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Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Fw: Register Now for the 2015 Homeless Policy Forum!
From: Care for the Homeless
Subject: Register Now for the 2015 Homeless Policy Forum!
Monday, March 9, 2015
Retrospective Commentary
There are reasons why some people get banned from the building... Does everyone remember how totally irritating it was to have Sal running around trying to tell everyone how to run their business? Trying to get people to join his bullshit tenants' association, which was his excuse for having a special club?
I asked him one day - when he'd been complaining about the building more than usual (and much more than I felt like having to listen to) why he'd lived here for 23 years if it was so awful, and he said it was difficult for him to move on because Kenmore Hall was his "power base". That's pretty pathetic, when you think about it - it's something only a total loser would say.
It's been a major relief to have him out of the building.
It's been a major relief to have him out of the building.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Fwd: FEGS
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Asch, Esther Ann <EAsch@fegs.org>
Date: Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 12:34 PM
Subject: FEGS
To: "crowcorneille1@gmail.com" <crowcorneille1@gmail.com>
From: Asch, Esther Ann <EAsch@fegs.org>
Date: Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 12:34 PM
Subject: FEGS
To: "crowcorneille1@gmail.com" <crowcorneille1@gmail.com>
That would be because FEGS IS NOW BANKRUPT! On behalf of all the folks who've had to sit through the incredible boredom down on Varick Street over the years, I think I can safely say that FEGS won't be missed at all.
FEGS is in the process of transferring all of its programs so we cannot help you
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| Note: The information contained in this email message is intended only for use of the addressee(s) named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify us by tel (212-366-8400), and discard the original message. Thank you for your cooperation. | |||
mailconn7
Friday, February 6, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
FEGS is GONE
I'm sure a lot of tenants will be thrilled to know that FEGS has gone bankrupt and is set to close down in the near future. I've heard so many horror stories about the place from so many people; the organization was completely incompetent and caused a huge amount of grief for most of the people assigned there. This should be a comment on city and state incompetence, though, because FEGS got a lot of its funding from government sources and STILL ended up millions of dollars in debt. Why isn't this kind of thing being audited and reviewed?
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Federation Employment & Guidance Service (FEGS) seriously considering bankruptcy
Federation Employment & Guidance Service seriously considering bankruptcy
EXCLUSIVE: The bankruptcy plan comes weeks after the 80-year old charity laid off dozens of employees in its struggle to stay solvent. It remains unclear what will happen to the city agencies that rely on FEGS to help disabled clients land jobs and attend training programs.
BY REUVEN BLAU NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Tuesday, January 13, 2015, 6:37 PM
A major city nonprofit is seriously considering filing for bankruptcy, weeks after discovering that it is close to $20 million in debt, sources said.
The Federation for Employment and Guidance Services (FEGS) told some of its workers Tuesday that it would likely be left with no alternative to that extreme measure.
It remains unclear what will happen to the city agencies that rely on FEGS to help disabled clients land jobs and attend training programs.
“Some may be gone and some may be transferred,” a source familiar with the charity said.
The bankruptcy plan comes weeks after the 80-year old charity laid off dozens of employees in its struggle to stay solvent.
FEGS spokeswoman Julie Farber said the agency was still reviewing its options.
“We have narrowed the potential pathways we may undertake, and a final decision has not yet been made,” she said.
FEGS assists up to 12,000 disabled people each day and has a yearly budget of about $250 million, funded largely by city and state grants.
The head of the organization has changed three times in the past few months.
rblau@nydailynews.com
I’m just wondering how you just “discover” that you’re $20 million in debt... what kept them from noticing after the first million? City and state government is willing to blow millions on a crap organization like FEGS, but make it really difficult for people on public assistance - especially the disabled - to exist decently. Wouldn’t it be nice to see more of the money spent on screwed up non-profits that waste money and then go bankrupt be spent directly and more effectively on helping the poor and disabled? Is there any accountability?
weather alerts
Notification issued 2/1/15 at 4:36 AM. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning citywide from 7:00 PM, February 1st to 6:00 PM, Monday, February 2nd. The current forecast calls for 4-8 inches of snow. Visibilities are expected to be approximately one quarter mile or less at times. For updates please visit: http://www.weather.gov/nyc.
