Dial 311, wait, and lodge a complaint about landlord negligence. Thousands of people perform this civic ritual every month, according to the mayor’s office of operations, hoping that the condition they’ve called about will be resolved. However, 311 calls mainly highlight problems in individual apartments, rather than in entire buildings or the landlords who own them. Now, for irresponsible landlords across the city, those calls are starting to add up.

Multiple 311 complaints will now be one factor in qualifying buildings for surprise roof-to-cellar inspections under a new building inspection program agreed to on July 18 by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the City Council.
The program has begun in Council District 15 (as well as two districts in Brooklyn and Manhattan) in the Bronx, which includes the neighborhood of North Fordham. Landlords and building owners chosen by the program will be legally obligated to bring their entire buildings into compliance with the Housing Maintenance Code.

“This is a mechanism through which City Council members — in conjunction with local community groups — can work with HPD to identify buildings that would benefit from roof-to-cellar inspections,” said Ali Davis, legislative director for Council Member Gail Brewer, who collaborated with HPD and housing advocacy groups to formulate the program.

Under the new plan, a team of HPD inspectors will inspect up to 30 of the worst buildings in three Council districts every two months, before rotating on to three new districts for the next two months. After completing inspections, HPD will issue a written report detailing the violations and meet with various city agencies to decide whether to pursue the landlord in court. Tenants will also be able to obtain copies of the report from the Internet, their Council member and local community groups.

Before inspections begin in each set of Council districts, HPD will consult with the local Council member and local community groups to determine which buildings are most in need.

Legislators and community activists are hopeful that the proactive nature of the plan will accelerate repairs, help avoid abandonment of distressed buildings and finally provide a distinct legal procedure to force the city’s worst landlords into code compliance.

“This is a new way to handle distressed buildings,” said Hilda Chavis, a member of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, who worked closely with the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development to negotiate the terms of the new plan. Now, Chavis and the Coalition are helping formulate the list of buildings to be inspected in Council District 15.

“What we’re looking for is to have [a landlord make] the repairs and, if he doesn’t comply, to make him legally accountable,” Chavis said. “If he doesn’t take care of his responsibilities, he will be held accountable in court.”

HPD spokeswoman Carol Abrams said that the new program complements HPD anti-abandonment programs in effect since the late 1990s. “The difference,” she said, “is [the new program is] really giving the City Council more of a role in selecting the buildings that are important to their constituents.”

Whereas those initiatives rely mainly on reported violations and complaints such as those from 311 callers, the new program involves community groups and Council members in selecting notorious buildings that might not show up in complaint logs.

“This program will produce detailed strategies that will be used to address some of New York’s most problematic housing issues,” said Council Member Joel Rivera, who represents the 15th District, in an e-mailed statement. “As a result, this will ensure that people in the Bronx will live in sound and secure apartments that we all deserve to live in.”

Currently, Rivera and the Coalition are meeting with HPD to formulate the list of distressed buildings in Rivera’s district. Abrams, from HPD, said the list should be finalized and inspections should begin soon. Anyone interested in participating in the building selection process can contact the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition at (718) 584-0515 or Council Member Rivera’s office at (718) 364-3700.