John —

A year ago this week, Hurricane Ida hit the Northeast, bringing damage, destruction and death in its wake. Eleven New Yorkers drowned in their unregulated basement apartments.

As climate change causes increasingly extreme weather events, it’s incumbent on our city to step up efforts to protect New Yorkers – particularly those who are most vulnerable and have the fewest resources.

This week my team and I proposed a new approach to bring immediate tenant and safety protections to New Yorkers living in unregulated basement apartments.

Basement units are mostly illegal in New York City, meaning that residents don't have the legal protections afforded by tenancy.

By legalizing basement apartments, New York can bring basement-dwellers out of the shadows and ensure that owners install basic safety protections like smoke detectors and backflow preventers.

We released a report this week that recommends:

• The creation of a Basement Board, which all owners will be required to register with, that will enforce safety requirements
• The city provide affordable housing to all tenants of basement units that are so hazardous as to be unsuitable for living
• The implementation of regulations protecting basement-dwellers from harassment, eviction, and more

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers continue to live in basement units. But one year out from Hurricane Ida, our city has not yet acted to provide protection to basement dwellers.

There’s still hope, though – we can absolutely reverse course and mitigate the harm from future natural disasters. The future of our city depends on it.

Brad