The New York City Council's Committee on Housing and Buildings, chaired by Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, Deputy Leader, held a hearing to discuss four bills and vote on three others that would modify construction codes and regulations. The Committee heard testimony from representatives of the Department of Buildings (DOB), the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and other interested members of the public.
"Modifying codes and regulations to reflect the constantly evolving dynamics of construction and buildings' environments is essential to keeping New Yorkers safe," Council Member Williams said.
The Committee discussed the following four bills:
- Int. No. 918, sponsored by Council Member Margaret Chin,would prohibit construction documents from being subject to less than full examination, and would also require that final inspections be performed by DOB where more than ten percent of the dwelling units are occupied, or where the owner has previously harassed tenants.
- Int. No. 924, sponsored by Council Member Rafael Espinal, would require vacate orders to include a requirement that the conditions for which the vacate order was issued be corrected in ten days or less.
- Int. No. 934, sponsored by Council Member Mark Levine, would create a real time enforcement unit in DOB to enforce construction codes. The bill would also require DOB to publish an annual report on the effectiveness of such unit.
- Int. No. 944, sponsored by Council Member Helen Rosenthal, would impose certain additional penalties for performing construction work without a permit and would require posting of information concerning the occupancy status of buildings subject to a permit.
The Committee voted on the following three bills:
- Int. No. 831, sponsored by Council Member Jumaane Williams would alter permit filing fees for certain new building and alteration permit applications filed with DOB. The bill would decrease fees for 1-, 2- and 3- family homes and increase fees for larger buildings. I should note that permit filing fees have not been increased since 1991.
- Int. No. 1118 and Int. No. 1119, sponsored by Council Member Jumaane Williams would move the City expiration date for the J-51 program, a tax exemption and abatement program for renovations of residential buildings and single room occupancy housing units, from June 30, 2015 to June 30, 2019.
