Partners in Preservation

What is Partners in Preservation?

Partners in Preservation was created by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to support tenant organizing groups that help tenants address unsafe conditions and harassment from their landlords so they can stay in their homes. Partners in Preservation funds tenant organizers at 16 trusted tenant organizing groups in 30 community districts who engage residents to form tenant associations and take collective action, like legal rent strikes or going to court, to hold landlords accountable and protect their rights to a safe and comfortable home.

With $11 million in funding over its first three years, Partners in Preservation stands out as a publicly funded initiative that integrates City agencies into organizing efforts to address maintenance issues, illegal evictions, and tenant harassment. HPD provides data tools for outreach, interactive dashboards, and direct pathways to legal services providers and code enforcement staff to better protect tenants and preserve affordable housing. Through this partnership, we will establish 200+ and educate tenants about their rights through outreach, community workshops, and resource fairs across the city.

Program Goals

HPD set the following goals to guide the program over the next three years:

1. Tenants are empowered to act collectively through organizing
2. Tenants are informed about their rights
3. Living conditions improve and displacement is prevented in organized buildings
4. Partner organizations gain increased capacity for tenant organizing and institutional support
5. City resources and responses are integrated and coordinated more effectively into organizing

Program Areas and Partners

HPD and its tenant organizing partners have launched the program in 30 community districts spanning the Bronx, Upper and Lower Manhattan, Central Queens, and North and Central Brooklyn. With an additional investment of $1.4 million per year, made possible by the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, the program will expand into additional community districts later in 2025.

There are four program areas each led by a leading program partner with other supporting organizations, listed below:

• The Bronx: Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) with the support of Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA) and Mothers on the Move (MOM) in community districts 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 209, 211 and 212.

• Northern Manhattan: Community Voices Heard (CVH) with the support of Tenants & Neighbors, Met Council on Housing, and Second Ludford Lourdes (2LL) in community districts 109, 110, 111 and 112.

• Central Brooklyn: Flatbush Tenant Coalition (FTC) at the Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC) with the support of St. Nick’s Alliance, Cypress Hills Local Development Corp, Neighbors Helping Neighbors (a Fifth Avenue Committee affiliate organization), IMPACCT Brooklyn, and UHAB in community districts 303, 305, 307, 308, 309, 314, 316 and 317

• Lower Manhattan, North Brooklyn, and Queens: Cooper Square Committee with the support of St. Nicks Alliance, Chhaya CDC, and the Bushwick Housing Independence Project (BHIP) in community districts 102 and 103 in Manhattan, 301 and 304 in Brooklyn and 403, 404, 405, and 407 in Queens.

What City agencies are involved?

Partners in Preservation is supported by the City agencies that make up the Tenant Protection Cabinet, including the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit and the Office of Civil Justice at the NYC Department of Social Services. As part of the program, the Public Engagement Unit will conduct proactive door-to-door canvassing to identify buildings to refer our community partners for long-term tenant organizing. The Office of Civil Justice will provide legal referrals for tenant associations seeking to combat harassment, address deferred maintenance, and restore essential services, such as heat and hot water. HPD’s code enforcement team will survey buildings with widespread issues.

Why tenant organizing?

The program focuses on helping tenants organize because when tenants work together, they can more effectively advocate for better living conditions in their building(s) and protect their rights. Forming tenant associations gives tenants the power to stand up to negligent landlords and secure real improvements in their buildings alongside their neighbors. As more tenants join in, landlords face more pressure to fix problems, stop displacing tenants, and provide safe, comfortable homes. This not only benefits the tenants organizing; it helps protect affordable housing for future New Yorkers, too. Every tenant in NYC has the right to organize and use the common areas of their buildings to meet. Landlords cannot take actions that interfere with or retaliate against organizing efforts. Click here to read more about how to create a tenant association in your building. 

What does “tenant harassment” mean?

Tenant harassment occurs when a landlord fails to maintain basic living standards in an apartment by not providing essential services, such as heat, hot water, repairs, or pest control. Landlords often do this to cut costs or displace long-time community members. In legal terms, tenant harassment is defined as any act or omission by or on behalf of an owner that causes or is intended to cause a tenant to surrender or waive any rights in relation to the occupancy of their unit. These acts can include, but are not limited to illegal lockouts, unjustified eviction notices, repeated frivolous court proceedings, contacting the tenant repeatedly or showing up without notice, and purposely causing construction-related problems for tenants. For rent regulated tenants, it also could mean refusal to offer lease renewals, overcharging for rent, or repeated buyout offers (paying you to leave your home).