S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                   5141
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 11, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction  and
   Community Development
 
 AN  ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the
   emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in  relation
   to the establishment of rent boards

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision a of section 26-510 of the administrative  code
 of the city of New York is amended to read as follows:
   a.  There shall be a rent guidelines board to consist of nine members,
 appointed by the mayor UPON THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE CITY  COUNCIL.
 Two  members  shall be representative of tenants, two shall be represen-
 tative of owners of property, and five shall be public members [each  of
 whom].  EACH  OF  THE  PUBLIC MEMBERS shall have had at least five years
 experience in [either] PUBLIC SERVICE, SOCIAL SERVICES, URBAN  PLANNING,
 SOCIAL  SCIENCES, finance, economics or housing. One public member shall
 be designated by the mayor UPON THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE CITY COUN-
 CIL to serve as [chairman] CHAIR and shall hold no other public  office.
 No  member,  officer or employee of any municipal rent regulation agency
 or the state division of housing and community renewal and no person who
 owns or manages real estate covered by this law  or  who  [is]  RECEIVES
 COMPENSATION  AS  an  officer  of any owner or tenant organization shall
 serve on a rent guidelines board. One public member, one  member  repre-
 sentative of tenants and one member representative of owners shall serve
 for  a term ending two years from January first next succeeding the date
 of their appointment; one public member, one  member  representative  of
 tenants  and  one  member representative of owners shall serve for terms
 ending three years from the January first next succeeding  the  date  of
 their  appointment  and  two public members shall serve for terms ending
 four years from  January  first  next  succeeding  the  dates  of  their
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02335-01-9

 S. 5141                             2
 
 appointment.  [The  chairman  shall serve at the pleasure of the mayor.]
 Thereafter, all members shall continue in office until their  successors
 have been appointed and qualified. The mayor UPON THE ADVICE AND CONSENT
 OF  THE CITY COUNCIL shall fill any vacancy which may occur by reason of
 death,  resignation  or  otherwise  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the
 [original  appointment]  PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION. A member may be
 removed by the mayor OR CITY COUNCIL  for  cause,  but  not  without  an
 opportunity  to be heard in person or by counsel, in his or her defense,
 upon not less than ten days notice. A SUCCESSOR TO SUCH MEMBER SHALL  BE
 APPOINTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION TO SERVE
 THE BALANCE OF THE TERM OF THE MEMBER WHO WAS REMOVED.
   §  2.  Subdivision  a  of section 4 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the
 laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of  nine-
 teen  seventy-four,  as  amended  by chapter 349 of the laws of 1979, is
 amended to read as follows:
   a. In each county wherein any city having a population  of  less  than
 one  million  or  any town or village has determined the existence of an
 emergency pursuant to section three of this act, there shall be  created
 a  rent  guidelines  board  to  consist of nine members appointed by the
 commissioner of housing and community renewal upon recommendation of the
 county legislature which recommendation shall be made within thirty days
 after the first local declaration of an emergency in  such  county;  two
 such  members shall be representative of tenants, two shall be represen-
 tative of owners of property, and five shall be public members [each  of
 whom].  EACH  OF  THE  PUBLIC MEMBERS shall have had at least five years
 experience in [either] PUBLIC SERVICE, SOCIAL SERVICES, URBAN  PLANNING,
 SOCIAL  SCIENCES, finance, economics or housing. One public member shall
 be designated by the commissioner to serve as [chairman] CHAIR and shall
 hold no other public office. No  member,  officer  or  employee  of  any
 municipal  rent  regulation  agency or the state division of housing and
 community renewal and no person who owns or manages real estate  covered
 by  this  law  or  who is an officer of any owner or tenant organization
 shall serve on a rent guidelines board. One public  member,  one  member
 representative  of tenants and one member representative of owners shall
 serve for a term ending two years from January first next succeeding the
 date of their appointment; one public member, one member  representative
 of tenants and one member representative of owners shall serve for terms
 ending  three  years  from the January first next succeeding the date of
 their appointment and three public members shall serve for terms  ending
 four  years  from  January  first  next  succeeding  the  dates of their
 appointment.   Thereafter, all members shall serve  for  terms  of  four
 years  each.    Members  shall continue in office until their successors
 have been appointed and  qualified.  The  commissioner  shall  fill  any
 vacancy  which may occur by reason of death, resignation or otherwise in
 a manner consistent with the [original appointment] PROVISIONS  OF  THIS
 SUBDIVISION.  A member may be removed by the commissioner for cause, but
 not without an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel,  in  his
 defense,  upon not less than ten days notice. A SUCCESSOR TO SUCH MEMBER
 SHALL BE APPOINTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION
 TO SERVE THE BALANCE OF THE TERM OF THE MEMBER WHO WAS REMOVED.  Compen-
 sation  for the members of the board shall be at the rate of one hundred
 dollars per day, for no more than twenty days a year,  except  that  the
 [chairman]  CHAIR  shall be compensated at the rate of one hundred twen-
 ty-five dollars a day for no more than thirty days  a  year.  The  board
 shall be provided staff assistance by the division of housing and commu-
 nity  renewal.  The  compensation of such members and the costs of staff

 S. 5141                             3
 
 assistance shall be paid  by  the  division  of  housing  and  community
 renewal  which  shall  be reimbursed in the manner prescribed in section
 four of this act. The local legislative body of each city having a popu-
 lation  of  less  than one million and each town and village in which an
 emergency has been determined to  exist  as  herein  provided  shall  be
 authorized  to  designate  one  person  who  shall  be representative of
 tenants and one person who shall be representative of owners of property
 to serve at its pleasure and without compensation to advise  and  assist
 the  county rent guidelines board in matters affecting the adjustment of
 rents for housing accommodations in such city, town or  village  as  the
 case may be.
   §  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law; provided that:
   (a) the amendments to section 26-510 of the rent stabilization law  of
 nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section one of this act shall expire
 on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration
 of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law;
   (b) the amendments to section 4 of the emergency tenant protection act
 of nineteen seventy-four made by section two of this act shall expire on
 the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
 such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974;
   (c)  the  rent  boards  as reconstituted pursuant to this act shall be
 appointed and confirmed within forty-five days after the effective  date
 of this act; and
   (d) upon the appointment of a rent board pursuant to the provisions of
 this  act,  any  existing  predecessor rent board shall be dissolved and
 such predecessor rent board shall have no further authority.