Int. No.
By Council Members Sanchez, Louis, Feliz, Hudson, Gutiérrez, Farías, Narcisse, Nurse, Krishnan, Cabán, Bottcher, Schulman, Restler, Hanif and Brooks-Powers
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the department of housing preservation and development to create an in-person housing portal assistance program
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 18 of title 26 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 26-1804 to read as follows:
§ 26-1804 Housing portal assistance program. a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Community center. The term “community center” means a facility operated by a community-based organization through an agreement with the department of parks and recreation.
Community district. The term “community district” means a community district established pursuant to chapter 69 of the charter.
Designated citywide languages. The term “designated citywide languages” has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision a of section 23-1101.
Program. The term “program” means the housing portal assistance program established by this section.
Recreation center. The term “recreation center” means a facility operated by the city of New York, or by an entity that has contracted with the department of parks and recreation, that provides community access to recreational services.
Older adult center. The term “older adult center” has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision a of section 21-210.
b. No later than June 1, 2025, the department shall, in cooperation with other relevant agencies including but not limited to the department for the aging and the department of parks and recreation, create an in-person program to assist applicants with using the housing portal to apply for affordable units, including by helping such applicants prepare any necessary application materials. The program shall be administered in public spaces with public access to computers, such as older adult centers, recreation centers, libraries, and community centers. Such program shall be offered on a weekly basis in at least one location per community district, and shall be administered by a department employee or volunteer to provide individualized support to applicants, including but not limited to providing information on developments, assembling applications, scanning and uploading documents, replying to developers and requesting appeals of denied applications. The program shall be available free of charge, and no person who is at least 18 years of age shall be required to purchase a membership or meet any other age requirement in order to attend the program at an older adult center or recreation center.
c. The department shall conduct ongoing outreach and education to promote awareness of the program. Any materials published for the purposes of outreach shall be published in English and each of the designated citywide languages.
§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.
CS/APM
LS #16399
8/7/2024 11:46 AM