Bill Text: NY A01075 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes a program to address the legalization of specified basements and cellars and the conversion of other specified basements and cellars in a city with a population of one million or more.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 32-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-25 - print number 1075b [A01075 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A01075-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1075--B 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 13, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. EPSTEIN, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, GLICK, MAMDANI, GALLAGH- ER, REYES, JACKSON, CARROLL, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, AUBRY, BENEDETTO, TAPIA, MITAYNES, SIMON, ANDERSON, CRUZ, GIBBS, FORREST, CUNNINGHAM, BURDICK, RAGA, BURGOS, ARDILA, SEPTIMO, BORES, SEAWRIGHT, RAMOS, SIMONE, DE LOS SANTOS, ALVAREZ -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. LEVENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Govern- ments -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Local Governments in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the multiple dwelling law, in relation to establishing a program to address the legalization of specified basements and cellars and the conversion of other specified basements and cellars in a city with a population of one million or more The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The multiple dwelling law is amended by adding a new arti- 2 cle 7-D to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 7-D 4 LEGALIZATION AND CONVERSION OF BASEMENTS AND CELLARS 5 Section 288. Definitions. 6 289. Basement and cellar local laws and regulations. 7 290. Tenant protections in inhabited basements and cellars. 8 § 288. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context or 9 subject matter requires otherwise, the following terms shall have the 10 following meanings: 11 1. The term "inhabited basement or cellar" means a basement or cellar 12 unlawfully occupied as a residence by one or more tenants on or prior to 13 the effective date of this article; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03476-05-4A. 1075--B 2 1 2. The term "rented" means leased, let, or hired out, with or without 2 a written agreement; and 3 3. The term "tenant" means an individual to whom an inhabited basement 4 or cellar dwelling unit is rented. 5 § 289. Basement and cellar local laws and regulations. 1. Notwith- 6 standing any other provision of state or local law to the contrary, in a 7 city with a population of one million or more, the local legislative 8 body may, by local law, provided that health and safety are protected, 9 establish a program to address (a) the legalization of specified inhab- 10 ited basements and cellars in existence prior to the effective date of 11 this article through conversion to legal dwelling units, and (b) the 12 conversion of other specified basements and cellars in existence prior 13 to the effective date of this article to legal dwelling units. The local 14 law authorized by this section, and any rules or regulations promulgated 15 thereunder, shall not be subject to environmental review, including, but 16 not limited to, environmental review conducted pursuant to article eight 17 of the environmental conservation law and any state and local regu- 18 lations promulgated thereunder. 19 2. The program established by such local law may provide to an owner 20 who converts a basement or cellar in accordance with a local law author- 21 ized by this article or who otherwise abates the illegal occupancy of a 22 basement or cellar: (a) amnesty from prosecution for any violations of 23 this chapter, other state law or local law or rules, and the zoning 24 resolution of such city relating to the premises prior to such conver- 25 sion, and (b) relief from any outstanding civil judgments issued in 26 connection with any such violation of such laws, rules or zoning resol- 27 ution issued before the effective date of this article relating to the 28 premises prior to such conversion; provided, however, that such local 29 law shall require that such amnesty or relief shall be available only to 30 an owner that has submitted an application for a conversion by a date 31 certain subsequent to the effective date of such local law and that such 32 date shall not be later than ten years after the effective date of such 33 local law. 34 3. (a) Such local law may supersede any provision of local law or rule 35 to facilitate the conversion of a specified inhabited basement or cellar 36 or other specified basement or cellar in existence prior to the effec- 37 tive date of this article into a lawful dwelling unit. For the purposes 38 of this program, the local law adopted by the legislative body of such 39 municipality shall be no less stringent than the relevant standards or 40 specifications of the uniform fire prevention and building code and 41 state energy conservation construction code applicable to the conversion 42 of basements and cellars to habitable dwelling units in municipalities 43 other than a city with a population of one million or more, unless such 44 legislative body determines that the application of such standards or 45 specifications would present practical difficulties that impede the 46 purposes of this article and includes in such local law an alternative 47 standard or specification that such legislative body determines to be 48 sufficient to protect public safety. 49 (b) Such local law may supersede the following provisions of this 50 chapter: sections twenty-six, twenty-eight, thirty, thirty-one, thirty- 51 two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, 52 fifty, fifty-a, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-four, fifty-six, sixty-one, 53 sixty-two, sixty-three, sixty-four, sixty-five, sixty-eight, and seven- 54 ty-six, and articles four, five and six. 55 (c) Any amendment of the zoning resolution necessary to enact such 56 program shall be subject to a public hearing at the planning commissionA. 1075--B 3 1 of such locality, and approval by such commission and the legislative 2 body of such local government, provided, however, that it shall not 3 require environmental review, including, not limited to, environmental 4 review conducted pursuant to article eight of the environmental conser- 5 vation law and any state and local regulations promulgated thereunder, 6 or any additional land use review. 7 § 290. Tenant protections in inhabited basements and cellars. 1. The 8 program authorized by this article shall require an application to make 9 alterations to legalize an inhabited basement or cellar be accompanied 10 by a certification indicating whether such unit was rented to a tenant 11 on the effective date of this article, notwithstanding whether the occu- 12 pancy of such unit was authorized by law. An agency or office of a city 13 where the program has been established may not use such certification as 14 the basis for an enforcement action for illegal occupancy of such unit, 15 provided that nothing contained in this article shall be construed to 16 limit any agency or office from issuing a vacate order for hazardous 17 conditions. 18 2. The local law authorized by this article shall provide that a 19 tenant in occupancy at the time of the effective date of this article 20 who is evicted or otherwise removed from such unit as a result of an 21 alteration necessary to bring an inhabited basement or cellar into 22 compliance with the standards established by the local law authorized by 23 this article, shall have a right of first refusal to return to such unit 24 as a tenant upon its first lawful occupancy as a legal dwelling unit, 25 notwithstanding whether the occupancy at the time of the effective date 26 of this article was authorized by law. Such local law shall specify how 27 to determine priority when multiple tenants may claim such right. 28 3. A tenant unlawfully denied a right of first refusal to return to a 29 legal dwelling unit, as provided pursuant to the local law authorized by 30 this article, shall have a cause of action against the owner of such 31 dwelling unit in any court of competent jurisdiction for compensatory 32 damages or declaratory and injunctive relief as the court deems neces- 33 sary in the interests of justice, provided that such compensatory relief 34 shall not exceed the annual rental charges for such legal dwelling unit. 35 4. Notwithstanding the local emergency housing rent control act of 36 1962 as amended, the local law authorized by this article shall include 37 protections against eviction and limitations on rent increases for base- 38 ment or cellar dwelling units that undergo legalization, including limi- 39 tations on rent increases for tenants returning to such units pursuant 40 to the provisions of subdivision two of this section. 41 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
