Cities 1 committee reports multiple bills including repeal of 8‑year limit on Environmental Control Board judgments

The Cities 1 committee met March 11, 2025, and reported a package of bills to the finance committee and other bodies, the committee clerk said. Senators on the committee moved and approved a series of measures ranging from changes to the New York City Charter to amendments to the administrative code and the Emergency Tenant Protection Act.

The bills mattered for property owners, businesses and tenants across the City of New York: one would repeal an eight‑year limitation on the effectiveness of Environmental Control Board judgments, another would restrict the sale of off‑highway all‑terrain vehicles and similar motorcycles within the city, a separate measure would require city agencies that issue summonses to document violations with photographic evidence when possible, and one would authorize a four‑month property tax amnesty program administered by the finance commissioner. A housing‑related bill would require property owners to rededicate units with the same protected rent status after demolition or substantial renovation under specified conditions.

Votes at a glance

• Printed No. 1146 (sponsor: Senator Benares): Repeal provisions in the New York City Charter related to an eight‑year limitation on the effectiveness of Environmental Control Board judgments. Motion moved and seconded; the committee recorded a voice vote of “Aye” and the committee reported the bill to the next stage. No individual roll‑call vote was recorded in the transcript.

• Printed No. 2436 (sponsor: Senator Cooper): Amend the Administrative Code of the City of New York and Vehicle and Traffic Law to prohibit sale of off‑highway all‑terrain vehicles and off‑highway motorcycles within the City of New York. Motion moved by Senator Posada, seconded by Senator Adabo; voice vote recorded as “Aye.” The item was reported by the committee.

• Printed No. 3167 (sponsor: Senator Felder): Amend the Administrative Code to require city agencies that issue summonses to document violations with photographic evidence when possible and practical. Motion moved by Senator Dahl, seconded by Senator Chang; the committee recorded the vote as “Aye,” described in the transcript as unanimous. The bill was reported to the finance committee.

• Printed No. 383181 (listed in the transcript as “38, 31 81,” sponsor: Senator Felder): Authorize the commissioner of finance to establish a property tax amnesty program, described in the transcript as a four‑month amnesty period for owners with delinquent tax bills. Motion moved by Senator Prasad, seconded by Senator Davao; voice vote recorded as “Aye.” The committee reported the bill.

• Printed No. 3199 (sponsor: Senator Haldeman Seaton): Amend the Administrative Code, the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 and the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law to require property owners to rededicate certain residential units to the same protected status after demolition, new construction or substantial renovations when specified criteria are met. A motion to move the bill was made and the transcript records both “Aye” and multiple voiced “Nay” responses; the chair indicated the measure was reported from the committee for further consideration.

Procedure and context

The committee roll call and sponsor statements in the transcript were brief; most items were moved, seconded and advanced by voice vote with little or no substantive debate recorded in the excerpt. Committee membership identified at the start of the session included Senators Grissad, Adagawa and Chen. Several other senators are named in the transcript as sponsors, movers or seconders for individual bills.

What’s next

The bills were reported out of the Cities 1 committee for referral, chiefly to the finance committee or to the calendar, according to the committee proceedings recorded in the transcript. Specific next steps—such as calendar dates or scheduled hearings—were not specified in the transcript.