On June 28th, Mayor Bill De Blasio signed into law a very important bill in order to help limit commercial tenant harassment partially responsible for the high rate of business closures in gentrifying neighborhoods like Bushwick. Int 851-B provides a working definition of what constitutes landlord harassment of commercial tenants and puts into place a series of civil penalties ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 that can be implemented to address harassment.
The law itself defines what constitutes tenant harassment in commercial spaces. Landlords will no longer be able to cut off heat and hot water to businesses in the hopes that lack of basic services will force them out of the space. Landlords generally use these tactics to force out tenants who may pay a lower rent than what an “emerging” market can bear. De Blasio, when signing the bill into law, said “it’s up to us [legislators] to protect New Yorkers where they live and where they work. Our small businesses are not only engines of our economy – they are an essential part of our city’s character.”
According to Law360, several groups opposed the law when it was introduced a year ago including the Real Estate Board of New York, the New York State Real Property Law Committee, and the Co-op Condo Committee. The bill’s twelve sponsors in City Council include Antonio Reynoso, whose district includes parts of Williamsburg and Bushwick.
