Res 0105-2022

Whereas, The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) serves 358,675 residents who reside in 285 developments within the public housing program; and Whereas, For the past decade, there have been numerous articles that have reported on the frequent service interruptions to heat and hot water, and to gas services at NYCHA developments; and Whereas, On January 2019, federal and city officials agreed to the appointment of a federal monitor to help address the history of maintenance issues that have created health and safety hazards at NYCHA; and Whereas, The federal monitor has been charged with approving action plans that require NYCHA to meet certain benchmarks to promptly resolve utility outages; and Whereas, However, according to media reports, tenants are still struggling with outages stemming from damages that occurred during Superstorm Sandy back in 2012, as well as, reoccurring utility outages throughout the NYCHA portfolio; and Whereas, Tenants pay rent to NYCHA with a reasonable expectation for habitability and the provision of basic utility services, and NYCHA should be accountable to tenants when it fails to make repairs or perform the necessary maintenance to prevent utility outages; and Whereas, A.1866, sponsored by Assembly Member Khaleel Anderson in the New York State Assembly and companion bill S.1603, sponsored by State Senator Michael Gianaris in the New York State Senate, would require NYCHA to give a prorated rent reduction to tenants who suffer interruptions to their utility services; and Whereas, NYCHA has a legal and moral obligation to keep the utility systems functioning properly, the passage of A.1866/S.1603 would hold NYCHA accountable when it fails to deliver on its commitments; 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 A.1866/S.1603, in relation to enacting the NYCHA Utility Accountability Act. JLC LS 7404 03/15/2022