L.L. 2005/079

Enactment date: 8/17/2005

Int. No. 186-A

By Council Members Gerson, the Speaker (Council Member Miller), Brewer, Jackson, Stewart, Lopez, Yassky, Gentile, Clarke, Palma, Gonzalez, Reyna, James, Monserrate, Perkins, Barron, Avella, Reed, Quinn, Vann, Seabrook, Nelson, DeBlasio, Koppell, Martinez, Foster, Weprin, Recchia Jr., Liu, Moskowitz, McMahon, Sanders Jr., Katz, Arroyo, Gioia, Rivera, Boyland, Gennaro and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to creating a right of first refusal and a first opportunity to purchase.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The Council of the City of New York hereby finds that the increasing scarcity of affordable housing in the City makes it crucial to preserve existing subsidized housing units. Private owners are electing to prepay subsidized mortgages or to opt out of project-based subsidy programs at an alarming rate. No longer constrained by such programs, owners are putting their buildings up for sale, with the new purchasers forcing out low- and moderate-income tenants as the buildings open to market rents.

One in ten federally subsidized assisted rental housing units in New York City has been or is in the process of being removed from the affordable housing stock, according to data compiled by the Community Service Society. Compounding this problem, the federal government has eliminated funding for programs designed to promote the preservation of subsidized housing, and it does not appear that any new federal programs will be funded to create new subsidized housing. In the face of such conversions from affordable housing to market rate housing, some city and state governments have enacted legislation granting a right of first refusal and a first opportunity to purchase to low to moderate-income residents who will maintain the buildings as housing for low- and moderate-income residents. The City of New York has an obligation to safeguard against the loss of affordable housing and the Council is enacting this local law to help ensure that the assisted rental housing stock is maintained for the people of New York.

* * *

[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

* * *

§ 3. If any sentence, paragraph, section or part of this local law shall be adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction such judgment shall not impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined to that part deemed invalid.

§ 4. This local law shall take effect ninety days after its enactment into law except that the commissioner of housing preservation and development shall take all actions, including the promulgation of rules, necessary for the implementation of this local law prior to such effective date.