Notification issued 2/1/15 at 5:00 PM. Mayor de Blasio today issued a Hazardous Travel Advisory for Monday, February 2nd. The National Weather Service has forecast 5 to 6 inches of snow accumulation citywide, along with up to a quarter inch of ice accumulation throughout the day Monday. Light snow will begin this evening, with minor accumulation by midnight. Snow will become heavy overnight, with 2-4 inches of accumulation expected. Snow will transition to sleet and freezing rain with an accumulation of up to a quarter inch of ice during the Monday morning hours. Exercise caution when driving and allow for additional travel time.
The Department of Sanitation issued a Snow Alert, beginning at 5PM tonight. PlowNYC will be activated and available at www.nyc.gov/severeweather.
For more info: http://i.imgur.com/NQpceBY.png.
To view this message in American Sign Language (ASL) with audio and subtitles, please visit: http://bit.ly/11wC2C0.
Notification issued 2/1/15 at 9:00 AM. The New York City Department of Transportation announced that Alternate Side Parking Regulations will be suspended Monday, February 2 to facilitate snow removal. Payment at parking meters will remain in effect throughout NYC. For more information, please visit: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/alternate-side-parking.shtml.
To view this message in American Sign Language (ASL) with audio and subtitles, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4YXMLzpUII.
The sender provided the following contact information.
Sender's Name: Notify NYC
Sender's Email: notifynyc@oem.nyc.gov
Sender's Contact Phone: 212-639-9675
Sender's Name: Notify NYC
Sender's Email: notifynyc@oem.nyc.gov
Sender's Contact Phone: 212-639-9675
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Turning over your ID to get access ...
I found this article by accident today, and want to know what Kenmore Hall tenants think of the answer to this question - people have been complaining about this issue here for years. Please feel free to comment
Ask A NYC Housing Lawyer: Do I Really Have To Hand Over ID To Enter A Building?
Steve Dobkin and son contemplate tenants' rights on a Park Slope stoop. (Courtesy Private Jake Dobkin Collection)
Do you have a question about New York's complex and sometimes terrifying housing laws? Native New Yorker columnist Jake Dobkin has been receiving a lot of these questions lately, and he's decided to kick some of them over to his dad, longtime NYC tenants' lawyer and housing activistSteve Dobkin. If you have a question, email us and we will pick the most interesting ones to pass along to him.
Today's question comes from a deliveryman who can't stand it when a fancy building requires him to hand over ID just to bring food up to a customer.
So I deliver somewhat fancy food to somewhat fancy buildings. A lot of these buildings have policies that really dick me around—especially when I have to, with my one paper bag, exit the building, walk around the block to the service entrance, and then come back into the same lobby I was just in. But one thing I'm not sure about is ID stuff.
It annoys me to show ID to enter a building, but I get it. But how about the occasional building that makes you give them your ID to hold onto while you're in the building? Is that even legal?
I told the guy to just copy it down and please give it back; it stresses me out to leave it with people. I know it seems like a small thing, but other poor/lower middle class types will know why this annoys me.
Thanks!
A longtime housing attorney responds:
Since 9/11, purported concerns for the security of residents have been used to justify a host of measures invading the privacy of tenants, family members, guests, and visitors. The likelihood is that a delivery guy would be treated by the average judge with even less deference than a visiting in-law.
In 2005, Peter Cooper Village installed a massive electronic key card and video surveillance system which required tenants, family members and anyone who entered the buildings on a regular basis to use an encrypted key card with their picture on it. The Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association challenged the system in Court and at the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (“DHCR”) on a multitude of grounds, from violating leases and the Rent Stabilization Law to totalitarian enslavement, but in the end the Landlord’s repeated mantra of “Security,” backed by recommendations from a former FBI agent, two independent consultants, and the NYPD Crime Prevention Unit, outweighed all resistance.
Cynics and tenant activists suspected that the real motivation for the installation of the computerized key system was to measure the comings and goings of tenants for use as evidence against them in non-primary residence proceedings, a key feature of the campaign to eliminate long-term lower-rent-paying tenants.
The 2006 opinion by the DHCR Commissioner, which was upheld by the State Supreme Court, noted that since “security personnel may review the photos of card key holders as they enter their buildings, via the integrated CCTV system, it is only logical to allow security personnel to be able to ask for a photo ID of non-key card holders.”
