NYC Financing 600 Affordable Housing Units With $9.8 Million From Housing Violations

The settlement money comes from investigations led by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman into abuses of tax incentive programs, and the $9.8 million includes restitution paid out by owners who didn’t provide rent-regulated leases to their tenants.

“The Attorney General and the City are cracking down on bad actors, and we’re putting the proceeds to work, building more affordable housing,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement on Thursday. “Today, we’re announcing that hundreds of families in need will have a home they can afford. And our seniors, and people with mental health and substance abuse challenges, will have specialized housing with services to meet their needs.”

Investigations began in 2014, which uncovered housing malpractice, including violations of tax exemption and abatement programs, violations of tenant right laws, a failure to provide rent regulated leases and illegal deregulation of rent-stabilized units.

In addition to the restitution payment, the landlords were required to register their properties and give tenants properly regulated leases.

Half of the payment will go to four housing projects, with the rest to be allocated in coming months. More than 1,000 affordable apartments could be financed with the restitution payment, according to the statement.

The announcement comes in the wake of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s declaration that he would crack down on housing discrimination by sending “testers” to see whether landlords or property owners were not engaging in discriminatory practices.

“New York has always been, and must remain, a city for working people,” Schneiderman said in the statement. “For more than two years, my office has been investigating unscrupulous building owners who have been abusing the law to unfairly take millions in tax exemptions from programs intended to help everyday New Yorkers. Today, we turn the proceeds of those investigations into real housing relief for our communities. I am proud to stand with Mayor de Blasio to announce another important step toward our shared goal of all New Yorkers having a safe, affordable place to call home.”