Attorney General sues NYCHA for
alleged lack of heat and hot water
BY GABE HERMAN
New York Attorney General Letitia
James has filed an amicus brief
expressing her support for a lawsuit
filed last year against the New York
City Housing Authority (NYCHA) for
allegedly leaving hundreds of thousands
of tenants without heat and hot
water during a recent winter.
The tenants’ class action lawsuit
was filed in 2018 in New York
County State Supreme Court. It
claims that NYCHA failed to meet
minimum standards of habitability
for hundreds of thousands of its
residents during the winter of 2017-
18, violating state law. The lawsuit
seeks damages and injunctive relief
regarding services for heat and hot
water.
NYCHA has claimed it is federally
preempted from the lawsuit, based on
a separate settlement it reached with
the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), which
addressed overlapping allegations.
That settlement included NYCHA
agreeing to make reforms under supervision
��������������������������������
��������������������������������
TIMESLEDGER | Q 26 NS.COM | DEC. 20-26, 2019
by a federal monitor.
This year, the New York County
State Supreme Court ruled in favor
of NYCHA regarding the lawsuit,
saying the settlement with HUD preempted
state-law claims. The tenants
in the lawsuit have appealed that
decision to the Appellate Division,
First Department, where AG James
filed the amicus brief.
“As New Yorkers suffered through
the cold winter, NYCHA sat by as
hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers
went without heat or hot water,”
said James after the brief was filed.
“The unfortunate truth is that no one
should be shocked that the New York
City Housing Authority sits atop the
city’s worst landlord list with nearly
175,000 complaints, but we should
all be appalled. Safe, habitable housing
should be a right for every New
Yorker, which is why I will continue
to fight to ensure NYCHA and every
landlord in New York lives up to that
standard.”
“The state’s regulation of housing
is a core exercise of its police power
to protect the ‘health and safety’ of
its residents,” James writes in the
amicus brief, “and thus an essential
element of its sovereign right to govern.”
The brief continues, “Federal
preemption in an area traditionally
occupied by the states encroaches on
the states’ prerogative to regulate
matters of local concern, including
ensuring the adequacy of housing for
low-income individuals.”
NYCHA did not immediately respond
to a request for comment.
NYCHA buildings. Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Jim Henderson
Call Now & End Your Tax Nightmare!
��������������������������������������
��������������������������������������
��������������������������������
��������������������������������������������������
������������������������������������������
Co-Author of the
best selling book
“Breaking the Tax Code”
Salvatore P. Candela, EA, ATA, ABA
Enrolled Agent - Tax Advisor
����������������������������������������������������������������
������������������������������������������������������
DONATE YOUR CAR
Wheels For Wishes
benefiting
Make-A-Wish®
Metro New York
* 100% Tax Deductible
* Free Vehicle Pickup ANYWHERE
* We Accept Most Vehicles Running or Not
* We Also Accept Boats, Motorcycles & RVs
WheelsForWishes.org
* Car Donation Foundation d/b/a Wheels For Wishes. To learn more about our programs or
Call:(917)336-1254
ORDER NOW! 1.866.749.2741������������������������������������
����������������������������������������������������
THE FAVORITE GIFT
����������������������������������������������
����������������������������������������������������������
������������������������������������������������������������
������������������������������������������������������������
����������������������������������������������������������������
����������������������������������������������������
��������������������������������������������
COMBO PRICE
$6999
+ 4 FREE BURGERS
����������������������������������������������
��������������������������������������������������������������
������������������������������������������������������������
��������������������������������������������������������������
/NS.COM
/WheelsForWishes.org