Frankly, it’s hard to envision a realistic scenario in which you, as a delivery guy, will be in a position to challenge building management’s holding onto your ID while you’re in the building. Be thankful you haven’t (yet) been subjected to extraordinary rendition to a black site.
In 2005, Peter Cooper Village installed a massive electronic key card and video surveillance system which required tenants, family members and anyone who entered the buildings on a regular basis to use an encrypted key card with their picture on it. The Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association challenged the system in Court and at the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (“DHCR”) on a multitude of grounds, from violating leases and the Rent Stabilization Law to totalitarian enslavement, but in the end the Landlord’s repeated mantra of “Security,” backed by recommendations from a former FBI agent, two independent consultants, and the NYPD Crime Prevention Unit, outweighed all resistance.
Cynics and tenant activists suspected that the real motivation for the installation of the computerized key system was to measure the comings and goings of tenants for use as evidence against them in non-primary residence proceedings, a key feature of the campaign to eliminate long-term lower-rent-paying tenants.
The 2006 opinion by the DHCR Commissioner, which was upheld by the State Supreme Court, noted that since “security personnel may review the photos of card key holders as they enter their buildings, via the integrated CCTV system, it is only logical to allow security personnel to be able to ask for a photo ID of non-key card holders.”
Frankly, it’s hard to envision a realistic scenario in which you, as a delivery guy, will be in a position to challenge building management’s holding onto your ID while you’re in the building. Be thankful you haven’t (yet) been subjected to extraordinary rendition to a black site.
The opinion herein does not constitute legal advice, which may only be given in the context of a lawyer-client relationship.
If you've got a housing question you'd like answered, just drop us a line here.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Fwd: Help Picture the Homeless Come Home
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brodie Enoch & William S Burnett, PTH Board Co-Chairs <development@picturethehomeless.org>
Date: Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 2:19 PM
Subject: Help Picture the Homeless Come Home
From: Brodie Enoch & William S Burnett, PTH Board Co-Chairs <development@picturethehomeless.org>
Date: Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 2:19 PM
Subject: Help Picture the Homeless Come Home
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"Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world; indeed, that is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Fwd: The NYPD Just Admitted That 90% of Their Work is Unnecessary. Homeless People Have Been Saying That For Decades!
From: Homeless Civil Rights Warriors <news@picturethehomeless.org>
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Monday, January 5, 2015
DON'T PANIC - IT'S A GOOD THING!
Many tenants got two-page rent summaries and receipts today, and some people were confused about what they meant. I think some people thought they were behind in their rent, when in fact they were just fine. We're all legally entitled to rent receipts, by the way - but I, like many people, rarely if ever request one.
Even if you actually DO owe rent and are behind, the rent statement is potentially a good thing. Sometimes public assistance makes a mistake and doesn't pay (even though you may assume they're up to date), and H.S.I. may not tell you until it's been going on for quite a while, and at that point, you may be getting close to an eviction proceeding. Having the statement in hand gives you information you badly need - and allows you to go down to the Waverly or 16th St. offices to straighten it out before you wind up in Housing Court.
DON'T PANIC. Go down to the rent office on the second floor (not your case manager) and have them go over it with you. It's better to know more about this stuff than remain in the dark. Finally, H.S.I. has taken the initiative to do something right for tenants on their own.
Even if you actually DO owe rent and are behind, the rent statement is potentially a good thing. Sometimes public assistance makes a mistake and doesn't pay (even though you may assume they're up to date), and H.S.I. may not tell you until it's been going on for quite a while, and at that point, you may be getting close to an eviction proceeding. Having the statement in hand gives you information you badly need - and allows you to go down to the Waverly or 16th St. offices to straighten it out before you wind up in Housing Court.
DON'T PANIC. Go down to the rent office on the second floor (not your case manager) and have them go over it with you. It's better to know more about this stuff than remain in the dark. Finally, H.S.I. has taken the initiative to do something right for tenants on their own.
Friday, January 2, 2015
IS IT GOOD NEWS OR BAD NEWS?
LOOK WHAT WAS POSTED ON RICHARD FIELDS' OFFICE DOOR!
