Report finds that City interventions – issuing violations, litigation, emergency repairs – are effective in addressing heat complaints, but the City too often fails to apply them.
In a new report, “Turn Up the Heat,” issued on the one-year anniversary of the tragic Twin Parks fire in the Bronx, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander finds significant shortcomings in the City’s efforts to address heat complaints from tenants, especially in the chronically coldest buildings. While the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) interventions (e.g. issuing violations, litigation, emergency repairs, and the new heat sensor program) are effective in addressing heat complaints, HPD too often fails to apply them.
The report identified 1,077 buildings where tenants made more than five heat complaints every winter from 2017 through 2021. Although these were just 1.5% of buildings that originated complaints, they made up nearly a third of all heat complaints over those five years. However, of these 1,077 buildings with the most persistent heat issues, more than one quarter (274 buildings) saw no enforcement action of any kind from HPD.
Overall, tenants living in 70,766 privately-owned residential buildings made a total of 814,542 heat complaints between 2017 and 2021. During this five-year period, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) issued just 21,610 violations to landlords who failed to maintain the minimum-required temperature. In 80% of these buildings, a significant number of complaints did not recur the following year, suggesting that problems were addressed.
Heat complaints and violations were predominantly concentrated in communities of color. The five community districts with the highest volume of 311 complaints related to a lack of heat are 93% people of color on average. The five districts with the most violations issued average 89% people of color.
“The City must turn up the heat on landlords who leave their tenants in the cold,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “The good news here is that our enforcement tools work: when HPD issues violations, sues landlords, does emergency repairs, or installs heat sensors – problems get fixed. But far too often, none of those actions take place even in buildings that are cold year, after-year, after-year. More strategic, data-informed enforcement and escalating penalties against landlords who repeatedly fail to provide heat are necessary to ensure safe and warm apartments for all New York City tenants.”
The Comptroller’s report arrives on the one-year anniversary of the fire at the tragic Twin Parks development in the Bronx that took the lives of 17 New Yorkers and injured dozens more. Between 2017 and 2021, portable heaters caused over 100 fires in New York City residential buildings like the one that sparked the Twin Parks fire. Living without heat for an extended period can lead to a serious decline in tenants’ mental and physical health, and residents will often turn to unsafe methods, such as portable heaters, to keep themselves and their families warm.
The report found that when deployed, the City’s enforcement strategies for addressing heat complaints are generally effective. Issuing violations to a building correlated to a 47% average drop in the number of heat complaints in the following heat season, and litigation correlated to a 45% average drop in the number of heat complaints in the following year. However, during this five-year period, HPD issued violations for failure to provide an adequate supply of heat for just 3% of heat complaints.
The Comptroller’s report includes a set of recommendations, including an expansion of HPD’s Heat Sensor Program to cover all buildings with persistent heat complaints. Established by City Council legislation in 2020, the Heat Sensor Program resulted in the largest decline in heat-related complaints in the years after heat sensors were installed. However, the program only currently covers 50 buildings, and enforcement of compliance with the program has been limited.
Additional recommendations of the report include:
- Using data & technology to inform and prioritize inspections with a focus on buildings with persistent heat complaints;
- Allowing tenants in buildings with a history of persistent heat complains to schedule inspections so that inspectors arrive and can gain access when heat issues are present;
- Conducting comprehensive site inspections jointly with HPD and DOB and identifying landlords’ willingness to address persistent building systems problems;
- Expanding proactive code enforcement and targeted escalation;
- Expanding multilingual outreach to tenants;
- Passing good cause eviction protections so tenants can exercise their rights.
“The findings of the comptroller further proves that the city needs to revamp its system in dealing with heat complaints. The tragic fire that happened at Twin Parks North West is a prime example of what happens when there is a lack of accountability, negligence, hence enforcement. Proposing, or even passing bills to deal with the heat issues are always a good start, but I emphasize that there has to be a system that is strict on enforcement. Intentional enforcement is the key, so that tragedies as the likes of Twin Parks North West never happen again,” said Salim Drammeh, President of the Gambian Youth Organization (GYO).
“As we recognize the 1-Year anniversary of one of our city’s deadliest fires, this report is a tragic reminder that more must be done to ensure our residents, regardless of their race or zip-code, have access to adequate heating during the winter months,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “I want to thank Comptroller Brad Lander for highlighting these inequities and I look forward to working with him and my other colleagues in government to push for policy changes that would eliminate systemic barriers to New Yorkers accessing their fundamental right to heating in our city.”
The “Turn Up The Heat” report and recommendations to strength New York City’s heat laws are available here.
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