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Bronx Council Member Pierina Sanchez speaks at a rally for the Safer Homes Act, joined by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and a broad coalition of housing advocates. <\/p>\n
Photo by Emily Swanson <\/p>\n
A coalition of housing advocates, tenants and elected officials rallied March 9 in support of the Safer Homes Act, which would allow the city to take control of the most distressed privately-owned properties and, in some cases, transfer ownership to the tenants themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bill is sponsored by Bronx Council Member Pierina Sanchez and overhauls the city\u2019s Third Party Transfer Act, creating new guardrails to ensure a fair process for both owners and residents.<\/p>\n
The morning rally outside City Hall occurred just before the bill was heard by the Housing and Buildings Committee, which Sanchez chairs.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can take a broken program, overhaul it, and ensure we are targeting the right actors,\u201d she said at the rally.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
The Third Party Transfer Act was established in 1996 but paused in 2019 under concerns of unfair enforcement that primarily affected Black and brown property owners and tenants.<\/p>\n
During Eric Adams\u2019 tenure as Brooklyn Borough President, he said<\/a> the Third Party Transfer program was well-intentioned but \u201cracist.\u201d But current Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso stood with Sanchez at the City Hall rally in support of the reworked version.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city is too often forced to pay for emergency repairs and act as \u201can adjacent landlord while these other landlords continue to get rich off the rent of these tenants,\u201d Reynoso said at the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said the new third-party program must target \u201cextreme cases,\u201d such as buildings with 600 to 700 violations, while others in less distress can receive other assistance.<\/p>\n \u201cAt some point, we failed, the city failed. To allow for any building to fall into that many violations is an example of when government doesn\u2019t work,\u201d Reynoso said. \u201cThose are the ones we need to intervene in immediately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Worst of the worst\u2019 landlords\u00a0<\/p>\n As the new bill\u2019s lead sponsor, Sanchez said the former Third Party Transfer system \u201cdid not work in the context of modern New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile many building owners are trying their best to do right by their tenants, there\u2019s a small subset of owners that are chronically negligent,\u201d using the city \u201cas a piggybank\u201d for emergency repairs, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city\u2019s power to foreclose on negligent owners has been curtailed for several years, but Sanchez said the Safer Homes Act will now target the \u201cworst of the worst of the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n So far, the bill has gained strong support from Council Members representing the Bronx, including Amanda Far\u00edas, who spoke at the City Hall rally, and dozens of others throughout the city. It requires just one or two more votes to achieve a veto-proof majority, Sanchez said at the rally.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is also supported by housing organizations, including REBNY and Open New York, who said the new act will create a fairer process for owners and tenants alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among the renters who came to City Hall in support of the Safer Homes Act was Angelette Waring, who has lived for more than 50 years at 2051 Webster Ave., a property with 529 open violations. Of those, 143 are Class C, meaning \u201cimminently hazardous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Waring said at the rally that her 100-year-old building has become \u201ca frightening place to live.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n After she and her neighbors rallied<\/a> outside their building with Our Bronx on Feb. 10, she showed the Bronx Times around her apartment, which had no cooking gas, holes near the radiator bases and bedroom floors so uneven that a pair of dumbbells could roll several feet, among other issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since then, Waring said conditions at her apartment took a turn for the worse in late February. At the City Hall rally, she said that a crack in her bedroom ceiling gave way in the middle of the night, sending debris crashing down and leaving a gaping hole. While she was not injured, the experience was \u201ctraumatic,\u201d she told the Bronx Times.<\/p>\n FDNY had to make repairs to Waring\u2019s apartment and the one above, but she said she\u2019s heard little from the management company, JLP Metro Management.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Having been in the same apartment since childhood, Waring said the building\u2019s current condition has become \u201cembarrassing.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not expecting any favors. Just do the basics,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_20260309_131343.jpg\")
A photo of Angelette Waring\u2019s ceiling, where a crack recently became a hole in the middle of the night.Photo courtesy Angelette Waring<\/p>\n