Tenants’ Rights Advocates Cheer NYCHA’s Addition to Public Portal for Reporting Housing Code Violations

New York Legal Assistance Group secures increased transparency for NYCHA residents with NYC Dept of Housing Preservation & Development's court-ordered compliance with legally mandated NYCHA housing code violation reporting

NEW YORK - New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) properties are now actively listed on the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) online portal for reporting housing code violations, thanks to the tireless advocacy of attorneys in New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)'s Special Litigation and Tenants' Rights units. In June, NYLAG attorneys secured court approval of a landmark settlement requiring HPD to comply with legally mandated NYCHA housing code violation reporting. Going forward, NYCHA residents will be able to search online for housing code violations reported in their homes and communities in the same way that tenants in private housing can.

In 2024, NYLAG filed Gracia v. Carrión on behalf of NYCHA tenants who demanded that HPD comply with a state law requiring HPD to publish housing code violations issued in NYCHA buildings. The three NYCHA tenants represented by NYLAG sought increased transparency and accountability from HPD and asked the court to force HPD to fulfill its obligations to report the housing code violations online. The lawsuit alleged that HPD had violated the law by withholding critical information from tenants and communities-failures that specifically harmed New York City's public housing residents. See full settlement agreement.

"This is a major victory for NYCHA residents in the fight for housing justice," said Danielle Tarantolo, Director of NYLAG's Special Litigation Unit. "Thanks to our team's advocacy, for the first time, over half a million New Yorkers living in NYCHA housing can look up crucial information about their homes in the same way that private housing tenants have for years. This transparency will empower NYCHA residents to better understand their apartment conditions and advocate for themselves and their communities."

Sophia Fenn, a Skadden Fellow and Staff Attorney for the Public Housing Justice Project in NYLAG's Tenants' Rights Unit, whose project is focused on habitability issues in NYCHA and Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) developments, said, "The ability to track longstanding, persistent housing code violations, such as leaks, mold and pest infestations, will allow us to call the court's attention to systemic failures. We can now present clear, documented evidence to support our clients in their court cases."

For example, Stewart Gracia, a plaintiff in the case, experienced a bedroom ceiling leak, chronic roach infestation, lack of heat, mold and hot water outages. But because HPD did not publish information about violations in his and his neighbors' apartments, he could not investigate violations in the building before he moved in, could not determine whether there were open housing code violations in his building for the same or similar housing conditions, and could not search the HPD website for open housing code violations to use as evidence in his Housing Court case.

The settlement also provides for other important relief. HPD must take a series of steps to inform NYCHA residents that this information will now be available, including by creating written materials that HPD inspectors can give to NYCHA residents during inspections to inform them that violations will be made publicly available online, and by coordinating with the NYC Housing Court and NYCHA to advise tenants in other ways about the new transparency measures. 

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