Mayor Adams Signs two Pieces of Legislation, Extending City's Rent Stabilization Laws, Honoring Late Public Servant Paul Vallone

March 25, 2024

Video available at: https://youtu.be/xQn8bKcQF9Q

Intro. 0653-A Extends NYC's Rent Stabilization Law of 1969 for Three Years

Intro. 0001-B Designates Animal Care Centers of NYC Facility in Queens to Be Named "Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center"

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today signed two pieces of legislation – one to extend the New York City Rent Stabilization Law of 1969 and another honoring late public servant Paul A. Vallone by naming the Animal Care Centers (ACC) of NYC facility in Queens the "Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center."

In response to the New York City Department of Housing and Preservation Development's (HPD) Housing Vacancy Survey, highlighting a historically low 1.4 percent rental vacancy rate, Intro. 0653-A, extends the city's vital rent stabilization law to April 1, 2027 and underscores the need for support from all levels of government to build more housing in New York City.

Intro. 0001-B honors public servant Paul Vallone – who passed away on January 28, 2024, and served as deputy commissioner for external affairs at the New York City Department of Veterans Services (DVS) and previously represented District 19 in Queens in the New York City Council – by naming an ACC location in Queens after him. As a councilmember, Vallone was a champion for animal welfare and advocated for improving the conditions for animals in New York City.

"Our rent stabilization laws are critical to the security of working-class New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized housing. With a historic-low 1.4 percent vacancy rate, our administration again calls on our colleagues in Albany to say 'yes' to more affordable housing, and to help us deliver more housing for the city and our state," said Mayor Adams. "Paul Vallone was a longtime friend, but, more importantly, a true public servant who served our city throughout his career. Over his time in office, the blue-collar community Paul represented knew they had a fighter from the neighborhood representing them at City Hall. He was a committed advocate for veterans, serving those who have served our country, and fought to protect animal welfare. The Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center will forever cement his legacy to public service."

"Our city is facing a housing emergency with a dire shortage of available homes that impacts all New Yorkers. The signing of this legislation into law extends the New York City Rent Stabilization Law of 1969 to ensure rent regulation protections can continue unimpeded within our city," said Speaker Adams. "We all must remain focused on pursuing the many necessary solutions to confront the housing crisis that makes our city less affordable to all New Yorkers. I'm also proud of my legislation to rename the Animal Care Center in Queens after former New York City Councilmember Paul Vallone. A passionate advocate for animals and their welfare, former Councilmember Vallone was pivotal in the passage of a law requiring full-service animal shelters in every borough. This renaming is a fitting tribute to his longstanding commitment to animals and our entire city."

"Our severe housing crisis is evident by the historic low vacancy rate from the 2023 Housing Vacancy Survey and the pressures New York City renters are facing every day as they try to find safe, affordable housing across the five boroughs," said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. "Declaring a housing emergency to extend and protect rent stabilization, while also working collaboratively with our legislative partners to turn the tide on our decades-long housing crisis, is essential to ensuring that we can continue to be a city accessible for all. I thank Speaker Adrienne Adams, Housing and Buildings Chair Pierina Sanchez, and the entire City Council for their leadership in this effort. I am also heartened to see our friend, the late Councilmember Paul A. Vallone, honored in ensuring future generations know about his commitment to New York City."

"Today's bill signing is not a moment to celebrate, but a moment to double down on efforts to fix the city's housing crisis once and for all. Not in the future, not in the next legislative session, but this year," said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. "Declaring a housing emergency and extending rent stabilization another three years is a necessary step to protect some of the most vulnerable renters from unaffordable rent increases, but it does not get us out of this crisis. Today and every day, we are renewing our calls for all levels of government to step up and deliver the tools we need to build housing at the scale this crisis demands. Everyone must step up."

"As we reflect on the life and legacy of our colleague and friend, Paul Vallone, it is both an honor and a privilege to witness the establishment of the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center with this legislation," said DVS Commissioner James Hendon. "Paul's commitment to improving welfare of animals across this city, coupled with his parallel dedication to our veterans, is a testament to his remarkable character and I am humbled to have had the opportunity to serve alongside him."

"Paul Vallone dedicated much of his life and public service to the well-being of animals and ensuring each borough has a full-service animal shelter – furthering his family's legacy and remaining an inspiration to us all," said New York City Mayor's Office of Animal Welfare Director Alexandra Silver. "Once the bright, welcoming new Animal Care Center bearing Paul Vallone's name opens later this year, Queens will have an animal shelter that reflects his and our city's humanity."

Intro. 0653-A – sponsored by New York City Councilmember Pierina Sanchez – underscores the Adams administration's urgent calls for action at every level of government to combat the housing crisis as state lawmakers consider a package of new affordable housing tools and as the administration's historic "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity" nears the start of the city's public review process. To address this crisis, the administration has worked to use every tool at its disposal to accelerate housing production and deliver the affordability New Yorkers need and deserve. In 2023, Mayor Adams announced the city had closed on financing for the creation of an all-time record 14,227 new affordable homes and directly connected more New Yorkers to homes than ever before in the city's history, bringing nearly 13,000 households into affordable units.

To accelerate housing production and deliver relief to New Yorkers, the Adams administration has advanced a number of creative solutions, including its "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity" proposal to build 100,000 additional homes through significant pro-housing reforms to the city's zoning code; an office conversion accelerator; new proposed rules to streamline approvals for sustainable housing; and several pilot programs to help fund the creation of accessory dwelling units, help move New Yorkers out of shelters and into renovated apartments, and fuel mixed-income development in neighborhoods across the city; among other innovative efforts.

