One of the most beautiful places in the city to walk with all of it's wonderful paths. We love walking our clients dogs there. Please visit Puptopia if you are in need of a dog walker or pet sitter: http://www.PuptopiaNYC.com

Update, Puptopia's website can now be found at the link below. They have many useful resources on dog training on their site and they provide nyc dog walking services to residents of Stuy Town and other areas of Manhattan:

NYC Dog Walker Services

Rejoice! You can now legally own dogs and cats in Stuy Town. Please click the following link to view resources on nyc dog walker services in Stuy Town.

i would love to move there, but i am worried about my cats.

can i really bring them with me even though it is "not allowed"?

I'm a Stuy Town resident for many years. I have a cat and I've never had a problem. That isn't to say that at times there is a gestapo like feeling coming from MET LIFE, including questionable rent increases. Overall, however, I would be lying to say it's not a great place to live in. Nice grounds, friendly neighbors, mixed family, races, sexual orientations - a nice microcosm of nice people... if you have the opportunity to live here, I would, especially if you're in a rent stabilized apt, which I don't think are any longer available.

I live downtown, and have an appt to see an apt at Stuyvesant town on Sat. What should I know? Give me the down and dirty of the place. Thanks!

CTRC Fact Sheets -- reproduced with permission.

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The Community Training Resource Center (CTRC) is a city-wide not-

for-profit organization that champions the rights of modest and

low-income tenants and promotes the preservation, improvement,

and expansion of affordable housing. CTRC provides training and

technical assistance for neighborhood housing groups, community

based organizations, legislative staffs and social service

providers.

CTRC produces fact sheets on tenants' rights, develops and

publishes research reports, and provides a written guide to New

York City government processes. CTRC advocates on budget policies

that affect housing and related services in low-income

neighborhoods. CTRC has led the campaign for the improvement and

expansion of the city's Housing Maintenance Code inspection and

enforcement services.

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CTRC Fact Sheet #007

TENANT'S RIGHT TO PETS

The right to keep a pet in New York City apartments was

strengthened with the enactment of Section 27-2009.1 of the

Housing Maintenance Code in 1983. The tenants to whom this

provision applies are:

o Tenants in privately - owned multiple dwellings (three or

more residential units)

o Mitchell-Lama tenants

o Tenants in city-owned (HPD) buildings

Tenants living in New York City Housing Authority buildings

(NYCHA), however, are not protected, although NYCHA regulations

have eased.

Reasons for the Law

The current law was enacted by the New York City Council

concerned that multiple dwelling leases prohibiting the keeping

of household pets had led to, "widespread abuses by building

owners or their agents, who knowing that a tenant has a pet for

an extended period of time, seek to evict the tenant and/or his

or her pet often for reasons unrelated to the creation of a

nuisance". The Council went on to declare, in the law, that pets

were kept for legitimate reasons of "safety and companionship"

and because of the continuing housing emergency it was "necessary

to protect pet owners from retaliatory eviction" by landlords

desiring possession of apartments. It concluded that enactment of

the provision was necessary "to prevent potential hardship and

dislocation of tenants within this city."

What the Law Says

Section 27-2009.1 states:

Where a tenant in a multiple dwelling openly and notoriously for

a period of three months or more following taking possession of a

unit, harbors or has harbored a household pet or pets, the

harboring of which is not prohibited by the multiple dwelling

law, the housing maintenance or the health codes of the city of

New York or any other applicable law, and the owner or his agent

has knowledge of this fact, and such owner fails within this

three month period to commence a summary proceeding or action to

enforce a lease provision prohibiting the keeping of such

household pets, such lease provision shall be waived.

Sometimes the law is called the "pet waiver law." It requires the

landlord to enforce any existing provision of a current lease

prohibiting pets within three months of the tenant's taking

possession of an apartment, or Obtaining a pet, or forever lose

the right to do so. In this context, "enforce" means the landlord

must start an eviction proceeding in Housing Court based on the

"no pets" clause in the lease. Failure to start such proceeding

would render the restrictive clause unenforceable.

