Bill Text: NY A01352 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-09 - referred to governmental operations [A01352 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A01352-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1352

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     January 9, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced   by   M.  of  A.  TAPIA,  DE LOS SANTOS,  BURDICK,  SHIMSKY,
          BICHOTTE HERMELYN,  CRUZ,  TAYLOR,  DAVILA,  RAGA  --  read  once  and
          referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations

        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.
                                                                   LBD02592-01-5
        A. 1352                             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.