Jeez.This is just a bit frosty, isn't it? He doesn't even merit the usual good-bye send-off that other departing usually get. Just "he's gone"! Poof! No indication of whether he was laid off, handed in his resignation, nothing, zip, zilch! I know he wasn't the most popular guy on the block, but really! Anyone have any idea what happened? Inquiring minds need to know! Comments are welcome.
Jeez.This is just a bit frosty, isn't it? He doesn't even merit the usual good-bye send-off that other departing usually get. Just "he's gone"! Poof! No indication of whether he was laid off, handed in his resignation, nothing, zip, zilch! I know he wasn't the most popular guy on the block, but really! Anyone have any idea what happened? Inquiring minds need to know! Comments are welcome.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Happy New Year....
Best wishes for the coming year - the blog has had 36,144 hits in 2014, and I hope that most of them are from tenants who have found useful information that's helped them improve their situations.
Monday, December 1, 2014
TENANTS' BILL OF RIGHTS
THIS IS THE BILL OF RIGHTS (INTRO 477) THAT JUST RECENTLY PASSED... It's supposed to be publicly posted in rent stabilized buildings, but because H.S.I. is in DEEP denial that that's what Kenmore Hall is (even though the building is still classified that way with the appropriate government agencies), tenants will probably never see it publicly posted.
Your Rights As A New York City Tenant
Tenants living in privately owned buildings in New York City containing at least three apartments have the rights listed below:
Eviction
Only a marshal or sheriff with a court order can legally perform an eviction in New York against you
• if your landlord has ever accepted rent from you, or
• if you have a valid lease for the apartment, even if the lease has expired, or
• if you have lived in the apartment for 30 days or more, even if no rent was paid and there is no lease.
If any of the above criteria apply, it is illegal for anyone other than a city marshal or sheri ff to remove you or your possessions, prevent you from entering your apartment, or discontinue essential services
such as water, heat, or electricity as a means of forcing you out. You can report such actions to the police, or seek re-entry and a restoration of services by bringing an illegal lockout case at your borough’s housing or civil court.
Before having the right to hire a marshal or sheriff, your landlord must fi rst obtain a judgment and a warrant of eviction from a court, and you have the right to defend yourself in the court case. The
landlord, court, and marshal, are all separately required to notify you if you are subject to an eviction case. These rights apply to everyone, including roommates, family members, subtenants, and guests.
Repairs and Services
Your landlord must maintain your building in good repair, keep the hallways and public areas clean, paint your apartment every three years, exterminate rats, mice, roaches, bedbugs, other vermin, and
deal with any other matter dangerous to life or health, in a timely manner. Your landlord must also maintain electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, and ventilating systems, and appliances installed
by your landlord, in good working order. These rights cannot be waived.
Heat and Hot Water
Every tenant has the right to hot water all year long at all times at a minimum temperature of 120° F, and to adequate heat, with an inside temperature of 68° F from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., when the outside
temperature is below 55° F, and an inside temperature of 55° F from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. when the outside temperature is below 40° F, during the period of October 1 through May 31.
Roommates
You have the right to have family members reside with you so long as the apartment does not become overcrowded. If only one person has signed a lease, you also have the right to share your apartment
with one other adult not related to you, and that person's dependent children, but overcharging roommates in rent stabilized apartments is prohibited. Exceptions and restrictions to the rights to
share your apartment apply to tenants living in subsidized housing and those who receive rental assistance based on income-eligibility. Always check your program's rules before taking in another household member.
Subletting
In privately owned buildings with at least four units, your landlord may not unreasonably deny your request to sublet your apartment. You must follow speci c rules when making a request to sublet.
Subletting without making a proper request and/or obtaining consent from your landlord may be grounds for eviction. Tenants in subsidized housing, or who receive rental assistance based on
income-eligibility, may not have the right to sublet while participating in the programs. Always check your program's rules.
Discrimination
It is illegal for landlords and their agents to discriminate in the rental of housing, or the provision of services, based on actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, gender (including gender
identity), disability, age, marital or partnership status, the presence of children, lawful occupation, sexual orientation or citizenship status. If your building - or another building owned by your landlord
- contains six or more dwelling units, you are also protected against discrimination based on a lawful source of income: The landlord may not refuse to rent to a tenant based on his or her intention to
pay the rent using a rent subsidy, or to refuse such subsidy from an existing tenant. If you have been discriminated against, you may contact the New York City Human Rights Commission by calling 311.