Additionally, once a three-month waiver period is established,

the replacement of a pet who has died with another would not give

the landlord a new opportunity to object.

Exception

The waiver provision does not apply, however, if the household

pet causes damage to the dwelling unit or building, creates a

nuisance or "interferes substantially with the health, safety or

welfare of other tenants or occupants of the same or adjacent

building or structure."

Practical Tips

The law refers to the three month period as beginning with the

tenant taking possession of the unit. However, a tenant who moved

in without a pet would probably trigger the start of the three-

month period if they acquired a pet at a later date.

Since the provision requires keeping the pet "openly and

notoriously", overt acts by the tenant to hide the pet might be

self-defeating. Such acts might help the landlord prove that he

could not possibly have known about the pet and, therefore, did

not act. However, if it can be shown (by testimony of neighbors,

building personnel, etc.) that the tenant has kept the pet

openly, it is not necessary to show that the landlord knew about

the pet.

The "pet law" was intended to shift the burden of proving a

breach of the lease to the landlord and this, it seems, has been

accomplished. There have been very few pet-related evictions in

private housing since its enactment.

Moreover, the rare tenant who might lose a pet case is ultimately

protected from eviction by Section 753(4) of the Real Property

Law, which requires a judge rendering a judgment for possession

to a landlord to give the tenant an automatic ten days to "cure"

(dispose of the pet) and avoid eviction.

Of course, removing a pet would be a painful, if not impossible,

decision for many pet-owners. Fortunately, the law is interpreted

liberally by most judges, as it seems clear that its intent is to

protect tenants from having to face such an inhumane situation.

###

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These article are Copyright 1995 and 1996 by Community Training Resource

Center (CTRC) and reproduced by TenantNet. They may be freely

redistributed in their entirety provided they are reproduced exactly

as in the originals, including this copyright notice, the opening and

closing informational banners and any references to either CTRC

or TenantNet must be included.

These article are provided as is without any express or implied

warranty. While any information in these article is believed to be

correct at the time of writing, these articles are for educational

purposes only and do not purport to provide legal advice. If

you require legal advice, you should consult with a legal

practitioner licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.

Community Training Resource Center (212)964-7200

47 Ann Street

New York, NY 10038

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TenantNet - the online resource for residential tenants

TenantNet is not an apartment referral service or brokerage,

is not associated with any government agency, political party

or ideology. The information is believed to be accurate and is

for informational purposes only. TenantNet cannot act as

attorneys and makes no representations, expressed or implied,

that the information can or will be used or interpreted in any

particular way by any governmental agency or court.

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I think its absurd what stuy town is doing. It just about money and metlife is a greedy corporation.NYC dog walking

Alison is right. According to the Administrative Code of the City of New York, Section 27-2009.1, if a landlord fails, within three months of his knowledge of a tenant's open and notorious harboring of a pet, to enforce any applicable "no pet" provision, then any such provision is deemed void. So all those residents of Stuyvesant Town who've had their pets for more than three months (except maybe those who've been hiding them in laundry carts) should fear not.

Sty Town Management is evil. The number of stories I have heard combined with my personal experience has left me scarred. But get used to more of the same- the public/private lease is coming to an end, so you should all expect Met Life to begin selling them off as condos in the near future (at least the ones on 1st Ave). I had a neighbor there 4 years ago who would put her dog in her laundry cart and cover it with clothes until they got outside- a pretty common occurance.

I have a friend who lives in Stuyvesant Town - at her grandmother's apartment of course - and the place is really becoming a mini-dictatorship. They're putting the squeeze on the residents big time to get rig of the illegal tenants and/or those paying ridiculously low rent. But it is so evil the way they are going about it.

BTW, I swear I read that you can have a pet legally if you've had it in a non-pet building for more than 3 months without it being noticed or something to that effect.

My mother's aunt lived in Stuyvesant Town from 1946 until she kicked the bucket in 2001 (her husband died in 1997). Her rent was so low she paid it with rolled nickels.