Bleak House: Notice of Joint Public Hearing
THE ASSEMBLY
STATE OF NEW YORK
ALBANY
STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOUSING
STANDING COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT. ANALYSIS AND INVESTIGATION
NOTICE OF JOINT PUBLIC HEARING
Subject: The Division of Housing and Community Renewal's
(DHCR's) Administration of Rent Stabilization and Rent
Control.
Purpose: To examine DHCR's administration of the rent
stabilization and rent control systems.
Note: This hearing was originally scheduled for December 16,
1986. However, due to the Legislature having been
called for a Special Session, the hearing was
rescheduled.
NEW YORK CITY
Friday, March 6, 1987
10:00 A.M.
270 Broadway
State Office Building
11th Floor
Please see the reverse side for a list of subjects to which
witnesses may direct their testimony.
Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committees
at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed
reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply
form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be
notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.
Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes duration. In
preparing the order of witnesses, the Committees will attempt to
accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in
view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on
the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as
early as possible. In the absence of a request, witnesses will be
scheduled in the order in which they arrive.
The Committees, upon request, will be available privately to hear
or receive confidential testimony from witnesses who do not wish
to testify at the public hearing.
Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the
hearing registration desk. The Committees would appreciate
advance receipt of prepared statements.
In order to further publicize the hearing, please inform
interested parties and organizations of each Committee's interest
in hearing testimony from all sources.
ALEXANDER B. "PETE" GRANNIS
Member of Assembly, Chairman
Committee on Housing
RHODA S. JACOBS
Member of Assembly, Chairperson
Committee on Oversight, Analysis dc Investigation
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PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM
The DHCR's Administration of Rent Stabilization and Rent Control
Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on
DHCR's Administration of Rent Stabilization and Rent Control are
requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and
mail it to:
Tracy Racine
Legislative Assistant, Assembly Committee on Housing
State Capitol, Room 442, Albany, N.Y. 12248
(518)455-4305.
Please check the appropriate blank and return this form as soon
as possible prior to the scheduled hearing. Complete information
is essential so that persons may be notified in the event of
emergency postponement or cancellation.
[ ] I plan to attend the hearing on DHCR's Administration of
Rent Stabilization and Rent Control on March 6, 1987 in New
York City.
[ ] I plan to make a public statement at the hearing. My
statement will be limited to 10 minutes, and I will answer
any questions which may arise. I will provide 10 copies of
my prepared statement.
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NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOUSING
STANDING COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, ANALYSIS AND INVESTIGATION
PUBLIC HEARING ON DHCR'S ADMINISTRATION
OF RENT STABILIZATION AND RENT CONTROL
Questions to Which Witnesses May Direct Their Testimony:
1. DHCR inherited a backlog of rent overcharge and other cases
when it assumed administration of the rent regulation system
in April, 1984, and accumulated an additional backlog of
cases in the first months of its operation. What procedures
and policies has DHCR used in reducing this backlog?
2. How effective has the agency been in resolving tenant
complaints, including challenges to initial registrations,
fair market rent appeals, individual and building-wide
service complaints and complaints of landlord harassment?
What is the current resolution time for these complaints?
What could be done to improve the agency's performance in
handling these cases?
3. How effective has DHCR been in processing owner applications
for major capital improvements, hardships and other types of
owner claims? How long do these applications currently take
to process? How could DHCR process these cases faster and/or
more fairly?
4. How well has the rent registration process worked and how
could this operation be improved?
5. Are tenants and owners able to obtain accurate information
about the rules governing the rent regulation system and
their individual cases or applications from DHCR? How could
the agency improve its delivery of public information?
6. The Omnibus Housing Act of 1983 directed DHCR to establish a
Small Building Owners Assistance Unit to help small building
owners deal with the requirements of the rent stabilization
system. How well has this unit performed and how could its
functioning be improved?
7. The Legislature increased DHCR's rent administration budget
this year by $350,000 for the purpose of allowing DHCR to
hire additional attorneys and support personnel for the
enforcement bureau/harassment unit. How has DHCR utilized
these funds?
8. How successful has DHCR been in obtaining owner compliance
with DHCR orders? What could be done to improve compliance?
9. How well has the administrative review process worked in
resolving challenges to decisions of district rent
administrators? How could this process be improved? What has
the volume of administrative review petitions and Article 78
proceedings against final Commissioner's orders been
relative to the number of cases resolved by district rent
administrators?
10. Given the caseload handled by DHCR, is the agency properly
organized to meet its responsibilities? Could it be
organized in a more efficient way? Does DHCR receive
adequate funds to do its job properly? Is the agency able to
attract and retain high quality staff?