Taking Your Landlord To Court
If your landlord does not maintain the building and/or your apartment, or fails to provide reliable services, you can go to your borough’s housing court by yourself or with other tenants in your
building and start a court case called a Housing Part (HP) Action against your landlord, and request the court to order repairs or the restoration of services. Low-income tenants can ask for the court fees to be waived.
Tenant organizations
You have the right to form, join, and participate in a tenants’ organization for the purpose of protecting your rights. Tenants organizations have the right to use common areas of the building,
including the lobby if a community room is not available, free of charge for meetings. Your landlord is forbidden by law to harass you for tenant-organizing activities.
Seniors and Tenants With Disabilities
For tenants living in rent stabilized, rent controlled, and Mitchell- Lama apartments: If you are sixty-two years of age or older or a disabled tenant, and you pay one-third or more of your income in rent, and your income falls below a certain income threshold, you can apply to have your rent frozen through the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) or Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) programs. You may apply for such programs through the Department of Finance by calling 311. If you are disabled, your landlord must provide reasonable accommodations so that you may enjoy equal access to your housing
Additional rights of Rent-Regulated Tenants
Rent-stabilized and rent-controlled tenants (rent-regulated tenants) have additional rights relating to maximum legal rents, causes for eviction, and leases. Consult the New York State Homes and Community Renewal for more about your rights as a rent regulated tenant. Call 718-739-6400 or visit nysdhcr.gov/rent
Lease renewals and riders
Landlords can only end the tenancy of rent-regulated tenants for specifi c reasons set forth in the laws governing rent-regulation. In most cases when tenants are in compliance with their leases, rent-controlled tenants have rights to continuous occupancy, and rent-stabilized tenants must be off ered the option of either a one-or two-year renewal lease, but if a renewal is not o ffered, the old lease remains in e ffect. Rent-stabilized tenants are not obligated to sign any riders or amendments that change the
terms of their original lease.
Succession
Certain family members (including non-traditional family members) who live with a regulated tenant for a period of time before the primary tenant moves or dies have the right to take over the lease for the apartment under the same terms, conditions, and rent levels as the departing tenant.
Rent reductions
Regulated tenants may apply for a reduction of rent with HCR for decreased services or for repairs that are not addressed in a timely manner.
Illegal overcharges
A rent-regulated apartment's unique history determines its legal maximum rent. You can contact HCR to investigate, challenge, and seek a rent adjustment and refund of an overpayment, if you believe that you’re being overcharged or if you believe that your apartment was illegally deregulated.
Your Rights As A New York City Tenant
Tenants living in privately owned buildings in New York City containing at least three apartments have the rights listed below:
Eviction
Only a marshal or sheriff with a court order can legally perform an eviction in New York against you
• if your landlord has ever accepted rent from you, or
• if you have a valid lease for the apartment, even if the lease has expired, or
• if you have lived in the apartment for 30 days or more, even if no rent was paid and there is no lease.
If any of the above criteria apply, it is illegal for anyone other than a city marshal or sheri ff to remove you or your possessions, prevent you from entering your apartment, or discontinue essential services
such as water, heat, or electricity as a means of forcing you out. You can report such actions to the police, or seek re-entry and a restoration of services by bringing an illegal lockout case at your borough’s housing or civil court.
Before having the right to hire a marshal or sheriff, your landlord must fi rst obtain a judgment and a warrant of eviction from a court, and you have the right to defend yourself in the court case. The
landlord, court, and marshal, are all separately required to notify you if you are subject to an eviction case. These rights apply to everyone, including roommates, family members, subtenants, and guests.
Repairs and Services
Your landlord must maintain your building in good repair, keep the hallways and public areas clean, paint your apartment every three years, exterminate rats, mice, roaches, bedbugs, other vermin, and
deal with any other matter dangerous to life or health, in a timely manner. Your landlord must also maintain electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, and ventilating systems, and appliances installed
by your landlord, in good working order. These rights cannot be waived.
Heat and Hot Water
Every tenant has the right to hot water all year long at all times at a minimum temperature of 120° F, and to adequate heat, with an inside temperature of 68° F from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., when the outside
temperature is below 55° F, and an inside temperature of 55° F from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. when the outside temperature is below 40° F, during the period of October 1 through May 31.
