Rpld §110 subs (f) - (i), amd §110, NYC Civ Ct Act; amd §6-168, El L; amd §25, Judy L
Restructures the selection process for judges of the housing part of the civil court of the city of New York; relates to designating petitions for candidates for the office of judge of the housing part of the civil court of the city of New York; makes conforming changes; abolishes the advisory council for the housing part of the civil court of the city of New York; repeals provisions relating to the selection and appointment of housing court judges.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7163
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the New York city civil court act, in relation to
restructuring the selection process for judges of the housing part of
the civil court of the city of New York; to amend the election law, in
relation to designating petitions for candidates for the office of
judge of the housing part of the civil court of the city of New York;
to amend the judiciary law, in relation to making conforming changes;
to abolish the advisory council for the housing part of the civil
court of the city of New York; and to repeal subdivisions (f), (g),
(h) and (i) of section 110 of the New York city civil court act relat-
ing to the selection and appointment of housing court judges
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds the following:
2 a. The serious issues relating to many residents of the city of New
3 York remaining in their homes and the maintenance of minimum habitable
4 conditions in their residential buildings remain some of the most urgent
5 and important that have to be addressed by all interested groups includ-
6 ing the tenants, the property owners and operators, the state and city
7 of New York.
8 b. The housing part of the civil court of the city of New York was
9 originally established to enhance the administration of the various
10 laws, rules and regulations governing housing in New York city and
11 provide a fair and independent forum to resolve disputes between the
12 interested and often competing groups. It has not fulfilled all of the
13 expectations of its creators.
14 c. Section 110 of the New York city civil court act, particularly
15 subdivision (f), has created a convoluted, opaque and potentially unrep-
16 resentative method to select the officers currently presiding in the
17 housing part of the civil court of the city of New York. It is a method
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11058-01-5
A. 7163 2
1 that is not utilized to elect or appoint any other judge or justice of
2 any New York state court of record within the city of New York. The
3 current process, as previously enacted by the legislature, vests that
4 authority in the office of court administration and not in the voters of
5 the city or their elected representatives.
6 d. In order to ensure that all the litigants in this important forum
7 can obtain a satisfactory and legally compliant resolution in a judicial
8 proceeding, it is essential to provide that the arbiter of these
9 disputes is selected in a manner that provides them with the stature,
10 authority and respect that will promote justice, enhance diversity and
11 inspire greater public confidence. The legislature proposes the enact-
12 ment of a statutory framework creating a new structure that would elect
13 51 housing judges in the same manner as a judge of the civil court of
14 the city of New York.
15 § 2. Subdivisions (f), (g), (h) and (i) of section 110 of the New York
16 city civil court act are REPEALED.
17 § 3. Subdivision (e) of section 110 of the New York city civil court
18 act, as amended by chapter 528 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read
19 as follows:
20 (e) Actions and proceedings before the housing part shall be tried
21 before [civil court judges, acting civil court judges, or] housing judg-
22 es. Housing judges shall be [appointed] elected pursuant to subdivision
23 (f) of this section and shall be duly constituted judicial officers,
24 empowered to hear, determine and grant any relief within the powers of
25 the housing part in any action or proceeding except those to be tried by
26 jury. Such housing judges shall have the power of judges of the court to
27 punish for contempts. Rules of evidence shall be applicable in actions
28 and proceedings before the housing part. The determination of a housing
29 judge shall be final and shall be entered and may be appealed in the
30 same manner as a judgment of the court; provided that the assignment of
31 actions and proceedings to housing judges, the conduct of the trial and
32 the contents and filing of a housing judge's decision, and all matters
33 incidental to the operation of the housing part, shall be in accordance
34 with rules jointly promulgated by the first and second departments of
35 the appellate division for such part.
36 § 4. Section 110 of the New York city civil court act is amended by
37 adding four new subdivisions (f), (g), (h) and (i) to read as follows:
38 (f) (1) The housing part of the civil court of the city of New York
39 shall consist of fifty-one judges. One housing judge shall be elected in
40 each of the fifty-one council districts by the voters of that council
41 district at a general election. Elections shall be subject to the
42 provisions of the election law relating to elections for any office to
43 be filled in the city of New York by the voters of a city council
44 district. Each housing judge must be a resident of the council district
45 in which they are running for election on the date of the general
46 election. No person may serve in the office of judge of this court after
47 the effective date of this section unless such person has been admitted
48 to practice law in this state and in active practice in this state for
49 at least ten years as of the date they commence the duties of office.
50 The annual salary of a housing judge shall be one hundred fifteen thou-
51 sand four hundred dollars.
52 (2) The terms of all housing judges appointed prior to the effective
53 date of this section shall expire on December thirty-first of the year
54 in which the first general election is conducted to elect housing judges
55 as provided in paragraph one of this subdivision; provided, however,
56 that in the event that the office of a judge of the housing part of the
A. 7163 3
1 civil court of the city of New York is not filled in a council district
2 at the first general election after the effective date of this subdivi-
3 sion, the housing judge currently serving in such district shall contin-
4 ue in the position until their successor is duly elected and sworn to
5 the position. Thereafter, a vacancy occurring otherwise than by the
6 expiration of term in the office of a judge of the housing part of the
7 civil court of the city of New York shall be filled by the mayor of the
8 city of New York by an appointment which shall continue until and
9 including the last day of December next after the election at which the
10 vacancy shall be filled.
11 (3) A housing judge shall be eligible for re-election and may serve
12 until the expiration of their term or the end of the calendar year in
13 which the judge turns seventy years of age pursuant to section twenty-
14 three of the judiciary law, whichever date is earlier.
15 (g) Each housing judge may appoint a court attorney to serve at their
16 pleasure. Such attorneys shall be appointed in the same manner as a
17 court attorney appointed by a judge of the civil court.
18 (h) Housing judges shall be subject to the same rules of conduct as
19 other judges of courts of record and subject to the disciplinary powers
20 of the state commission on judicial conduct established pursuant to
21 article two-A of the judiciary law.
22 (i) Housing judges are prohibited from being assigned to any other
23 part or court of the unified court system.
24 § 5. Section 6-168 of the election law is amended by adding a new
25 subdivision 5 to read as follows:
26 5. The provisions of this section shall apply to the election of judg-
27 es of the housing part of the civil court of the city of New York.
28 § 6. The section heading and subdivision 1 of section 25 of the judi-
29 ciary law, as amended by chapter 261 of the laws of 1989, are amended to
30 read as follows:
31 Retirement of state-paid full-time judges or justices of the unified
32 court system and housing judges [appointed] elected pursuant to subdivi-
33 sion (f) of section one hundred ten of the New York city civil court act
34 for disability. 1. A state-paid full-time judge or justice of the
35 unified court system or housing judge [appointed] elected pursuant to
36 subdivision (f) of section one hundred ten of the New York city civil
37 court act may apply for the special disability allowance provided for in
38 this section by filing with the appellate division of the supreme court
39 in which [he] such judge or justice resides (a) [his] a petition, duly
40 verified, stating that for reasons specified [he], the judge or justice
41 is incapacitated to perform the duties of [his] the office; and (b)
42 [his] such judge's or justice's resignation. If the appellate division
43 shall determine that such judge or justice is incapacitated, it may make
44 and enter an order retiring such judge or justice from office. Upon the
45 filing in the office of court administration of a certified copy of such
46 order and such resignation, the office of such judge or justice shall be
47 vacant.
48 § 7. The advisory council for the housing part of the civil court of
49 the city of New York is abolished.
50 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
51 election of judges of the housing part of the civil court of the city of
52 New York on and after January 1, 2025.
