Establishes a private right of action for tenants alleging a failure to keep and maintain self-closing doors; allows for a court to award compensatory damages, reasonable attorney's fees and court costs and issue an order to the owner of the building to remedy any issue with such doors.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1911
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 17, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and
Community Development
AN ACT to amend the executive law and the administrative code of the
city of New York, in relation to establishing a private right of
action for tenants alleging a failure to keep and maintain self-clos-
ing doors
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 382 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 5 to read as follows:
3 5. a. A lawful occupant of a dwelling unit or a group of such occu-
4 pants in a building may bring an action alleging a violation of the
5 uniform code for failure to keep and maintain self-closing doors in any
6 court of competent jurisdiction. If such court finds that an owner of
7 such building is in violation of such uniform code, such court shall, in
8 addition to any other relief such court determines to be appropriate:
9 i. award to each such occupant (A) compensatory damages and, in such
10 court's discretion, punitive damages or (B) at the election of each
11 occupant, damages of one thousand dollars;
12 ii. award to such occupants reasonable attorneys' fees and court
13 costs; and
14 iii. issue an order to such owner to remedy the conditions related to
15 such self-closing doors.
16 b. Such occupant or occupants shall not be relieved of the obligation
17 to pay rent for which such occupant or occupants are otherwise liable to
18 an owner. Any monetary relief awarded to such occupant or occupants
19 pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision shall be reduced by any
20 amount of delinquent rent or other sum for which such court finds such
21 occupant or occupants to be liable to such owner.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06119-01-3
S. 1911 2
1 c. This subdivision does not limit or abrogate any claim or cause of
2 action a person has under common law or by other law or rule. The
3 provisions of this subdivision are in addition to any other remedies
4 that may be provided for under common law or by other law or rule.
5 d. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be construed as creat-
6 ing any private right of action against a local government or any agency
7 or employee thereof.
8 § 2. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by
9 adding a new section 27-2114-a to read as follows:
10 § 27-2114-a Private right of action. a. A lawful occupant of a dwell-
11 ing unit or a group of such occupants in a building may bring an action
12 alleging a violation of this code for failure to keep and maintain self-
13 closing doors in any court of competent jurisdiction. If such court
14 finds that an owner of such building is in violation of such code, such
15 court shall, in addition to any other relief such court determines to be
16 appropriate:
17 1. award to each such occupant (i) compensatory damages and, in such
18 court's discretion, punitive damages or (ii) at the election of each
19 occupant, damages of one thousand dollars;
20 2. award to such occupants reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs;
21 and
22 3. issue an order to such owner to remedy the conditions related to
23 such self-closing doors.
24 b. Such occupant or occupants shall not be relieved of the obligation
25 to pay rent for which such occupant or occupants are otherwise liable to
26 an owner. Any monetary relief awarded to such occupant or occupants
27 pursuant to subdivision a of this section shall be reduced by any amount
28 of delinquent rent or other sum for which such court finds such occupant
29 or occupants to be liable to such owner.
30 c. This section does not limit or abrogate any claim or cause of
31 action a person has under common law or by other law or rule. The
32 provisions of this section are in addition to any other remedies that
33 may be provided for under common law or by other law or rule.
34 d. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as creating
35 any private right of action against the city or any agency or employee
36 thereof.
37 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
38 have become a law.
