Requiring Co-ops and Condos to Assume Responsibility for Maintenance and Snow Clearance

As you may recall, NYC has begun requiring residential buildings with thirty units or more to containerize their garbage through the Empire Bins program and encouraging smaller buildings to do the same.  To date, the new requirements have been implemented in two “pilot areas,” allowing all parties to learn more about the impacts of this new mandate.  On Friday, DSNY proposed new rules which would both expand the pilot programs and add new requirements for residential buildings in those areas.  We have attached the draft rules and note that a public hearing on the proposed rules will be held on June 17.  CNYC is preparing comments and welcomes member feedback in advance of the hearing.

CNYC is reviewing the proposal in detail but in short, the draft rule proposes the following changes:

1 - The pilot programs in Manhattan Community District 9 and Brooklyn Community District 2 will be extended through October 15, 2026 and expanded to allow buildings with 10-30 apartments the opportunity to opt-in to the stationary on-street containers, and 

2- Buildings utilizing the containers in the pilot districts will be required to perform specific maintenance work around the containers, including cleaning, graffiti removal, and snow removal 18 inches into the street/roadway.  Buildings would also be required to provide training materials and personal protective equipment for their employees who are responsible for garbage removal. 

If you are currently in a pilot district, we would like to understand your experience.  Please reach out to us at poole@cnyc.coop or info@cnyc.coop to let us know (1) how snow removal was handled this past winter, (2) if you received any violations due to the need to keep passerby from leaning items on the containers, and (3) how the containers are working for you and your employees.

As always, CNYC opposes unfunded mandates for our members and our testimony will address the additional liability and costs that will likely be incurred by cooperatives and condominiums as a result of these proposed rules.

• have five months to file construction plans commencing when a shed is installed
• have eight months to apply for permits
• have two years to complete all required repairs

Missing any of these deadlines results in penalties. While there are options to apply for extensions, the reports that must accompany the requests will be costly, and there are fees involved.

Buildings will also have increased obligations for documenting and maintaining proof of progress throughout the entire project, starting when the sidewalk shed is installed.

In order to obtain a sidewalk shed renewal permit - which is now required every 90-days starting 180-days after the shed is installed - buildings must:

• Contract with your engineer/architect to provide reports detailing the work completed, the work in progress, and the timeline to finish the project for every 90-day shed permit. The reports filed with the permit renewals must include photographs and require inspections.
• Ensure your contractor or project manager keeps a weekly log onsite that is available to the DOB and your engineer/architect showing what work was done, where the work was done, what % of work was completed and what is scheduled to be done next.

It will be important to remain vigilant and follow up with your professionals weekly. If your building does not meet filing requirements, penalties will range from $2,500 to $20,000+ depending on the deadlines missed.

CNYC provided testimony pointing out the cost of the permit renewals to the average homeowner, and the difficulty boards will face meeting the 5-month and 8-month deadlines, but boards should be prepared for the rules to be adopted.

CNYC thanks Trevor Stewart and the Co-op/Condo Forum for moderating, and co- hosting last night’s debate on co-op/condo issues, and candidates Leslie Boghosian Murphy, Lindsey Boylan, Layle Law-Gisiko and Carl Wilson for spending their evening with co-op and condo homeowners. Everyone eligible to vote in City Council District 3 should watch this video before casting their vote in the special election.

We urge co-op and condo homeowners throughout the city to watch the debate and consider co-hosting one with CNYC during future contested elections. Events such as the one last night add to the understanding of future elected officials and benefit the co- op/condo community.

You can watch the event here:
https://youtu.be/Byc_Aq6fUr0?si=Dmi8loaqlQJ6yOa1

At 2:10 PM on Friday, April 17, 2026, Howard Rothschild, president and CEO of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations Inc. faced the large delegation of negotiators for Local 32BJ of the Building Service Employees International Union and announced “We accept your most recent offer.” signaling tentative agreement on a new four year contract for 32BJ members who work in residential buildings in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. This brings to a successful conclusion many weeks of negotiations—and does so with more than three days to spare before the expiration of the current contract.