Roommates
You have the right to have family members reside with you so long as the apartment does not become overcrowded. If only one person has signed a lease, you also have the right to share your apartment
with one other adult not related to you, and that person's dependent children, but overcharging roommates in rent stabilized apartments is prohibited. Exceptions and restrictions to the rights to
share your apartment apply to tenants living in subsidized housing and those who receive rental assistance based on income-eligibility. Always check your program's rules before taking in another household member.
Subletting
In privately owned buildings with at least four units, your landlord may not unreasonably deny your request to sublet your apartment. You must follow speci c rules when making a request to sublet.
Subletting without making a proper request and/or obtaining consent from your landlord may be grounds for eviction. Tenants in subsidized housing, or who receive rental assistance based on
income-eligibility, may not have the right to sublet while participating in the programs. Always check your program's rules.
Discrimination
It is illegal for landlords and their agents to discriminate in the rental of housing, or the provision of services, based on actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, gender (including gender
identity), disability, age, marital or partnership status, the presence of children, lawful occupation, sexual orientation or citizenship status. If your building - or another building owned by your landlord
- contains six or more dwelling units, you are also protected against discrimination based on a lawful source of income: The landlord may not refuse to rent to a tenant based on his or her intention to
pay the rent using a rent subsidy, or to refuse such subsidy from an existing tenant. If you have been discriminated against, you may contact the New York City Human Rights Commission by calling 311.
Taking Your Landlord To Court
If your landlord does not maintain the building and/or your apartment, or fails to provide reliable services, you can go to your borough’s housing court by yourself or with other tenants in your
building and start a court case called a Housing Part (HP) Action against your landlord, and request the court to order repairs or the restoration of services. Low-income tenants can ask for the court fees to be waived.
Tenant organizations
You have the right to form, join, and participate in a tenants’ organization for the purpose of protecting your rights. Tenants organizations have the right to use common areas of the building,
including the lobby if a community room is not available, free of charge for meetings. Your landlord is forbidden by law to harass you for tenant-organizing activities.
Seniors and Tenants With Disabilities
For tenants living in rent stabilized, rent controlled, and Mitchell- Lama apartments: If you are sixty-two years of age or older or a disabled tenant, and you pay one-third or more of your income in rent, and your income falls below a certain income threshold, you can apply to have your rent frozen through the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) or Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) programs. You may apply for such programs through the Department of Finance by calling 311. If you are disabled, your landlord must provide reasonable accommodations so that you may enjoy equal access to your housing
Additional rights of Rent-Regulated Tenants
Rent-stabilized and rent-controlled tenants (rent-regulated tenants) have additional rights relating to maximum legal rents, causes for eviction, and leases. Consult the New York State Homes and Community Renewal for more about your rights as a rent regulated tenant. Call 718-739-6400 or visit nysdhcr.gov/rent
Lease renewals and riders
Landlords can only end the tenancy of rent-regulated tenants for specifi c reasons set forth in the laws governing rent-regulation. In most cases when tenants are in compliance with their leases, rent-controlled tenants have rights to continuous occupancy, and rent-stabilized tenants must be off ered the option of either a one-or two-year renewal lease, but if a renewal is not o ffered, the old lease remains in e ffect. Rent-stabilized tenants are not obligated to sign any riders or amendments that change the
terms of their original lease.
Succession
Certain family members (including non-traditional family members) who live with a regulated tenant for a period of time before the primary tenant moves or dies have the right to take over the lease for the apartment under the same terms, conditions, and rent levels as the departing tenant.
Rent reductions
Regulated tenants may apply for a reduction of rent with HCR for decreased services or for repairs that are not addressed in a timely manner.
Illegal overcharges
A rent-regulated apartment's unique history determines its legal maximum rent. You can contact HCR to investigate, challenge, and seek a rent adjustment and refund of an overpayment, if you believe that you’re being overcharged or if you believe that your apartment was illegally deregulated.
