Public Advocate Unveils New Regulations to Crack Down on ‘Worst Landlords’

Public Advocate Letitia James announced yesterday she would introduce two bills that would expand the city’s power to penalize property owners with outstanding code violations—and expand the power of her own office and its annual “Worst Landlords List.”

Speaking inside the David Dinkins Municipal Building, Ms. James rolled out the “No Eviction by Construction Act” and the “Nuisance Abatement Act.” The first bill would prevent residential building owners on the Worst Landlord List—a database that Mayor Bill de Blasio launched during his first year as public advocate in 2010—from obtaining any work permit from the city except for fixing the violations that landed them on the list.