Good morning, Chair Sanchez and thank you for holding this hearing today. I’m here on behalf of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and in turn on behalf of Brooklyn tenants.
State and local legislative changes in the last few years have strengthened tenant protections, but issues remain. For example, during BP Reynoso’s time in the Council, he was proud to pass the Stand for Tenant Safety bill package, a robust set of regulations designed to protect tenants from landlords using construction as harassment. The Council also passed and expanded the right for tenants to have counsel in housing court, and during the pandemic, the State temporarily paused housing court proceedings, giving tenants relief from eviction, at least through legal channels.
However, in order to sidestep these and other regulations, some landlords have become bolder, resorting to criminal behavior such as lockouts, shutting off utilities, and even throwing out tenants’ possessions. Worse, recent reporting shows that NYPD frequently fails to hold landlords accountable for committing these crimes. These issues are particularly acute in East New York and Brownsville, where rates of illegal evictions are among the highest in the city.
That’s why Borough President Reynoso supports the Stop Illegal Evictions Act. These proposals clarify that illegal evictions constitute harassment, give tenants who have been illegally evicted a tool to use in court to stay in their homes, and create stronger disincentives for landlords to engage in these illegal practices.
In addition to this legislation, in the next budget cycle, we must ensure that our community-based, non-profit legal services providers are well-resourced and supported for the necessary work to organize, educate, and protect tenants. For example, we must fully fund the Anti-Harassment Tenant Protection Program (AHTP), lift the caps on rollovers (cases that continue for longer than one year), and address how the program funds various types of work to make sure that lawyers’ time is adequately compensated. Thank you, Chair Sanchez, for supporting this program in the last budget cycle. The Borough President looks forward to working together on this effort.
BP Reynoso also supports Intro 944, which would set rules for maximum indoor air temperature. As climate change worsens, heat vulnerability is an increasing concern, and we can’t allow landlords to weaponize hot weather against their tenants the same way we’ve seen many do during winter months, refusing to turn on the heater or repair broken radiators. According to the CDC, approximately 1,220 people in the U.S. die from preventable heat-related deaths every year, and heat puts people, especially older adults, children, and those with pre-existing conditions at risk for numerous health issues, including muscle pain, nausea, heart problems, headaches, kidney failure, and fainting.
As the maps below from our office’s Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn demonstrate, large disparities exist in the borough between those who have access to air conditioning at home and those who don’t. Lack of access to air conditioning is one of several factors considered in DOHMH’s Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI), which also takes into account daytime summer surface temperature, green space, income, and the percentage of Black residents (who in NYC are 83% more likely to die from heat-related stress than white residents). As DOHMH points out in its description of the HVI, every one of these factors is connected to our city’s history of racist and discriminatory planning decisions. As average temperatures rise due to climate change, heat has an outsized impact on already vulnerable communities. Borough President Reynoso wants to stress how critical it is that this bill apply to our public housing and senior housing developments, which have high concentrations of vulnerable residents.
Speaking of climate change, it is important to note that Intro 944 does not necessarily call for the installation of countless energy-intensive air conditioning units. The language specifically allows for “cooling systems,” which can include interventions such as air-source heat pumps, passive house design, and cool or green roofs.
Thank you again for your attention to our city’s tenants. Two-thirds of New Yorkers are renters, and, in the face of both the housing crisis and the climate crisis, we must do everything in our power to help them stay in their homes. Borough President Reynoso encourages the Council to move quickly to pass these bills and looks forward to collaborating on a FY 2026 budget that includes funding for robust tenant protections.
Committee on Housing & Buildings Oversight Hearing – Tenant Harassment and Safety
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