Friday, November 7, 2014
How HRA Needs to Improve Services to Clients on Welfare
This article appeared in today's Center for An Urban Future electronic newsletter, and may be of interest to many of our tenants. (It's about time someone other than welfare recipients recognized what's really wrong with the welfare system...) Here's the link to the original article: https://nycfuture.org/research/publications/a-new-day-at-hra
COMMENTARY/OP-ED - NOVEMBER 2014
A NEW DAY AT HRA
Though the Human Resources Administration places more New Yorkers into jobs than any other city agency, providing clients with the support they need to find long-term employment has not been a priority for nearly 20 years. As new Commissioner Steven Banks prepares to take the agency in a new direction, CUF workforce fellow David Fischer outlines three principles for success.
by David Jason Fischer
Tags: workforce development | economic opportunity | human capital | low income
The Human Resources Administration (HRA) is by far the largest New York City agency to offer employment and training services, requiring approximately 56,000 cash assistance recipients each month to engage in work activities as a condition of assistance. At approximately $168 million per year, HRA’s workforce budget easily exceeds the combined workforce expenditures of the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) and the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), the other city agencies primarily responsible for providing workforce services to adults and youth respectively.1
But despite the scale of its operations and the enormous amount of money spent, HRA has not really functioned as a workforce development agency for many years. Since the mid-1990s, its focus has been on cutting the public assistance caseload rather than providing recipients with the support they need to find long-term employment. In the words of Jason Turner, a welfare reform pioneer in Wisconsin who served as New York City’s HRA Commissioner from 1998 through 2001, the mission of the agency essentially has been to “create a crisis” in the lives of public assistance recipients in order to spur them to work.
The basic idea behind welfare reform—that those receiving support should make a real effort to advance toward self-sufficiency—is in line with the social contract that underlies much of our system of governance. During the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations, however, HRA went well beyond the idea of mutual obligation, effectively using cash assistance as a reward that recipients could earn only by navigating a series of obstacles and requirements. A large share of recipients—approaching half the caseload at times—fell afoul of complex and inflexible program rules, and saw their benefits reduced or eliminated, with punishment continuing even after they were back in compliance. The Work Experience Program (WEP) compelled recipients to perform menial work that did little or nothing to help them find permanent employment. Although 60 percent of cash assistance recipients who are required to participate in work activities lack a high school diploma or equivalency, and about one in six has math and reading skills below a ninth-grade level, access to education and training was severely limited.2
This adversarial approach was effective in reducing the city’s public assistance rolls: from 1.1 million in 1995, the caseload fell to fewer than 350,000 in 2013. But the city’s poverty rate has remained stubbornly high, at around 21 percent, and a recent HRA analysis found that approximately one out of every four New Yorkers who moved from cash assistance into employment returned to the rolls within 12 months.
Mayor de Blasio’s appointment last spring of Steven Banks as HRA’s new commissioner left no doubt that the new administration would scrap the previous strategy. As head of the Legal Aid Society, Banks had repeatedly clashed with the agency over its welfare policies. Banks joked at his first press conference, “I’ve been at the Legal Aid Society through five mayoral administrations and this is the first one I’m not going to bring a lawsuit against.”3
Testifying to City Council this past May, Banks offered a withering critique of HRA’s previous practices. He explained how the agency had inflated its gaudy job placement claims by including tens of thousands of New Yorkers who found employment on their own, after HRA had rejected their applications for assistance, and noted the outsized share of clients who became homeless after the agency closed their welfare cases.4 Banks hinted that his predecessors had manipulated applications—staggering rejections and acceptance of reapplications—to keep the total caseload steady even through the Great Recession.5 As proof that the agency’s approach could not hold up to objective review, he cited HRA’s low 10 percent victory rate in disputes with clients that went to a hearing.
Under HRA’s new paradigm, the agency views cash assistance and other supports not as a reward for good behavior but a means to help sustain recipients while they take steps to improve their employability and earning power.6 Earlier this fall, the full dimension of HRA’s strategy came into focus when the agency released its biennial Employment Plan, which each of New York State’s 58 social service districts must submit to the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Under the Plan, HRA proposes to:
Greatly expand access to training and education, particularly for 18 to 24 year olds
Replace WEP with different models of supported work activity
Shift from standardized employment programs to customized approaches for serving shelter residents, foster youth, individuals with limited English proficiency, and domestic violence survivors
Take a collaborative rather than confrontational posture towards clients
Partner with other city agencies
In the charged context of welfare reform, these changes are certain to prompt criticism. Removing the politics, however, the new approach seems like nothing more than common sense. If policymakers perceive low skills and language barriers as an obstacle to employment, the logical response is to increase access to education and language programs. Thus, recipients up to age 24 now will be allowed to participate in full-time basic education beyond the current 12-month limit—a necessary provision for those with very low basic skills.7 Further, cash assistance recipients enrolled in a four-year college program can count that as a mandated work activity. And the approximately 4,000 recipients with limited English proficiency can now participate full-time in English as a Second Language classes for up to 12 months, up from the previous two days per week.
