Dear New Yorker,
On Tuesday, December 13th, at 1 p.m. in the 14th Floor Hearing Room at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, the City Council will be holding a public hearing on Intro. 404 . If passed, this bill would increase the fines for building owners who illegally convert their buildings from residences to hotels.
The City Council has been actively working with tenants and advocates across the five boroughs to help combat the spread of illegal hotels in our city. These makeshift hotels not only cut into our city's affordable housing stock and take precious housing opportunities away from New Yorkers, but they can also negatively impact the lives of other residents in the buildings and the quality of life in our communities.
The new illegal hotel law that Albany passed last year was a crucial win in our fight against illegal hotels.
While it contained appropriate exceptions for roommates and boarders who live or rent in the unit with the permanent occupants (or while the permanent occupants are temporarily absent and nothing is being paid), the State's law also made it clear that apartments in Class A buildings can only be used for "permanent residence purposes," which is defined as occupancy by a person or household for 30 consecutive days or more.
However, these illegal hotels continue to exert a tight grip on our city.
Intro. 404 would put some extra teeth in the State's law by raising the fines against anyone caught running an illegal hotel. This will hit the operators of these hotels harder where it hurts them the most - in their pockets.
We know the presence of these hotels remains a very serious problem in many of our communities, so we hope folks will be able to attend our hearing.
If you'd like to testify or have any stories about illegal hotels that that you'd like to share with us, please contact Ben Goodman in the City Council's Infrastructure Division. He can be reached by phone at (212) 788-9124 or by email at bgoodman@council.nyc.gov .
You can also email your written remarks to us at speakerquinn@council.nyc.gov .
Thanks in advance for any comments or feedback you can provide. We hope to be in touch again soon with additional news and updates.
Have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council
Gale A. Brewer
Council Member & Lead Sponsor of Intro. 404
NYC Council
Jessica S. Lappin
Council Member
NYC Council
Daniel R. Garodnick
Council Member
NYC Council
Rosie Mendez
Council Member
NYC Council