New York City Loft Board

The New York City Loft Board (Loft Board) is a quasi-legislative and judicial body of the New York City government that oversees the legal conversion of commercial and manufacturing spaces to residential use.

Loft Board
Department overview
Formed1982 (1982)
JurisdictionNew York City
Employees12
Department executive
  • Rick Chandler, Board Chairperson
Key document
Websitewww.nyc.gov/html/loft/html/home/home.shtml

History

In the 1970s New York City landlord's were allowing tenants to move into buildings that were zoned for commercial and manufacturing use in neighborhoods such as Tribeca, SoHo, and Chelsea. The loft conversions were more profitable to the landlords than industrial use.[1] By 1977, the New York City Department of City Planning found that 91.5 percent of the conversions were illegal[2] and 44.9 percent of those lofts were occupied by heads of households who were artists.[3] As these neighborhoods became more popular landlords attempted to substantially raise rents.[4] Tenants fought these rent increases in court with the defenses that the apartments were de facto multiple dwellings if there were three or more units[5] and rent stabilized if there were six or more units.[6] These defenses limited the reasons they could be evicted and absolved them from paying rent because the spaces lacked a certificate of occupancy that was required for residential use.[4] City officials were concerned as landlords could not evict or collect rent from the tenants and that a growing number of tenants were living in spaces that were considered dangerous. This conundrum lead one legal scholar to doubt that "statutory or case law [could] channel such challenges to zoning and housing laws into legal uses."[7]

1982 Loft Law

In 1982, the New York State Legislature passed the 1982 Loft Law that established a legal framework to legally convert lofts, called interim multiple dwellings or IMDs, to residential apartments that would be subject to rent stabilization. The law established the Loft Board with enforcing the statute's provisions and deadlines and adjudicating disputes between landlords and tenants.[8] The goal of the Loft Board was to limit illegal conversion and provide a balance between the rights of landlords and tenants.[9] The Loft Board consists of a nine-person board with members appointed by the mayor.[10] The members include one person representing loft tenants, one representing loft owners, one representing manufacturing interests, and the rest serve as public members.[11] The Loft Board delegates to administrative law judges from the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) to hear disputes and write recommendation. The Loft Board during its monthly meetings will vote to accept or reject the proposed order or remand back to OATH.[12] Former Chairman Carl Weisbrod described the work as "It's like going into a war zone. The only thing the tenants and owners can agree upon is how much they hate the Loft Board."[13]

2009 Loft Law Amendments

In 2009 the Loft Board was merged into New York City Department of Buildings.[14] That same year the scope of the law increased with the 2009 Loft Law Amendment that expanded the loft law's coverage to neighborhoods outside of Manhattan such as Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Long Island City.[15] Mayor Michael Bloomberg negotiated amendments that would exclude certain neighborhoods and end the law with sunset provisions.[16][17] The Loft Law was amended again in 2013 with revisions to the period of time for new lofts to apply for legalization, the process of legalization, and rules regarding buildings alleged to contain a use that is incompatible with residential use.[18] Loft tenants are advocating for additional changes primarily around removing the 2010 Bloomberg amendments[19] and that the Department of Buildings has been passive in protecting tenants.[20]

Board Chairperson
NameDates in OfficeMayoral AdministrationNotes and References
Carl Weisbrod1982-1984Ed Koch[21]
Jorge L. Batista1984-1986Ed Koch[22]
George M.C. Dole1986-1989Ed Koch[23]
David Klasfeld1989 – 1997Ed Koch[24]
Hector Batista1997 – 1999Rudy Giuliani
Kimberly D. Hardy2000 – 2003Michael R. Bloomberg
Marc Rauch2003 – 2008Michael R. Bloomberg
Robert D. Limandri2009 – 2013Michael R. Bloomberg
Rick D. Chandler2014 – PresentBill De Blasio

References
  1. Hornick, Sandy (January 1984). "Reusing Industrial Loft Buildings for Housing: Experiences of New York City in Revitalization and Misuse". Washington University Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law. 27: 165.
  2. New York City Department of City Planning (December 1977). "Residential Re-use of Non-residential Buildings in Manhattan". City of New York, Department of City Planning [and] Mayor's Midtown Action Office. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Ford, Kristina (1978). Housing Policy & the Urban Middle Class. New Brunswick, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research. ISBN 0882850563. OCLC 16731543.
  4. Peck, Jaime (June 20, 2017). "A People's History of NYC's Jeopardized Loft Law". Village Voice. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  5. Lipkis v. Pikus, 99 Misc.2d 518 (NY App. Term 1st Dept 1979).
  6. Mandel v. Pitkowsky, 102 Misc.2d 478 (NY App. Term 1st Dept 1979).
  7. Facciolo, Jay (1986). "Illegal Lofts in New York City: Have the Equities Been Balanced?" (PDF). Fordham Urban Law Journal. 14: 559.
  8. Hevesi, Dennis (June 20, 1999). "The Loft Law's Pursuit of Lofty Goals". New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  9. Shkuda, Aaron (2016). The Lofts of SoHo : Gentrification, Art, and Industry in New York, 1950-1980. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0226334189. OCLC 920017441.
  10. Zukin, Sharon (1989). Loft Living : Culture and Capital in Urban Change. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. pp. 196. ISBN 0813513898. OCLC 18191048.
  11. Wilde, Lisa (February 1984). "Koch's Loft Board Leaves Tenants in Limbo". City Limits. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  12. Rzesniowiecki, Linda; Lebovits, Gerald (2010). "The New York Loft Law". New York Real Property Law Journal. Rochester, NY. 38: 22. SSRN 1539285.
  13. Rimer, Sara (November 18, 1983). "REAL-ESTATE WAR: TENANTS VS. OWNERS VS. THE LOFT BOARD". New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  14. "2013 Loft Board Report" (PDF). December 2013.
  15. Buckley, Cara (November 30, 2010). "Seeking a New Law's Protection, Loft Tenants Instead Find Grief". New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  16. Buckley, Cara (July 25, 2010). "That Cheap, Roomy Loft Can Now Be a Legal One, Too". New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  17. Peck, Jaime (May 5, 2017). "New York's Loft Law Is In Danger". Village Voice. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  18. Gallaudet, Lisa (December 26, 2013). "New rules governing loft law". Real Estate Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  19. Sutton, Benjamin (January 18, 2018). ""If Things Were Going Well, We Wouldn't Be Here": Artists Protest NYC's Loft Board". Hyperallergic. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  20. Sutton, Benjamin (April 27, 2018). "Artists and Loft Tenants Protest New York City's Department of Buildings". Hyperallergic. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  21. "CITY LOFT BOARD CHIEF IS APPOINTED BY KOCH". New York Times. March 21, 1984. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  22. Johnson, Kirk (April 19, 1986). "LOFT BOARD CHANGES ANNOUNCED". New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  23. Johnson, Kirk (April 19, 1986). "LOFT BOARD CHANGES ANNOUNCED". New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  24. Hays, Constance L. (March 27, 1990). "Loft Law Keeps Tenants Chic but Not Safe". New York Times.


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