Q&A
Discussion on Intro 993 regarding lock change procedures for illegal lockouts
1:15:36
·
3 min
Council Member Pierina Sanchez inquires about the administration's position on Intro 993, which deals with lock change procedures for illegal lockouts. The discussion focuses on the potential role of city agencies in expediting the process of tenants regaining access to their homes.
- NYPD representative Josh Levin expresses concerns about the police department's role in this process, citing operational challenges and the department's primary mission
- Lucy Joffe from HPD emphasizes the agency's commitment to tenant protection and housing stability, while acknowledging the need to identify and address gaps in current practices
Pierina Sanchez
1:15:36
Sorry.
1:15:36
Wrong pipe.
1:15:37
Thank you.
1:15:39
Okay.
1:15:39
Thank you.
1:15:40
So just, another follow-up on intro 993.
1:15:44
Deputy commissioner in your testimony, and by the way, thank you for having a comprehensive testimony that address every piece of legislation.
1:15:49
That is much appreciated.
1:15:51
In in your remarks on 993, some of your concerns were related to, the determinations that NYPD officers would have to make, in order to, you know, determine who to give copies to, for instance, to changed locks, right, the the keys to to any changed locks.
1:16:10
Is it is it the administration's position or what is the administration's position regarding this action in in general, whether it's NYPD or or another agency?
1:16:21
Should there be a role that the the city has in helping to expedite people getting back into their homes faster?
Josh Levin
1:16:30
So I'll just speak from NYPD's perspective.
1:16:38
Based off the numbers I've seen and I haven't I don't have the anecdotal experience that that some of the other the other ones you've mentioned, council member nurse.
1:16:47
But as I understand it, when a phone call is made to the landlord, the vast majority of the time, it resolves the issue.
1:16:54
I know any one time is too many times.
1:16:56
Anyone who's out of their house at 2 o'clock AM is never a good thing.
1:17:01
But we believe that NYPD has a specific mission to preserve the peace and to fight crime, and this one doesn't feel like it should live within PD's wheelhouse.
1:17:13
So if the question is, should we do everything we can to possibly help tenants who are improperly evicted?
1:17:19
Yes.
1:17:20
Nobody should be homeless out on the street because of some greedy landlord who has all the power.
1:17:24
Right?
1:17:25
I just have NYPD has some concerns about subsection c, about who we would then have to give keys to.
1:17:31
That I think that's a really big concern for us, actually, and have some concerns.
1:17:36
Listen.
1:17:36
Everyone talks about funding.
1:17:38
I I get it.
1:17:39
But, you know, we'd have to find the officers.
1:17:42
It's possible officers have these skills.
1:17:44
We would have to train officers.
1:17:46
We'd have to do refreshers and other set of trainings.
1:17:48
We'd have to make sure they have access to the blank keys and where to store them in a registry in every single precinct.
1:17:55
We just have some concerns about how that would operationalize.
Lucy Joffe
1:18:00
I think zooming out.
1:18:01
Absolutely.
1:18:01
This is, we spoke about this in in testimony.
1:18:05
This is what HPD is committed to doing.
1:18:07
Here to protect tenants.
1:18:08
We're here to help people be stably housed.
1:18:10
We don't benefit as a city when people are, experiencing any kind of housing instability, and we take these issues incredibly seriously.
1:18:19
What we're here to talk about today is the weeds, and how do we, identify gaps in our current practice, how do we work together to close those gaps in the best way possible, and how do we do that while still ensuring that we have the tools that we need to get our job done.
1:18:34
But this is what we are here to do and what we're focused on and what this panel here collectively in our our various jobs, what we focus on every day.