Intro. 0001-B – sponsored by New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams – will honor Paul A. Vallone and build on the administration's efforts to support animal welfare across New York City. Last year, the administration broke ground on the new ACC in Baychester. The $92 million project – anticipated to open by the end of 2025 – will provide necessary animal care and adoption services in the Bronx that supports a safe, healthy, comfortable, and humane environment for animals, staff, and visitors. The ACC in the Bronx is one of several animal adoption and shelter projects the administration is working on throughout the city, including new facilities in Manhattan and Brooklyn. In October 2022, the city celebrated the completion of a new center on Staten Island. The new Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center will open by the end of 2024.

"Paul Vallone was a tremendous public servant," said U.S. Representative Grace Meng. "He was a great person and a wonderful friend, and I continue to miss him. Naming this ACC location in his honor will be an outstanding way to remember an important part of his legacy which is his many years of advocating for animals, and championing animal welfare issues in our city. As somebody who has also fought to protect the well-being of animals, I am thrilled that this facility will bear his name. I thank Mayor Adams for signing this legislation and I thank Speaker Adams for sponsoring the measure. I cannot wait for the opening of the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center!"

"Paul Vallone was an exceptional person," said U.S. Representative Tom Suozi. "A loving husband, devoted father and model public servant – to recognize his contribution is all together fitting and proper."

"Throughout his life, Paul Vallone was a stalwart champion for the fair treatment and well-being of animals," said New York State Senator John Liu. "His work in the City Council led to the passage of landmark legislation that ensures the operation of a full service animal shelter in all five boroughs. Renaming the Queens Animal Care Center after Paul is just one of the many ways his compassion, dedication to animal welfare, and enduring legacy will live on for generations."

"My friend and colleague Paul Vallone was a staunch supporter of animal welfare, and frequently hosted and attended pet adoption events throughout his council district sponsored by the Animal Care Centers of New York," said New York State Assemblymember Ed Braunstein. "Paul was the heart and driving force behind establishing the Queens Animal Care Center to better serve the community, and I can think of no more fitting honor to his legacy. I celebrate this bittersweet co-naming with Mayor Adams, Speaker Adams, the Vallone family, and the entire City of New York."

"Paul Vallone was a beloved friend to all who infused New York City politics with his civility, passion, and humanity," said New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. "A champion for the welfare of all living creatures, he passed Local Law 123 that required full-service animal shelters in every borough. Renaming the Queens Animal Care Center in his memory is a fitting tribute to the man who championed animal welfare. Our furry friends bring us love and comfort, even in a city as bustling as New York. We must reciprocate that love by always caring for their wellbeing. Just as Paul was a friend to all, may his shelter be a safe haven for all animals in need."

"With New York City in the throes of a housing crisis, we must move with the urgency of now to protect and expand our affordable housing stock. With the extension of our city's rent stabilization law now official, it's time to build in all corners of this borough. There is no time to waste," said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. "Secondly, anyone who had the incredible honor of calling Paul Vallone a friend, as I was proud to have had, knew that he was a devoted animal lover. His advocacy around animal welfare was second-to-none, and it is only right that his name be forever linked with the Animal Care Centers' Queens location and the work done there on a daily basis."

"New York's intersecting crises of rising evictions, record homelessness and housing unaffordability are only worsening," said Councilmember Sanchez. "The most recent housing vacancy survey highlights the lowest vacancy rate on record since the 1960s, showing a 1.4 percent vacancy rate with nearly 90 percent of unassisted low-income households severely rent burdened. As the demand for housing continues to surge and supply remains severely constrained, low-income and working-class New Yorkers are leaving in record numbers. In charting the path forward, we must increase housing supply to accommodate the city's needed growth, invest in building upgrades and tenant protections so tenants can remain safely in their homes, and increase New Yorkers' ability to afford their homes so they can stay and contribute to our city's vibrancy. Thus, Intro. 653 and Reso. 256, which acknowledge the finding of a historically low vacancy rate of 1.4 percent, allow for the continuation of rent regulation in New York City, a necessary step in providing even a modicum of stability for nearly a million rent regulated city households."

"As the chair of the New York City Council Health Committee and a Queens member of the city council, it is an honor to name the new ACC of NYC Center in Queens after former New York City Councilmember Paul Vallone," said New York City Councilmember Lynn Schulman. "Paul was an amazing welfare advocate and champion, and there is no better way to memorialize his work than to add his name to a building that will stand as a welcoming beacon for vulnerable animals in his home borough."

"The untimely passing of Paul A. Vallone came as a shock to the community," said New York City Councilmember Vickie Paladino. "I am thrilled that we can honor him by renaming the ACC of NYC in Queens the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center."

"Paul lived a life of love and compassion in all of his public activities," said New York City Councilmember James Gennaro. "He had no equal in that regard. The naming of this facility of compassion is the least that city government can do to honor Paul's inspiring legacy."

"Councilmember Vallone's unwavering commitment to animal welfare and his instrumental role in advocating for improved conditions for New York City animals resonates deeply with the mission and values of everyone at ACC," said Risa Weinstock, CEO, ACC of NYC. "This naming initiative not only honors his legacy, but also serves as a symbol of our collective dedication to creating a compassionate and supportive environment for the animals in our care."

"Councilmember Paul Vallone was a dedicated and extremely effective champion for vulnerable people and animals throughout his time in the New York City Council. We grieve his loss and celebrate his legacy of humane laws and policies," said Matt Bershadker, president and CEO, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Vallone played a critical role in leading efforts to establish full-service animal shelters in all five boroughs, and renaming the Queens shelter is a wonderful way to honor his commitment to animal welfare. We look forward to continuing to support our longtime partners at Animal Care Centers of NYC as they expand their services to help even more animals in need."