§ 110 — Housing part

§ 110. Housing part. (a) A part of the court shall be devoted to\nactions and proceedings involving the enforcement of state and local\nlaws for the establishment and maintenance of housing standards,\nincluding, but not limited to, the multiple dwelling law and the housing\nmaintenance code, building code and health code of the administrative\ncode of the city of New York, as follows:\n (1) Actions for the imposition and collection of civil penalties for\nthe violation of such laws.\n (2) Actions for the collection of costs, expenses and disbursements\nincurred by the city of New York in the elimination or correction of a\nnuisance or other violation of such laws, or in the removal or\ndemolition of any dwelling pursuant to such laws.\n (3) Actions and proceedings for the establishment, enforcement or\nforeclosure of liens upon real property and upon the rents therefrom for\ncivil penalties, or for costs, expenses and disbursements incurred by\nthe city of New York in the elimination or correction of a nuisance or\nother violation of such laws.\n (4) Proceedings for the issuance of injunctions and restraining orders\nor other orders for the enforcement of housing standards under such\nlaws.\n (5) Actions and proceedings under article seven-A of the real property\nactions and proceedings law, and all summary proceedings to recover\npossession of residential premises to remove tenants therefrom, and to\nrender judgment for rent due, including without limitation those cases\nin which a tenant alleges a defense under section seven hundred\nfifty-five of the real property actions and proceedings law, relating to\nstay or proceedings or action for rent upon failure to make repairs,\nsection three hundred two-a of the multiple dwelling law, relating to\nthe abatement of rent in case of certain violations of section D26-41.21\nof such housing maintenance code.\n (6) Proceedings for the appointment of a receiver of rents, issues and\nprofits of buildings in order to remove or remedy a nuisance or to make\nrepairs required to be made under such laws.\n (7) Actions and proceedings for the removal of housing violations\nrecorded pursuant to such laws, or for the imposition of such violation\nor for the stay of any penalty thereunder.\n (8) Special proceedings to vest title in the city of New York to\nabandoned multiple dwellings.\n (9) The city department charged with enforcing the multiple dwelling\nlaw, housing maintenance code, and other state and local laws applicable\nto the enforcement of proper housing standards may commence any action\nor proceeding described in paragraphs one, two, three, four, six and\nseven of this subdivision by an order to show cause, returnable within\nfive days, or within any other time period in the discretion of the\ncourt. Upon the signing of such order, the clerk of the housing part\nshall issue an index number.\n (b) On the application of any city department, any party, or on its\nown motion, the housing part of the civil court shall, unless good cause\nis shown to the contrary, consolidate all actions and proceedings\npending in such part as to any building.\n (c) Regardless of the relief originally sought by a party the court\nmay recommend or employ any remedy, program, procedure or sanction\nauthorized by law for the enforcement of housing standards, if it\nbelieves they will be more effective to accomplish compliance or to\nprotect and promote the public interest; provided in the event any such\nproposed remedy, program or procedure entails the expenditure of monies\nappropriated by the city, other than for the utilization and deployment\nof personnel and services incidental thereto, the court shall give\nnotice of such proposed remedy, program or procedure to the city\ndepartment charged with the enforcement of local laws relating to\nhousing maintenance and shall not employ such proposed remedy, program\nor procedure, as the case may be, if such department shall advise the\ncourt in writing within the time fixed by the court, which shall not be\nless than fifteen days after such notice has been given, of the reasons\nsuch order should not be issued, which advice shall become part of the\nrecord. The court may retain continuing jurisdiction of any action or\nproceeding relating to a building until all violations of law have been\nremoved.\n (d) In any of the actions or proceedings specified in subdivision (a)\nof this section and on the application of any party, any city department\nor the court, on its own motion, may join any other person or city\ndepartment as a party in order to effectuate proper housing maintenance\nstandards and to promote the public interest. In addition to any other\napplication of its powers under this subdivision, the court may, on the\napplication of any party or on its own motion, join as a party the\ndepartment of social services of the city of New York in any action or\nproceeding in which the payment or non-payment of rent by a recipient of\nor applicant for public assistance pursuant to the social services law\nis at issue, and the court may join as a party the division of adult\nprotective services of the city of New York in any such action or\nproceeding, where appropriate.\n (e) Actions and proceedings before the housing part shall be tried\nbefore civil court judges, acting civil court judges, or housing judges.