The New York City Council advanced a wide-ranging legislative package this week, tackling issues from affordable housing and tenant rights to worker protections and environmental sustainability.
Supportive Housing for Vulnerable New Yorkers
One of the most high-profile measures was approval of the Just Home proposal, a collaboration between NYC Health + Hospitals and The Fortune Society. The project will create 83 new units on the Jacobi Hospital campus in the Bronx, including 58 permanent supportive studio apartments for formerly incarcerated people with chronic medical needs and 24 affordable units available through NYC Housing Connect.
Speaker Adrienne Adams praised the initiative, calling it “critical to public safety and confronting the housing crisis,” according to a press release. The project includes on-site social services and 24-hour staffing.
Strengthening Tenant Protections
Lawmakers also passed a bill from Council Member Sandy Nurse that expands the definition of tenant harassment to include unlawful evictions. The measure requires the city’s housing department to study whether a landlord’s history of illegal evictions should affect their ability to participate in housing programs.
“Illegal eviction is abuse, and our city’s definition of harassment must reflect that,” Nurse said.
Another bill from Council Member Julie Menin aims to boost participation in the city’s Senior Citizen and Disability Rent Increase Exemption programs by requiring proactive notifications to tenants, landlords, and designated third parties.
Expanding Worker and Community Support
The Council approved legislation expanding how workers can use earned safe and sick time, including for childcare, caregiving, or responding to public disasters. It also mandated greater transparency in afterschool programs, requiring annual reporting on enrollment and demographics.
Council Member Kevin Riley, who sponsored the afterschool reporting bill, said it would ensure families “have clear, accessible information about the programs available to them.”
Climate and Sustainability Measures
In recognition of Climate Week, Council Members advanced three bills strengthening environmental planning. The legislation requires long-term sustainability plans to incorporate input from the Environmental Justice Advisory Board, integrates energy and climate adaptation planning into PlaNYC, and increases penalties for stormwater pollution violations.
Council Member James Gennaro said the measures move New York closer to “a healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable future.”
News shared via NYC Newswire
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