Other states and cities intervene to prevent evictions from moving forward. Some housing groups want New York to follow suit.
In Philadelphia, landlords can apply for an eviction diversion program aimed at helping mediate with tenants, provide rental assistance and reach a solution without moving forward with an eviction. The program, which started out as a pilot, was made permanent two years ago.
The idea behind such programs is to find solutions before eviction cases get snarled in housing court backlogs. Versions of this concept have been floated in New York over the past few years by the landlord group Community Housing Improvement Program (now known as the New York Apartment Association) and more recently by the New York Housing Conference.
The New York Housing Conference pitched creating an Affordable Housing Stability Court to intervene in eviction cases involving tenants living in affordable housing with a state or city regulatory agreement. (CHIP’s proposal didn’t limit eligibility in this way.) Cases would be adjourned for 45-days, during which time dedicated staff would help create payment plans, connect tenants with emergency assistance and provide services to address issues affecting housing stability.
The city’s Human Resources Administration launched a similar pilot program in Brooklyn in 2023. The agency met with individuals at the courthouse during the 45-day adjournment to help tenants apply for emergency cash “one-shot deals,” rental assistance and other aid. A report by the city Comptroller last year noted that the program needed more coordination and outreach to minimize tenant confusion around the pilot.
NYHC is calling on lawmakers to include $17 million in the state budget, of which $800,000 would pay for seven staffers to work with tenants. Funded at this level, the program, according to the group, could divert half of the 43,000 affordable housing eviction filings (as recorded in 2024 — of those, only 5 percent of evictions were executed). Gov. Kathy Hochul didn’t include this proposal in her executive budget, but it could be part of the one-house budget resolutions. We’ll see next week!
As noted in a recent NYHC report, the median amount of rent arrears sought at the start of affordable housing eviction cases is $4,587, but that amount grows as cases drag on. Early intervention could help those arrears from ballooning and save the city in “one-shot deals” per household, according to the report. In an interview, NYHC Executive Director Rachel Fee noted that improving rent collections in affordable housing is also critical in terms of underwriting the mayor’s housing agenda.
This diversionary program would be different from other types of specialty courts, which largely target criminal matters related to drug abuse or mental health issues, or that only pertain to nonviolent crimes committed by specific populations, such as veterans. But at least two issues that have affected the efficacy of those programs — how narrowly they are tailored and if the services they provide help people extricate themselves from a cycle that could lead right back to court — should be kept in mind when fashioning this one.
What we’re thinking about: Do you think the state budget will be passed on time? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: OK, do I see Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia sharing a third-floor walkup in Prospect Park? No. But do I think New York needs to rethink how it’s marketing single-room occupancy reform to specifically cater to my taste in television? Yes.
In Connecticut, state lawmakers are considering what is being called the “Golden Girls” bill, which would legalize long-term rentals of single rooms in single-family homes. Pennsylvania lawmakers used the same term earlier this year to describe its version of a similar bill introduced in January (as, coincidentally, reported by one of my former journalism professors). It seems Ontario was way ahead of the game with a bill of that name proposed in 2019.
If you somehow haven’t seen the show, the connection is that these measures would make it easier for unrelated people to live together — as did the four women in “Golden Girls.” These bills are framed as a way to address housing needs, especially among seniors. And who among us doesn’t have a plan in their back pocket to rent out a house with their best friends once they’re all widowed, trading sassy barbs in the kitchen while also providing much-needed moral support when it counts?
Elsewhere in New York…
— Democratic state lawmakers plan to pitch increases on wealthy New Yorkers as part of their respective one-house budget resolutions, Politico New York reports. The proposals, which are non-binding but lay the groundwork for budget negotiations with the governor, follow Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for increases to help close a $5.3 billion budget gap.
— The City Council’s Committee on Rules, Privileges, Elections, Standards and Ethics has charged Council member Vickie Paladino with “engaging in disorderly behavior” and violating the Council’s anti-harassment and discrimination policy for making Islamophobic comments on social media, Gothamist reports. Paladino called the charges an “unconstitutional scheme to violate my First Amendment rights.”
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Wednesday was $21.4 million for a 3,768-square-foot condominium unit at 250 West Street in Tribeca. The unit last traded for $10.5 million in 2013.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $29.7 million for a 27,454-square-foot vacant lot at 261 Walton Avenue in Mott Haven. Zeta Charter Schools plans to develop its 12th school on the lot.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $16 million for a nine-room co-op at 262 Central Park West on the Upper West Side. Lisa Lippman and Scott Moore with Brown Harris Stevens have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 53,986-square-foot, 45-unit mixed-use project at 392 Leonard Street in Williamsburg. Thomas Scibilia with NA Design Studio filed the permit on behalf of Bruklyn Builders.
— Matthew Elo
