Friday, Jan. 16, marks the sixteenth day of Zohran Mamdani’s time period as mayor. New York News is following Mamdani round his first 100 days in workplace as we intently observe his progress on fulfilling marketing campaign guarantees, appointing key leaders to authorities posts, and managing town’s funds. Right here’s a abstract of what the mayor did right this moment.
The Metropolis has secured a $2.1 million settlement with a landlord accountable for 14 buildings throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, addressing greater than 4,000 constructing code violations and allegations of tenant harassment.
The settlement, introduced Friday by Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration, comes shortly after it was finalized by a decide in early January and indicators town’s intention to make use of the case as a mannequin for holding negligent landlords accountable.
The settlement covers a number of authorized actions and requires the owner to right the hazardous circumstances and adjust to court-issued injunctions stopping additional tenant harassment.
Whereas negotiations and preliminary enforcement occurred below the earlier administration, metropolis officers emphasised that the Mamdani administration will actively use such settlements to advance tenant protections and guarantee protected, livable housing.
“Every tenant in New York City has a right to a safe and livable home, and our administration intends to use enforcement tools like these to deliver exactly that,” Mayor Mamdani stated. “This settlement will provide relief for tenants who have long suffered from poor conditions and harassment, and demonstrates the type of accountability we will continue to pursue across the city.”
Queens Council Member Shekar Krishnan, whose district contains the best focus of affected properties in Jackson Heights, praised tenants, advocacy teams, and metropolis enforcement.
Council member Shekar KrishnanPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell
“Every repair we’ve won leaves us with ten more to fight for — their buildings are revolving doors of neglect and major housing violations,” he stated. “I’m thankful that Mayor Mamdani and [the Department of Housing Preservation and Development] HPD, on day 16 of the new era, are signaling a new approach to protecting tenants.”
Tenant Diana de la Pava, who has lived in one of many buildings for greater than 13 years, detailed power elevator outages, mildew, pests, and different unsafe circumstances affecting aged and disabled residents.
She described how damaged elevators successfully trapped some residents and contributed to preventable well being crises. “This is not a communication failure. It is a business model for A & E,” she stated throughout the press convention.
A & E Realty responded with an announcement saying it reached the settlement in collaboration with town. The corporate famous that it has invested in rehabbing elevators, changing boilers, and addressing longstanding violations throughout its portfolio, and added that it’s delivering on a restore plan agreed with HPD.
“We look forward to partnering with the City to improve the lives of our residents and continue investing in New York City’s housing stock,” a spokesperson stated.
Incoming Housing Preservation and Improvement Commissioner Dina Levy Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
HPD officers highlighted that the settlement represents the most important within the Anti-Harassment Unit’s historical past.
Over the course of litigation, greater than 1,000 violations have already been corrected, with practically $500,000 in extra emergency repairs made. Town pressured that its enforcement instruments embody civil contempt motions, emergency repairs, and injunctions to forestall tenant harassment, demonstrating a proactive strategy to holding landlords accountable.
The Mamdani administration plans to make use of this case as a template for future enforcement actions, together with upcoming “rental rip-off” hearings in all 5 boroughs throughout the first 100 days. The hearings are designed to provide tenants a direct voice in shaping housing coverage, monitoring violations, and guaranteeing landlords are held accountable in actual time.
Incoming Housing Preservation and Improvement Commissioner Dina Levy stated, “By holding bad actors accountable, we are making it clear that no landlord will escape the consequences of violating the Housing Maintenance Code. Tenants should not have to fight day in and day out for basic services — these are fundamental rights.”
