Committee on Housing and Buildings meeting
March 9, 2026, 10:15 AM
The committee held an oversight hearing on preserving affordable housing in distress and the city's Third-Party Transfer program. It also heard Int 0657-2026, a bill that would amend the third-party transfer program rules.
What was discussed
- Chair Sanchez frames the Safer Homes Act and the history of in rem foreclosure Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez, Chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings, opened the oversight hearing by tracing the city's power of in rem foreclosure to the 1970s fiscal crisis and disinvestment, and introduced Intro 657, the Safer Homes Act, as an overhaul of the Third-Party Transfer
- HPD and sister agencies present the proposed TPT reforms A panel led by HPD Chief of Staff Rosa Kelly, with Deputy Commissioners Lucy Joffe and AnnMarie Santiago and Associate Commissioner Kerry LaBotz—joined by the Department of Finance and DEP—testified on the proposed 'balanced model,' which would replace the statutory-distress test with a 'critical
- How does the 'critical eligible' model differ from current law and the bill? Chair Sanchez asked HPD to contrast the new 'critical eligible' standard with the statutory-distress model on the books and with the Council's bill. Deputy Commissioner Joffe said the reform uses a two-step process that prioritizes larger buildings in both financial and physical distress, and Kelly
- Which buildings should be exempt, and what about the 'missing middle'? Chair Sanchez questioned HPD on the bill's exemptions and on buildings pulled from the tax lien sale but not selected for TPT. HPD said it would exempt owner-occupied homes qualifying for STAR, senior, disability, and veteran exemptions, and proposed matching the lien sale's distress definition to
- Can Council Members and tenants flag priority buildings for the program? Council Member Harvey D. Epstein pressed HPD to let Council Members and community organizations flag distressed buildings as priorities and to treat a history of tenant harassment as a factor. HPD's Rosa Kelly said TPT is first a tax-enforcement program with objective criteria and that flagged
- What guarantees that tenants actually reach cooperative ownership? Council Member Epstein repeatedly pressed HPD on whether tenants who meet all requirements are guaranteed ownership rather than being left with a third party that can stall for years. HPD's Kerry LaBotz and Lucy Joffe said the bill lets HDFC co-ops reconstitute and rental tenants petition in, with
- How will the program protect Black and brown homeowners and tenants in Harlem? Council Member Yusef Salaam pressed on inadequate notice to longtime Harlem homeowners and on protections after transfer. DOF's Annette Hill described expanded multilingual outreach (66 events with Council Members and agency partners), and HPD's Lucy Joffe and Kerry LaBotz said income-qualified
- Should the bill create an ombudsperson, and how will surplus equity work? Chair Sanchez asked about the bill's proposed ombudsperson and the new surplus-equity provision. HPD recommended an agency-liaison model (one per agency) over a single ombudsperson, and Kerry LaBotz said the statute must comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling barring the government from keeping
- Why are HDFC co-ops overrepresented in TPT, and how should they be treated? Chair Sanchez and Council Member Epstein pressed on the disproportionate inclusion of HDFC co-ops—roughly 20% co-ops and 10% rentals of a modeled top-500 worst buildings, with 83 HDFC co-ops transferred in Round 10. HPD said the new criteria, earlier notices, standardized payment plans, Article 11
- How do transfers, reversals, and Neighborhood Restore work? Chair Sanchez asked about Neighborhood Restore as interim owner, transfer reversals, and the In Rem Foreclosure Release Board. HPD's Kerry LaBotz said Neighborhood Restore stabilizes buildings after foreclosure under a per-round 'seed loan agreement,' that reversals have occurred in limited
- How good is the city's contact information for reaching property owners and tenants? Chair Sanchez pressed DOF, HPD, and DEP on outreach data. DOF's Annette Hill said the department has only about 55,000 emails and 45,000 cell numbers across roughly a million properties because contact info is opt-in and some notices must go by mail under state law; HPD's AnnMarie Santiago said
- What is the status of Round 10, and what happens to vacant buildings? Chair Sanchez asked for a Round 10 update and HPD's plan for vacant properties. Kerry LaBotz said 64 properties were transferred to Neighborhood Restore, 43 then to third parties (16 with completed construction), and 21 remain with Neighborhood Restore (6 vacant lots, 15 buildings). On vacant
- Housing advocates and providers back the Safer Homes Act Advocacy and housing groups testified in support, including Oksana Mironova (Community Service Society), Russell Crane and Robert Desir (Legal Aid Society, citing the 2201 Davidson Avenue building), Lacey Tauber for Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Sonali Govind (ANHD), Melanie Salazar
- Community land trust advocates push to include vacant lots and guarantee tenant ownership Will Spisak (New Economy Project, for NYCCLI), Jakub Schneider (East New York Community Land Trust), and Sal D'Avola (Neighborhood Restore) testified on strengthening the bill, urging that vacant lots be included to curb speculation, that community land trusts be prioritized to guarantee tenant
- Bronx tenants describe years of distress at 2201 Davidson and 2051 Webster Tenants and organizers from Our Bronx (formerly Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition)—including Edward Garcia, Todd Baker, Larmela Garcia, Juan Carlos Lara (via interpreter), and Angelette Woring, a 57-year resident of 2051 Webster Avenue—described over a decade of hazardous conditions
- Critics warn of weak oversight of TPT sponsors and homeowner harm Critics urged stronger accountability: Theo Chino, a TPT-building resident facing eviction by sponsor UHAB, alleged corruption among third-party sponsors and called for DOI oversight; Paula Segal (Abolish the Tax Lien Sale Coalition / TakeRoot Justice) cited a tenant project that stalled for years
Agenda
2 items
- T2026-1213 Oversight - Preserving Affordable Housing in Distress and the Third-Party Transfer Program. Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0657-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the third party transfer program, and to repeal sections 11-425, 11-426, and 11-427 of such code, relating to agreements for payment of delinquent taxes and charges in installments Hearing Held by Committee