S 8559: Establishes the crime of aggravated harassment of a rent regulated tenant which occurs when an owner intentionally engages in a systematic ongoing course of conduct to induce three or more rent regulated tenants occupying different housing accommodations in two or more residential buildings to vacate such housing accommodations or if such owner commits the crime of harassment of a rent regulated tenant and was previously convicted of the same crime in the past five years.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8559 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE October 29, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the aggravated harassment of a rent regulated tenant; and repealing certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 241.05 of the penal law is 2 REPEALED. 3 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 241.07 to read 4 as follows: 5 § 241.07 Aggravated harassment of a rent regulated tenant. 6 An owner is guilty of aggravated harassment of a rent regulated tenant 7 when: 8 1. With intent to induce two or more rent regulated tenants occupying 9 different housing accommodations in two or more residential buildings to 10 vacate such housing accommodations, such owner intentionally engages in 11 a systematic ongoing course of conduct that: 12 (a) impairs the habitability of such housing accommodations; or 13 (b) creates or maintains a condition which endangers the safety or 14 health of one or more of the dwellings' rent regulated tenants; or 15 (c) is reasonably likely to interfere with or disturb, and does inter- 16 fere with or disturb, the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of one or more 17 of such rent regulated tenants in their use and occupancy of such hous- 18 ing accommodation including, but not limited to, the interruption or 19 discontinuance of essential services. 20 2. Such owner commits the crime of harassment of a rent regulated 21 tenant in the first degree as defined in section 241.05 of this article 22 and has previously been convicted within the preceding five years of 23 such crime. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13983-02-5 
 S. 8559 2 1 The good faith commencement and pursuit of a lawful eviction action by 2 an owner against a rent regulated tenant in a court of competent juris- 3 diction shall not, by itself, constitute a "systematic ongoing course of 4 conduct" in violation of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this 5 section. 6 Aggravated harassment of a rent regulated tenant is a class D felony. 7 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 8 have become a law.