De Blasio adminstration compromises with City Council on tenant protection bill

As part of the negotiations for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing proposals, the administration is now in favor of a City Council bill it initially opposed.

The City Council bill would require some landlords and property owners to prove through a certificate that no tenants were harassed before the city granted permission to demolish or alter a residential building.

Council member Brad Lander introduced the bill and said he worked with the administration so that the requirement would be targeted, Politico reported.

“The agreement to support it is part of our broader agreement on Mandatory Inclusionary Housing,” Lander told Politico.

The administration and the City Council struck a deal this week about de Blasio’s affordable housing proposals.

Several weeks ago, a city housing official said the “certificate of no harassment” bill was “overly broad, poorly targeted, after-the-fact approach to preventing harassment,” Politico reported.

Now, a department spokesperson told Politico, “The Housing Preservation and Development (department) and this administration look forward to working with the council member, the speaker’s office and other stakeholders on the framework for a targeted citywide certificate of no harassment.”

Politico reported the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents landlords, is against the bill.

“There’s no better way to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs overnight than to pass this bill,” Rent Stabilization Association’s Frank Ricci told Politico. [Politico] — Dusica Sue Malesevic