Public Advocate To Landlords: Get Your Act Together
NEW YORK (WCBS 880/1010 WINS) -- Landlords of rundown buildings are also renting to space to New York City, according to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.
One property owner, who is on the Public Advocate's "Worst Landlord Watchlist" currently receives $10 million a year from the city, de Blasio told WCBS 880's Ginny Kosola.
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"How can the city give him a profit on the one hand, but not get him to fix the many, many housing violations he has that are hurting his tenants," de Blasio asked.
"The landlords may not be treating their tenants right in the residential buildings, the city is doing business with the same exact landlord in terms of office space for the city," de Blasio told 1010 WINS.
The Public Advocate is calling on Mayor Bloomberg to evaluate a potential landlord's other holdings and to tell the landlords they will lose city business if they are responsible for hazardous conditions in residential or commercial properties.
"If a landlord is not following the laws, not providing safe, habitable housing, how on earth do they get to sign a lease with the city," de Blasio asked.
The city should use its "economic levers," de Blasio said, to force landlords to "get [their] act together."
"The message to the landlords should be 'pay up, do the right thing, make your building right or don't expect to do business with the city," de Blasio said.
