A BACKGROUND PRIMER
NEW YORK CITY LOFT BOARD
On June 21, 1982, the New York State Legislature passed a set of sweeping amendments to the NY State Multiple Dwelling Law to bring loft housing under regulation. These amendments, enacted as Article 7-C of the Multiple Dwelling Law and often referred to as the "Loft Law,"directed the legalization of certain illegal residential lofts in "interim multiple dwellings" or IMDs. The loft law also mandated the establishment of an agency, the NYC Loft Board, to write a set of comprehensive regulations based on the new amendments; to establish a means of resolving disputes between property owners and tenants and enforcing the regulations; and to oversee the legalization process. The Loft Board's responsibilities are:
To determine which buildings or units are covered by the law in case of disputes;
To set interim rent increases as set forth in Section 286(2) of Article 7-C;
To determine how much of the landlord's cost in legalizing the building will be passed on to tenants as a rent surcharge;
To assist the Rent Guildelines Board in setting guidelines for lofts, once legalization is underway and tenants get new residential leases;
To set minimum housing service and maintenance standards (ie: heat, water, etc.) until lofts become Class A Multiple Dwellings;
To resolve disputes regarding landlord/tenant controversies over "fair market value" of tenants' improvements; and
To hear landlords' claims for exemption from the law on financial or structural grounds (ie: hardship exemptions).
The Loft Board has nine members, including a Chairman. All members are appointed by the Mayor and have one vote on matters before the Board. Three of the seats on the Board are occupied by Special Interest Representatives--one each representing loft manufacturing interests, the real estate industry, and residential loft tenants. The six remaining seats are occupied by an impartial Chairman, a designee of the Commissioner of Buildings, and four Public Members. This formula--mixing impartial public representatives with recognized leaders of constituent groups--was originally intended to enhance the ability of the Board to meet the complex mandate of regulating loft housing and of meeting the requirements of procedural and substantive due process. Unfortunately, however, mayoral appointees to the Board have more often than not been heavily weighted against loft tenants ever since the first seating of the Loft Board in October 1982, and, as a result, the Loft Board's goal of impartiality has never been fully realized.
The NYC Loft Board functions as both a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial body. Its quasi-legislative duties include the development and promulgation of all rules and regulations growing out of the Loft Law. As a quasi-judicial body charged by Article 7-C to resolve disputes and hear complaints, the Board hears and renders decisions on a variety of matters based on applications filed with it, such as coverage under the law and rent disputes, arising from regulations promulgated by the Board itself. The Loft Board has wide latitude in interpreting the law and in setting rules, regulations, and penalties to enforce it.
The daily administrative operation of the Loft Board is handled by the following five general staff divisions of the agency:
(1) An Administrative Unit manages the record keeping, filing, word processing, and statistical needs of the Agency. A Public Information section, which is part of this unit, is responsible for communicating with the public concerning the law and the procedures of the Board;
(2) An Enforcement Unit responds to complaints concerning the failure of building owners to maintain minimum housing maintenance standards and their efforts to bring their buildings into compliance with the provisions of the building and fire safety codes. The Enforcement staff is also responsible for enforcing the existing zoning laws and preventing additional illegal conversions of loft space;
(3) A Hearings Unit processes applications filed by parties affected by the law or parties who are unable to solve conflicts arising from the law. In cases that cannot be solved by informal means and that meet the specific requirements for adjudication by the Board, the Hearings Unit schedules and conducts formal administrative hearings;
(4) A Legal Unit defends the agency in legal proceedings initiated by outside parties, as well as bringing litigation against parties who fail to comply with orders of the Board or provisions of the Loft Law;
(5) A Code Compliance Unit conducts conferences to resolve legalization disputes and monitor the code compliance process.
The NYC Loft Board holds regularly scheduled meetings. All regular meetings are open to the public, but public comment is restricted to meetings designated as public hearings. On rare occasions, the Board may vote to meet in executive session to discuss issues that require confidentiality, such as deliberations on pending litigation.
Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, meeting minutes of all sessions and most records of the Loft Board, including registrations, building and case files and hearing transcripts, regulations and forms, are available for public inspection by appointment, upon prior written request to the NYC Loft Board Records Access Officer.
© Lower Manhattan Loft Tenants, 2002. All Rights Reserved.