My bill with Senator James Skoufis (A.3028/S.1633) has been chaptered into law after being signed by Governor Kathy Hochul and will empower municipalities to have additional options when seeking an order for the removal of a building or addressing code violations by expanding the types of courts that the municipalities can file with. Previously, the NYS Executive Law limited local governments to filing in NYS Supreme Court when seeking to address outstanding code violations or to address properties that are abandoned or blighted. Filing for action in Supreme Court is costly and can take six to twelve months just for an initial hearing. The new law allows a justice of the New York City civil court, a city court, district court, or county court to exercise jurisdiction over condemnation or abatement proceedings. This measure expands tenant protections by increasing the number of courts that have jurisdiction to hear cases involving code enforcement issues. With the expanded access to courts, any safety issues can presumably be addressed in a more timely manner.

As a former Mayor, I understand the importance of strong code enforcement to ensure that tenants have safe and quality housing. When we talk about secure and affordable housing, we must remember that code enforcement is essential to ensure that tenants are not subject to unsafe living conditions which then requires them to keep picking up and moving around.

One concern that I often hear from the Mayors of the cities that I represent have been surrounding the barriers to bringing enforcement actions against neglectful property owners. This law will be another tool in the toolbox for our localities to get the properties in the hands of responsible ownership and to ensure that living conditions are up to acceptable standards.

The New York State Conference of Mayors was a partner in moving this legislation forward and I appreciate their support.

Senator Skoufis put together a great and concise explainer of what the new law does here.

In addition, this effort will further the goals of the Albany County Legislature Blight to Betterment Task Force that I have been actively participating in.  All in all, another tool in the tool shed against fighting blight has been added while also protecting tenants – another win-win!