Here we go again. As you may recall, last year there was strong momentum to pass legislation in the New York City Council to ban housing providers, including housing cooperatives, from conducting criminal background checks on prospective applicants. This legislation met fierce opposition in the Coop community and the PCCC led the opposition.
If this bill were passed it would ban a Coop Board from finding out whether a prospective applicant had a serious conviction in their background which would render them unfit for inclusion in their Coop. Fortunately, the bill never reached the floor and was not voted upon.
However, this legislation appears to be rearing its ugly head again. On Thursday, Intro 0632 was introduced, which would ban criminal background checks for housing providers. The PCCC has already reached out to many NYC Council members to express our opposition to this bill and we will be monitoring it closely and keeping our members apprised of its status.
Here is a link to a recent digital article in Habitat on this issue where PCCC Co-President Warren Schreiber is quoted. Click Here