Over $59.3 million has been recovered in ERP and AEP charges, fees and liens (not including approved repayment plans).
Information for Owners on AEP can be found here:
FAQs for Building Owners on the Alternative Enforcement Program
Information for Tenants on AEP can be found here:
FAQs for Tenants on the Alternative Enforcement Program
The above linked documents can be found in Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Haitian Creole, Russian, and Arabic on the HPD website linked here, Housing Quality Enforcement Programs: Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP)
About the Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP):
The legislation establishing the AEP—the New York City Safe Housing Law (Local Law No. 29 of 2007)—was passed by the City Council in April 2007 and signed into law on June 15 of that year. There have been two amendments to strengthen the AEP (2011 and 2014). The law calls for the designation each year of different multiple dwellings, each to be chosen based on specific criteria set forth in the Rules of the City of New York.
AEP Selection Criteria (Round 9):
- Buildings with 15 or more units must have a ratio of 3 or more open “class B” and “class C” violations per dwelling unit issued in the past 5 years, and paid or unpaid ERP charges equal to or more than $2,500 incurred in the past 5 years as of January 31, 2016.
- Buildings with between 3 and 14 units must have a ratio of 5 or more “class B” and “class C” violations per dwelling unit issued in the past 5 years and paid or unpaid ERP charges equal to or less than $5,000 incurred in the past 5 years as of January 31, 2016.
The buildings selected must be ranked so that those with the highest paid or unpaid ERP charges in the last 5 years are selected first. No more than 25 buildings with less than 6 units can be selected. If there are not enough buildings that meet the above criteria, HPD may select the remainder of the buildings based on the following criteria:
- Buildings with six or more units that have a ratio of 4 or more open class B or class C violations per dwelling unit issued in the past 5 years. The buildings selected must be ranked so that those with the highest number of open hazardous and immediately hazardous violations issued in the last 5 years are selected first.
Landlords with properties selected for the AEP are put on notice that comprehensive repairs must be made. If the owner doesn’t correct the open violations and meet the other criteria for discharge, HPD is required to perform a building-wide inspection, to make the necessary repairs or building system replacements as required, and to bill the landlord for that work. After repairs are made, there will be an ongoing monitoring program to ensure buildings do not fall back into disrepair and that necessary ongoing maintenance is made by the landlord. The program is aimed at improving conditions for tenants and to avoid the need for HPD personnel to repeatedly visit these buildings to correct reoccurring problems.
For more information about AEP and to view the Round 9 list and all previous AEP lists please visit HPD’s website at, Housing Quality Enforcement Programs: Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP)
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New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD):
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and diverse, thriving neighborhoods for New Yorkers through loan and development programs for new affordable housing, preservation of the affordability of the existing housing stock, enforcement of housing quality standards, and educational programs for tenants and building owners. HPD is tasked with fulfilling Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York: A Five-Borough Ten-Year Plan to create and preserve 200,000 affordable units for New Yorkers at the very lowest incomes to those in the middle class. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/hpd and for regular updates on HPD news and services, connect with us via www.facebook.com/nychpd andwww.twitter.com/nychousing.
CONTACT: Juliet Pierre-Antoine (HPD), morrisj (at) hpd.nyc (dot) gov
