Three years into a pilot program launched in East New York to convert illegal basement apartments into safe and regulated dwellings, the scheme has shown minimal progress, according to a new report.
Tens of thousands of New Yorkers live in basement units, most of which are not legal residences under local law.
As a result, many are unsafe to live in because homeowners can’t get permits to make changes to illegal dwellings, landlords who would like to make their basement units safer are barred from doing so.
Making matters worse, tenants have no standing to take action against landlords if their homes aren’t up to snuff.
In 2019, the city created the Basement Apartment Conversion Pilot Program to help low-income homeowners in East New York and Cypress Hills renovate their below-ground units with financial and technical assistance from the city.
More than 8,000 homes were initially identified as potential candidates, and just over 100 made it through several rounds of eligibility screening by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development and its partners, including the Citizens Housing Planning Council.
But as of May 2023, just one home is actively undergoing construction to renovate its underground unit, and only five are enrolled in the program at all, according to CHPC’s interim report.
State regulations block legal conversions
City and state regulations regarding density, ceiling height, and even the number of parking spaces required for a given home have prevented thousands of other nearly-eligible homeowners from enrolling in the program, per the report.
“We have learned a great deal,” said CHPC executive director Howard Slatkin. “Would we want to have many more buildings in the pilot program right now? Absolutely. But we’ve identified the very specific kinds of regulatory obstacles that we’re facing and some strategies to get past them.”
One of the most significant obstacles facing the pilot is the state’s…
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