NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the launch of the Tenant Protection Cabinet, a multi-agency collaboration to better serve renters in New York City by developing policies and long-term strategies that support tenants and ensure safer, fairer housing conditions.
Following the model of the successful New York City cabinet for older New Yorkers, the Tenant Protection Cabinet — co-chaired by deputy mayor for housing, economic development, and workforce Maria Torres-Springer and New York city executive director for housing Leila Bozorg — builds on the Adams administration’s record of investments and policies that uplift and support tenants across New York City, and was a key initiative of Mayor Adams’ state of the city address.
“Every day, New Yorkers work hard to build a better future for themselves, their kids and their families, but we cannot have a truly livable city with a housing and affordability crisis,” said Mayor Adams.
“The data is clear: the demand to live in our city is far outpacing our ability to build housing, but we will not accept a city where renters are priced out of a chance to build their future. New Yorkers need our support now, and the Tenant Protection Cabinet is going to deliver it to them.
Homes are more than brick and mortar — they are places where New Yorkers who rent can build their American Dreams. Together, this cabinet will work to deliver relief for tenants and working-class New Yorkers.”
“Protecting tenants is fundamental to our administration’s vision for housing, and we’re not only using every tool available, but also creating new ones to ensure all New Yorkers have recourse against bad landlords,” said deputy mayor for housing, economic development, and workforce Maria Torres-Springer.
“Mayor Adams has pushed us to take a whole-of-government approach to fulfilling the needs of New Yorkers, and the Tenant Protection Cabinet brings together over two dozen agencies working on tenant issues to help New Yorkers better navigate the city’s resources, and have the safe, quality housing they deserve.”
“As a city with millions of tenants, it is crucial that New York City’s leaders come together to provide safe and stable housing for our renters,” said Executive Director Leila Bozorg.
“This year, rents are high and our rental vacancy rate is at its lowest, making this a particularly hard time to find and stay in affordable, high-quality housing. As we continue to advocate in Albany for tools that allow us to build more homes, the Tenant Protection Cabinet will be working hard to develop policies and implement solutions that make it easier for tenants to navigate services and access the important supports the city offers. Thank you to all the city agencies who work hard day in and out to serve the many tenants who call New York home.”
The Tenant Protection Cabinet will facilitate better information sharing and coordination amongst agencies to ensure that tenants are connected to the same information and resources regardless of the hotline or agency they contact; focus attention on underutilized tenant services to match New Yorkers with the supports they need; and use data strategically to identify and target areas of highest need, and track progress towards better, more stable housing for tenants.
The launch of the Tenant Protection Cabinet comes at a time of great urgency, following last month’s release of the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey that found a clear disparity in housing quality by race/ethnicity of heads of household. The survey found that 23 percent of Black and 20 percent of Hispanic New Yorkers reported three or more problems with their housing, compared to 9 percent among those households headed by both a white New Yorker or Asian New Yorker. TPC aims to bolster resources and develop tenant supportive policies to ensure they are living in safe, fair housing conditions, regardless of race or income.
Mayor Adams has recently taken strong enforcement action against landlords who do not properly maintain their properties — most recently obtaining over $4 million and the appointment of a 7A administrator (an individual appointed by a court to operate privately-owned buildings that have conditions that are dangerous to the tenants’ life, health, and safety) against a single landlord with a portfolio of buildings.
This announcement also builds on the Adams administration’s advocacy for state lawmakers to consider a package of new affordable housing tools to help deliver relief to New Yorkers in the midst of a housing and affordability crisis. The administration continues to use every tool at its disposal to ease the pressure of the housing crisis, including launching a new $50 million initiative to help minority business enterprises developers overcome historical financial barriers and fully participate in the development of critically-needed affordable housing for New Yorkers.
The Tenant Protection Cabinet includes the following city offices:New York City Mayor’s Office, Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY),New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA), New York City Department of Buildings (DOB), New York City Department of Finance (DOF), New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD),New York City Department of Social Services (DSS),New York City Department of Veterans Services (DVS),New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), New York City Director of Rodent Mitigation, New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM), New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), New York City Law Department, New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), New York City Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice (MOERJ), New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs,New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations, New York City Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE), New York City Mayor’s Office of Technology Innovation, New York City Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV), New York City Police Department (NYPD).
To accelerate housing production and deliver relief to New Yorkers, the Adams administration has advanced a number of creative solutions, including launching its “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” proposal to build 100,000 additional homes through significant pro-housing reforms to the city’s zoning code; laying out an office conversion accelerator to advance conversions more quickly; unveiling new proposed rules to streamline approvals for sustainable housing; and debuting several pilot programs to help fund the creation of accessory dwelling units, help move New Yorkers out of shelters and into renovated apartments, and help fuel mixed-income developments in neighborhoods across the city; among other innovative efforts.
New York City continues to face a serious housing shortage with a record-high shelter population totaling more than 120,000 individuals in the city’s care. But under Mayor Adams’ leadership, the city expanded the number of New Yorkers in shelter who are eligible to access city-funded rental assistance through City Family Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) housing vouchers, and then made further innovations to CityFHEPS to immediately and significantly expand access to the housing vouchers by allowing them to be utilized in any county or locality across New York state.
