Council Member Jumaane D. Williams gambit to get the de Blasio Administration to quit dragging its feet on a proposed measure that would up the minimum temperature that landlords have to provide residents in overnight heat drew its own spirited fire at a rally on the steps of City Hall Monday.
The proposed bill, Intro 0722 amends the minimum temperature to be maintained in residential dwellings overnight. The bill would also remove the outside day time and nighttime temperature trigger, which normally prompt when inside heating should kick in.
Currently that threshold for landlords to turn on the heat is when it’s 40 degrees outside and inside landlords are allowed to keep the temperature 55 degrees through the night. The proposed bill would raise the inside temperature to 62 degrees (up from 55) between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Additionally, the outside temperature trigger of 40 degrees would be removed, thus allowing for a minimum temperature of 62 degrees at all times, regardless of outside temperature.
The rub is for the measure to move forward the de Blasio Administration must conduct an environmental impact study. The City Council has been waiting for this review since March 2016, and to date the City has not given an expected start date.
“We’ve spent nine months trying to get information on when the environmental study will start and that’s unacceptable. I’m appreciative that the Administration has verbally committed to this study, however, words without action mean nothing,” said Williams. “Most people don’t realize how cold it has to be outside to legally be able to get heat. There are a lot of seniors and young people who cannot deal with 55 Degrees. It’s very confusing for tenants who think they’re supposed to receive additional heat.”
Joining Williams at the rally were Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Manhattan State Sen. Bill Perkins, the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, Housing and Family Services of Greater New York, and impacted New Yorkers from Midwood Senior Center.
And Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams provided vocal support in a statement, while also noting there is new sensor technology that could monitor the behavior of bad-acting landlords.
“Adequate heat is a matter of health and safety that poses daily risks to thousands of New York City’s tenants. Our City must be committed to doing all it can to ensure apartments are sufficiently warm for our children and families, including studying an increase in minimum temperatures during the heating season as well as exploring innovative sensor technology to monitor the behavior of bad-acting landlords,” said Adams. “I applaud Council Member Williams’ continuing commitment to the welfare of our city’s tenant population.”
“It’s important that seniors have the right temperature because they are the one’s suffering, and it leads to other kinds of health issues,” said Vice President of Midwood Senior Center Lenox Hudson. “No one should have to live like this, and so it is my hope that this bill gets passed as soon as possible.”
“I fear for long-term tenants, who have been here for many years,” said Patricia George, Tenant Leader for Flatbush Tenants Coalition. “There is no reason why we should have to complain about getting adequate heat, it should be our right.”.
There have been more than 65,000 heat complaints already for this current number heat season, which runs from October 1 to May 31. Owners who fail to maintain heat at the current 55 Degrees overnight are subject to civil penalties ranging from $250 – $1,000 per day for heat violations.
