For the first time, New York City public housing residents can see housing code violations for their buildings online. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development began posting violations at NYCHA buildings on an online public portal this week and via NYC Open Data, following a June legal settlement. The records include more than 500 violations documented through court-ordered inspections since September 15. Housing advocates are hailing the portal for providing the same access to information long available to private tenants, just a week after a partial collapse at a Mott Haven NYCHA building.
“Transparency is one of the most important tools we have for building trust. Advocates and legislators have long called for this change, and we are proud to deliver it,” Acting HPD Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said.
“By working with our partners at NYCHA to make court-ordered violations publicly available on HPD Online, we’re giving NYCHA residents a clearer view into the work being done to keep their homes safe and well-maintained.”
NYCHA residents can request HPD inspections through housing court, or a judge may order them. In either case, HPD’s Office of Enforcement and Neighborhood Services conducts the inspections, documents any housing code violations, and ensures the court enforces them with appropriate orders and penalties.
During the inspection, HPD staff visit apartments, with tenants required to be present and willing to provide access to their units. Using HPD’s upgraded Real Time Field Force Mobile App, inspectors can now document violations in real time, as they do for private properties.
Tenants will receive written notice during inspections explaining that identified violations will appear on HPD Online and NYC Open Data. Residents can search by building address to see details, including apartment number, violation class, date reported, and a description of the issue.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed last year by the New York Legal Assistance Group (LAG) on behalf of NYCHA tenants at the Jacob Riis Houses in lower Manhattan. These residents, who moved in over five years ago, reported issues including bedroom ceiling leaks, chronic roach infestations, lack of heat, mold, and hot water outages, according to City Limits.
In a press release, NYLAG highlighted the experience of tenant Stewart Garcia, noting that if he had been able to access property records beforehand, he could have avoided his disastrous experience at the building.
“Because HPD did not publish information about violations in his and his neighbors’ apartments, he could not investigate violations in the building before he moved in, could not determine whether there were open housing code violations in his building for the same or similar housing conditions, and could not search the HPD website for open housing code violations to use as evidence in his Housing Court case,” the organization said.
The portal launched a week after a partial collapse at a Bronx NYCHA high-rise. Officials told City Limits that an explosion in a chimney at the Mitchel Houses in Mott Haven caused the incident.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported, but the event has renewed attention on chronic issues across the NYCHA system, which faces an estimated $78 billion in repairs across its roughly 2,500 buildings.
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