Committee seeks legal options after tenants lost water due to landlord's unpaid bills; corporation counsel to research

Council members pressed corporation counsel for legal options after a building in one district experienced a water shutoff that the speaker said stemmed from unpaid landlord utility bills. Members described tenants—seniors and people with disabilities—losing utility service and asked whether the city can impose additional local protections or penalties for landlords who allow essential services to be terminated.

"I don't know the answer to that. We'll find out," Rosa Pizzi said after council members cited state statutes and asked whether the city is preempted from imposing stricter notice or enforcement requirements. Members referenced the Public Service Law and Real Property Law §235 as giving tenants some protections and said they will need written guidance on which parts of the proposed resolution the city can implement immediately and which require state action.

Council members also discussed practical notification channels: whether utilities can be required to notify a designated city office in advance of a mass shutoff and whether the city could treat landlord-caused utility terminations as housing-code violations. The committee asked corporation counsel to provide a written opinion outlining which steps can be taken by the city and where legislative changes at the state level would be necessary. The item was tabled for follow-up.