\nHousing judges shall be appointed pursuant to subdivision (f) of this\nsection and shall be duly constituted judicial officers, empowered to\nhear, determine and grant any relief within the powers of the housing\npart in any action or proceeding except those to be tried by jury. Such\nhousing judges shall have the power of judges of the court to punish for\ncontempts. Rules of evidence shall be applicable in actions and\nproceedings before the housing part. The determination of a housing\njudge shall be final and shall be entered and may be appealed in the\nsame manner as a judgment of the court; provided that the assignment of\nactions and proceedings to housing judges, the conduct of the trial and\nthe contents and filing of a housing judge's decision, and all matters\nincidental to the operation of the housing part, shall be in accordance\nwith rules jointly promulgated by the first and second departments of\nthe appellate division for such part.\n (f) The housing judges shall be appointed by the administrative judge\nfrom a list of persons selected annually as qualified by training,\ninterest, experience, judicial temperament, ability to handle a caseload\ninvolving self-represented litigants and knowledge of federal, state and\nlocal housing laws and programs by the advisory council for the housing\npart. The list of persons who have been approved by such advisory\ncouncil, whether or not appointed to such judicial position, shall be\ndeemed public information and be published in the city record\nimmediately after such list is submitted to the administrative judge.\nThe annual salary of a housing judge shall be one hundred fifteen\nthousand four hundred dollars.\n (g) The advisory council for the housing part shall be composed of\nthree members representative of real estate owners or lessors, including\nthe chair of the New York city housing authority; three members\nrepresentative of tenants' organizations; and two members representative\nof each of the following: civic groups, bar associations and the public\nat large. Such members shall be appointed by the administrative judge,\nwith the approval of the presiding justices of the first and second\ndepartments of the appellate division. Except for the member\nrepresenting the housing authority, the members of the advisory council\nshall be appointed for non-renewable terms of three years. In addition\nthe mayor of the city of New York shall appoint one member to serve at\nhis or her pleasure and the commissioner of housing and community\nrenewal shall be a member.\n (h) The advisory council shall meet at least four times a year, and on\nsuch additional occasions as they may require or as may be required by\nthe administrative judge. Members shall receive no compensation. Members\nshall visit the housing part from time to time to review the manner in\nwhich the part is functioning, and make recommendations to the\nadministrative judge and to the advisory council. A report on the work\nof the part shall be prepared annually and submitted to the\nadministrative judge, the administrative board of the judicial\nconference, the majority and minority leaders of the senate and\nassembly, the governor, the chairpersons of the judiciary committee in\nthe senate and assembly and the mayor of the city of New York by the\nthirty-first day of January of each year.\n (i) Housing judges shall have been admitted to the bar of the state\nfor at least five years, two years of which shall have been in active\npractice. Each housing judge shall serve full-time for five years.\nReappointment shall be at the discretion of the administrative judge and\non the basis of the criteria set forth for selection by the advisory\ncouncil in subdivision (f) of this section, performance, competency and\nresults achieved during the preceding term, and the judge's allocution\nof stipulations to self-represented litigants and the judge's compliance\nwith section seven hundred forty-six of the real property actions and\nproceedings law.\n (k) Unless a party requests a manual stenographic record by filing a\nnotice with the clerk two working days prior to the date set for an\nappearance before the court, hearings shall be recorded mechanically. A\nparty may request a transcript from a mechanical recording. Any party\nmaking a request for a copy of either a mechanically or manually\nrecorded transcript shall bear the cost thereof and shall furnish a copy\nof the transcript to the court, and to the other parties.\n (l) Any city department charged with enforcing any state or local law\napplicable to the enforcement of proper housing standards may be\nrepresented in the housing part by its department counsel in any action\nor proceeding in which it is a party. A corporation which is a party may\nbe represented by an officer, director or a principal stockholder.\n (m) The service of process in any of the actions or proceedings\nspecified in subdivision (a) which are brought under the housing\nmaintenance code of the administrative code of the city of New York\nshall be made as herein provided:\n (1) Service of process shall be made in the manner prescribed for\nactions or proceedings in this court, except where the manner of such\nservice is provided for in the housing maintenance code of the\nadministrative code of the city of New York, such service may, as an\nalternative, be made as therein provided.