In addition to education and skills, relevant and meaningful work experience is another powerful consideration for potential employers. But HRA’s WEP program simply didn’t deliver value: an internal evaluation found that 45 percent of placements ended in failure within six weeks. HRA will continue to phase out WEP as its existing contracts for employment services wind down, and pledges to replace it with “other more effective and sustainable work programs.”
Finally, HRA seems ready to partner with other city agencies to better serve the clients they have in common. The Employment Plan proposes to work with the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) on a strategy for youth in foster care, and with DOE and DYCD on a broader approach to engaging young adults. Banks and others also have noted employment initiatives now in development by the mayor’s Jobs for New Yorkers Task Force as a resource for HRA and its clients.
If effective, HRA’s new workforce-focused approach to welfare reform will open up opportunities for tens of thousands of New Yorkers, strengthening the overall city economy and countless communities across the five boroughs. To this end, the Center for an Urban Future recommends three broad principles as HRA implements its plan:
Quickly flesh out the new rules, and hold to them. Encouraging as the Employment Plan is, it represents a vision rather than a fully developed strategy ready for implementation. The agency must move rapidly to fill in some of the gaps, such as what constitutes “sufficient progress” toward an educational credential and what models of subsidized or otherwise supported employment might replace WEP. Likewise, while HRA has eased requirements for cash assistance recipients and developed less confrontational procedures for resolving conflicts, the credibility of its reforms will come under question if recipients violate those rules with impunity.
Provide strong and sustained technical assistance for contracted providers that will be doing business in a very different way. The confrontational pose of front-line case workers for the past twenty years was no accident: from the initial tactic of “diverting” applicants for assistance to the high rates of sanctioning, the tacit idea of welfare reform here was to make the experience as unpleasant as possible. While HRA’s policies are changing, for the most part the same workers will be charged with carrying them out. They will require time and support to internalize a new approach.
Normalize welfare recipients within the workforce system. One concern regarding HRA’s role in workforce development has been that employers might be leery of a population stigmatized by receiving public assistance. While HRA’s changes could well reduce that stigma, its clients will benefit by being presented to potential employers as no different than other New Yorkers served through employment programs. The de Blasio administration’s moves toward creating a coherent and coordinated workforce system, rather than a set of programs siloed by agencies, should help to enable this change—as should HRA’s new commitment to partner with other public actors.
1 New York City Office of Human Capital Development, “Following the Money: An Analysis of FY2013-FY2014 Funding for NYC Workforce Development and Adult Education,” Dec. 5, 2013.
2 HRA Biennial Employment Plan, Executive Summary: online at http://www.nyc.gov/html/hra/downloads/pdf/news/internet_articles/2014/oct_2014/EmploYPlan2014ExecSummaryAppendixfinal.pdf
3 Yoav Gonen, “De Blasio picks ex-thorn to run HRA,” New York Post, March 1, 2014. http://nypost.com/2014/03/01/blaz-picks-ex-thorn-to-run-hra/
4 Banks testimony to NY City Council, May 19, 2014.
5 The monthly average caseload in 2013 was 356,000, just 3 percent higher than the figure in 2009. The total that received assistance over the course of 2013, however, was 602,700. Of this number, 500,000 received recurring benefits.
6 For instance, HRA will now accept a federal waiver allowing un- or underemployed adults without dependents to access the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps), qualifying about 40,000 additional New Yorkers ages 18 to 49.
7 The Center for an Urban Future’s September 2014 report on workforce programs for youth and young adults, “Bridging the Disconnect,” strongly urged such a step.
“A New Day at HRA” is part of a series of commentaries about workforce development and human capital issues that was generously funded by the Altman Foundation.
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