N.Y. Private Housing Finance Law § 32-a

§ 32-a. Additional supervision and regulation. The commissioner or the\nsupervising agency, as the case may be, shall:\n 1. Promulgate regulations providing for recognition of duly\nconstituted tenants' associations and cooperators' advisory councils by\nthe commissioner or supervising agency, as the case may be, and\nproviding that a housing company shall meet on a regular basis with\nrepresentatives of such an association or council at the specific\nproject involved to discuss matters relating to the project. A duly\nconstituted cooperators' advisory council shall only be such a council\nin a mutual company project prior to the election of a board of\ndirectors by the tenant-cooperators.\n 2. Require every company to file with him or it an annual operating\nbudget for each individual project in the manner prescribed by the\ncommissioner or supervising agency.\n 3. Require every company to file with him or it semi-annual or\nquarterly financial statements and an annual financial statement. Each\nannual financial statement shall be accompanied by a certificate of the\ncompany's independent certified public accountant. Such financial\nstatements shall be filed at the times and in the manner prescribed by\nthe commissioner or supervising agency.\n 4. Afford tenants access to and an opportunity to acquire copies of\nall operating budgets or financial statements respecting the project in\nwhich such tenants reside, to the extent that such budgets and\nstatements are required by law to be kept by the commissioner or\nsupervising agency.\n 5. Permit any tenant, duly constituted tenants' association, duly\nconstituted cooperators' advisory council or his or its duly authorized\nrepresentative to audit the books of the company and to have access\nduring normal business hours to the financial records upon which the\ncompany's financial statements are based.\n 6. Promulgate regulations relating to managing agents, including\ncriteria for the eligibility for selection and the compensation of\nmanaging agents by companies organized pursuant to this article. Such\nregulations shall provide, among other things, that any contract with a\nmanaging agent entered into after September first, nineteen hundred\nseventy-seven shall be terminable for cause and shall be terminable,\nwith or without cause, at least every twelve months after commencement\nof the term thereof, and that promptly upon termination the managing\nagent shall turn over to the company all project records, rent rolls,\nbills, cancelled checks, bank statements and other papers owned by such\ncompany.\n 7. Require that every company file with him or it, within six months\nof the effective date of regulations implementing this subdivision and\nin such format as shall be prescribed by the commissioner or the\nsupervising agency after consultation with the state energy office, an\nenergy audit report which identifies potential energy-saving building\nimprovements, including alterations, modifications and adjustments to\nthe building structure, heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation\nsystems; their relative costs; potential energy and cost savings; and\nsimple payback periods, which for the purpose of this subdivision shall\nmean that period of time within which the estimated cost of such\nimprovements, exclusive of the cost of capital, would be recovered from\nthe savings generated by reduced energy consumption resulting from the\nimprovements. The energy audit shall be conducted by a public utility,\nan engineer or architect licensed by the state, or the managing agent or\nother representative of the company if such individual has attended an\nenergy audit training workshop sponsored by the commissioner or the\nstate energy office. A copy of the energy audit report, required herein,\nshall be given to any duly constituted tenant's association or\ncooperator's advisory council and a copy shall be available for\ninspection and copying by any individual tenant who requests it. The\ncommissioner or supervising agency shall also require that every company\ncertify by March thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-four that all\ncompatible conservation measures identified in the energy audit report\nwhich have simple payback periods of one year or less have been\nimplemented; provided, however, if the commissioner or supervising\nagency determines within sixty days of the date the energy audit report\nis filed that one or more of such identified conservation measures\ncannot be implemented by March thirty-first, nineteen hundred\neighty-four, given the projected rent revenues and other monies\navailable to the company from reserve funds, loans or grants from the\nstate or federal government or any other source, the implementation of\nsuch conservation measures shall be provided for according to a schedule\nprescribed by the commissioner or supervising agency.\n Require that within ten days of the filing of any reports or financial\nstatements with the commissioner or supervising agency, the housing\ncompany shall transmit a copy of said report or financial statement to a\nduly constituted resident board of directors, and if there be none, to a\ncooperator's advisory council or a duly constituted tenants association\nrepresenting the project concerned. Where no such council or association\nexists in a project, a notice shall be posted informing the residents of\nthe location on the premises of the project where a copy of said report\nor financial statement is available for inspection. The notice shall be\nposted within ten days of filing, in a prominent place on the premises\nof the project concerned.\n