\n (2) Where the manner of service prescribed for actions or proceedings\nin this court includes delivery of the summons to a person at the actual\nplace of business of the person to be served, such delivery may be made\nalternatively to a person of suitable age and discretion at the address\nregistered with the department charged with the enforcement of local\nlaws relating to housing maintenance pursuant to article forty-one of\nsuch code, hereinafter referred to as the "registered address".\n (3) Where the manner of service prescribed for actions or proceedings\nin this court includes affixing the summons to the door of the actual\nplace of business of the person to be served, the summons may, as an\nalternative, be posted in a conspicuous place on either the premises\nspecified in the summons or the registered address.\n (4) Where the manner of service for actions or proceedings in this\ncourt includes mailing the summons to the person to be served at his\nlast known residence, the summons may, as an alternative, be mailed to\nthe registered address; however, if the person to be served has not\nregistered as required by article forty-one of such housing maintenance\ncode, such summons may, as an alternative, be mailed to an address\nregistered in the last registration statement filed with such department\nother than the address of the managing agent of the premises and to the\nlast known address of the person to be served.\n (5) Where the manner of service for actions or proceedings in this\ncourt includes mailing the summons to the person to be served at his\nlast known residence, if the person to be served is a corporation and if\neither: (i) an officer of such corporation, (ii) the managing agent of\nsuch corporation for the premises involved in the suit or (iii) a person\ndesignated by such corporation to receive notices in its behalf, other\nthan the secretary of state, has been named a party to the suit, the\nsummons may, as an alternative, be mailed to the registered address of\nsuch corporation or, if such corporation has not registered as required\nby such code, to the address of such corporation set forth in a document\nfiled or recorded with a governmental agency.\n (6) A copy of the summons with proof of service shall be filed in the\nmanner provided in section four hundred nine, except that such filing\nshall be made with the clerk of the housing part in the county in which\nthe action is brought.\n (n) Nothing contained in the section one hundred ten shall in any way\naffect the right of any party to trial by jury as heretofore provided by\nlaw.\n (o) There shall be a sufficient number of pro se clerks of the housing\npart to assist persons without counsel. Such assistance shall include,\nbut need not be limited to providing information concerning court\nprocedure, helping to file court papers, and, where appropriate,\nadvising persons to seek administrative relief.\n (p) The court shall review the performance and records of\nadministrators appointed pursuant to article seven-A of the real\nproperty actions and proceedings law or receivers appointed pursuant to\nparagraph six of subdivision (a) of this section. Such review shall\ninclude but not be limited to an examination of the accountings\nsubmitted by such administrators or receivers and an examination of the\nplan submitted to the court pursuant to subdivision nine of section\nseven hundred seventy-eight of the real property actions and proceedings\nlaw. The court may compel the production of any records it deems\nnecessary to perform such review.\n (q) (1) The office of court administration shall by rule promulgate a\nSpanish version of the Notice of Petition that shall include a\ndesignated telephone number which will provide information to the\nrespondent in Spanish on the court process for eviction, and the Notice\nof Petition shall be required to be served together with an English\nversion in all proceedings commenced under section seven hundred\nthirty-two of the real property actions and proceedings law.\n (2) The office of court administration shall by rule promulgate a\nnotice to be annexed to all Notices of Petitions subject to proceedings\ncommenced under section seven hundred thirty-two of the real property\nactions and proceedings law, which shall state, in the six most common\nlanguages in the city of New York, after Spanish, that the respondent\nmay obtain a copy of the Notice of Petition form in those six most\ncommon languages on the internet website of the office of court\nadministration which shall be provided on this notice for this purpose,\nand may call a designated telephone number, listed on the notice, which\nwill provide information on the court process for eviction in those six\nlanguages.\n (3) The office of court administration shall by rule revise the text\nof the postcard currently required to be filed by petitioners in\nproceedings subject to article seven of the real property actions and\nproceedings law to include notice in the seven most common languages in\nthe city of New York, that the respondent may call a designated\ntelephone number, listed on the postcard, for more information on the\ncourt process for eviction.\n (4) The office of court administration shall promulgate notices in the\nseven most common languages in the city of New York to be distributed to\nlitigants in the housing part of the civil court advising them of the\nright to have all court proceedings and any agreements settling the case\ninterpreted to them orally in their native language.\n