"Tenants who pay their rent every month should not have to pay for the consequences of negligence by irresponsible landlords," says Council Member Margaret Chin, who introduced the legislation.
The building at 81 Madison Street will receive energy efficient features to the heating, electric, and plumbing systems and remain income-restricted for the next 40 years.
While some neighborhood activists were happy to see the city finally moving forward with the 8-year long discussion to rezone Chinatown, others feel that the city is actually working to tear the community apart.
"I like to say it's like a little boutique hotel home," says Helen Zhang while standing in her petite Chinatown studio. But the publicist's Pell Street apartment is her own personal oasis, and her spare, yet well-articulated, decor speaks to that.
The Bowery is a hotbed of construction activity these days, and there'll soon be another development rising on the thoroughfare. Three tenement buildings got the go-ahead for demolition to make way for a new mixed-use building.
This $1,795/month apartment ignited the internet with its quirky layout a few months ago when it hit the rental market. Now take a look inside the apartment, where the "sad kitchen shower" no longer looks so sad.