This contact includes wage increases for 32BJ workers of:

$40 per week effective April 21, 2026,
$40 per week effective April 21, 2027,
$50 per week effective April 21, 2028 and
$50 per week effective April 21, 2029.

Pension contributions continue at $4 per week; and retirees will experience a 15% increase in their retirement benefits at no additional expense to employers. Past contributions to the Legal and Training Funds continue, and the Health Plan requires only modest increases. In fact, the excellent condition of the Health Fund has made possible a one-time adjustment to employer payments, which brings the overall cost increase to employers over the life of this contract to slightly over 3%.

The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the Board of Directors of the Realty Advisory Board and the membership of the Union. Once ratification occurs, full details of the agreement will be explained on the RAB website at rabolr.com and discussed in future CNYC updates.

This is a pattern agreement; all the residential members of the RAB will have the option of assenting to it once it has been ratified by the RAB and the Union. It will expire at midnight on April 23, 2030.

CNYC will discuss details of the new contract (pending ratification) at its upcoming in-person Annual Meeting. Please REGISTER HERE.

Local Law 151/2025, which requires the biennial inspection of steam radiators in non-owner-occupied apartments occupied by a child under the age of 6, is scheduled to take effect May 7, 2026. Please note that thanks to an amendment issued by the bill’s sponsor following engagement with CNYC and CNYC member buildings:

Owner-occupied apartments in co-ops and condos are NOT subject to this law
For non-owner-occupied units, responsibility is determined by the building’s governing documents.
The law reads:

“Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, nothing herein shall be construed to alter existing or future agreements which allocate responsibility for compliance with the provisions of this article between a tenant shareholder and a cooperative corporation or between the owner of a condominium unit and the board of managers of such condominium.”

“The provisions of this article shall not apply to a covered dwelling unit in a covered multiple dwelling where (i) title to such multiple dwelling is held by a cooperative housing corporation or such dwelling unit is owned as a condominium unit, and (ii) such dwelling unit is occupied by the shareholder of record on the proprietary lease for such dwelling unit or the owner of record of such condominium unit, as is applicable, or the shareholder’s or record owner’s family.”

The Department of Buildings has not yet promulgated rules to establish specific requirements and procedures for building superintendents conducting steam radiator inspections pursuant to this new law. CNYC anticipates that those rules being released shortly, and will provide an additional update at that time.

In the meantime, co-ops and condos with rental/sublet/leased units should note the following:

Radiator inspections will be required biennially in apartments subject to the law (non-owner occupied) and in the building’s common areas if any apartments are subject to the law
Inspectors will be required to inspect each component of the steam radiator to determine if it is in safe operating condition and look for leaking water, browning floors or walls, signs of corrosion on the steam radiator or its surrounding surfaces, or any other evidence of water damage.

If a defect is found, the inspector must notify the tenant, the owner, and the Department of Buildings within 48 hours; the owner will have 14 days to correct the defect.

In the event the defect is considered likely to be hazardous to life or safety, the owner must take the steam radiator out of service within 24 hours of the inspection and repair or replace the steam radiator within 7 days.

Inspections may be done by master plumbers, boiler mechanics, their assistants in their employ and building superintendents, among other individuals.

Owners are required to maintain a record of the required inspections and repairs/replacements, subject to a penalty of $500.

A rider must be added to all leases/subleases advising tenants of the obligation of the owner of the covered multiple dwelling to inspect steam radiators in dwelling units where a child under the age of 6 resides.

In alternating years from the years in which inspections are completed, owners must forward a notice inquiring as to whether a child under the age of 6 resides in the non-owner-occupied unit according to the law by January 15, and notify the department if a response is not received by March 1. Failure to provide notice is also subject to a penalty of up to $500.