REVITALIZING THE MAYOR’S OFFICE TO PROTECT TENANTS
WHEREAS, New York tenants are entitled to safe and habitable homes, free from unsafe living conditions; and
WHEREAS, landlords who act negligently and dishonestly must be held accountable for endangering the health and safety of New Yorkers through hazardous code violations, untimely repairs, repeated noncompliance, unlawful fees, and price-gouging; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to coordinate the range of City tenant protection efforts to safeguard New Yorkers’ rights to safe and habitable housing and to crack down on repeat-offending landlords who deprive tenants of those rights; and
WHEREAS, tenants are the consumers whose rent enables New York City’s housing to operate; and
WHEREAS, the City should empower tenants, as the economic drivers, in critical decisions that impact their homes, such as ownership changes; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants was created in 2019 pursuant to Executive Order No. 39, dated January 10, 2019, but has been defunded and deprioritized in recent years; and
WHEREAS, the vital pursuit of the mission of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants is essential to ensure all New Yorkers have access to safe and habitable housing they can afford; and
WHEREAS, our City government will be judged on its ability to improve the relationship tenants have with the City government;
NOW, THEREFORE, by the power vested in me as Mayor of the City of New York, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Re-Establishment of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. The Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants (“Office”) shall coordinate the work of the City to protect the rights of tenants and to improve affordability and quality of housing for tenants by working with tenants in New York City. The Office shall be led by an Executive Director appointed by the Mayor.
§ 2. Duties of the Office. The duties, responsibilities, and functions of the Office shall include:
a. Advocating for and easing access to City resources for tenants, tenant organizations, social service agencies, advocacy organizations, legal services providers, landlords and management companies of affordable housing, and others on tenant issues of housing quality and affordability;
b. Coordinating tenants, tenant organizations, social service agencies, advocacy organizations, legal services providers, landlords and management companies of affordable housing, and others to advance tenants’ interests, combat landlord abuse, and promote policies within City and State government that promote safe and habitable housing conditions for tenants;
c. Facilitating dialogue between tenants’ organizations and landlords or management companies of rental housing to improve housing stability in New York City;
d. Coordinating outreach, advocacy, and education campaigns on tenants’ rights, housing quality, and affordability;
e. Promoting tenants’ interests and concerns during the City’s development and implementation of housing policy;
f. Developing policy changes to strengthen tenants’ rights, to improve housing quality through City enforcement actions, and to strengthen coordination with tenants; and
g. Any other duty, responsibility, or function assigned by the Mayor.
§ 3. Agency Cooperation. All mayoral agencies, including but not limited to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Department of Buildings, Department of Social Services, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Department of Finance, Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement, New York City Commission on Human Rights, Mayor's Office of Data Analytics, and any City office or entity responsible for civic or community engagement, shall cooperate with the Office in the performance of its duties.
§ 4. Revocation of Prior Order. Executive Order No. 39, dated January 10, 2019, is hereby REVOKED.
§ 5. Effective Date. This order shall take effect immediately.
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Zohran Kwame Mamdani
Mayor