Newly proposed bill would require landlords to provide air conditioning

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Tenants in New York City could be feeling a lot cooler by this time next year, as a newly proposed bill is requiring that landlords provide air conditioning. Councilmember Lincoln Restler proposed the legislation and other advocates have come to back it. According to Restler’s office, 350 New Yorkers die every year due to heat-related illnesses. "You see these apartments get really hot and we have elderly people that shouldn't be in there apartments with no air especially in the summer,” said resident Nilza. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development says that landlords are required to provide heat and hot water year-round – and Restler says this law will mirror that by requiring those landlords provide cooling as well. Members of the Rent Stabilization Association say that more practical solutions need to be approached in order to provide better living for all. “The building systems have to have capacity, the city and state electrical grid has to have the capacity,” said Kelly Farrell, policy analyst for the RSA. “We have to make sure all of these things coordinate so that we can go forward in a practical carbon-neutral revenue-neutral way.” "