Created in the late 70’s, was a visionary program that encouraged home ownership by setting up a process to turn buildings into Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) and enabled occupants to purchase their units from the City. This process includes establishing a board, holding elections, holding monthly meetings, proper record keeping, collecting rents, establishing and maintaining a reserve fund, and maintaining the overall structural health of the buildings. But due to flaws in program design and implementation, many never graduated to HDFC status and instead were transferred back to HPD.
For the 164+ buildings that never graduated, tenants have longed expressed concern to the oversight agency Housing Preservation & Development (HPD). Amongst those concerns was incorrect information provided to tenants about the purchase price of each unit, when and how repairs would be started and completed, the lack of financial and technical assistance provided by HPD, the use of checker boarding to decrease relocation fees, uninhabitable conditions and confusion over rent collection protocol at relocation sites, misplacement of rent-roll records by HPD designees, and the impact of attrition rates on the financial viability of these buildings.
These buildings had no succession rights protection which meant that a family member living with a tenant of record who suddenly died would be evicted even if they possessed the financial means to pay rent. The reduction in revenue from a loss of rent along with legal fees to commence eviction proceedings impose overwhelming financial pressure on already financially stressed buildings. This all changed in 2014 when P.A.'L.A.N.T.E. rallied for a change in policy and succeeded.
On April 27, 2017, the NYC Council held a hearing in response to complaints filed against HPD in regards to the TIL Program and the poor living conditions that these NYC building residents currently reside in. During the hearing, over 100 tenants showed up in full force on multiple buses to support, stand up and give their testimony on the matter at hand. The public hearing room was not able to handle the incredible influx of tenants there to testify, it was only able to accommodate 60 people at a time, so 40 additional testifiers waited down in the lobby until they were able to be called in.
We are now fighting for the City to allocate the necessary funds to rehabilitate these buildings and for an immediate moratorium of building transfers to the ANCP program. A TIL coalition has been formed to protect the rights of all TIL tenants. The coalition is represented by civil rights attorney Norman Siegel.
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