Gov. Kathy Hochul signs bill granting government access to previously hidden LLC records, but no public database
NEW YORK -- Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday signed a bill intended to make it easier to find out who owns a building in New York state, but the bill's sponsors said a key aspect was left out.
The law will allow state agencies and local governments to know who owns anonymous Limited Liability Companies operating in New York.
The bill signed by Hochul did not include the provision for a public database.
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the bill's sponsors, released a joint statement, saying:
Unfortunately, this law does not create the publicly available database that we fought for and that the Legislature passed with significant majorities. Disclosure to state and local governments is an important first step but it is not transparency. Tenants deserve to know who they pay rent to, and employees should know who owns the companies mistreating them. That fight is not over.
The database would have made public the names of those who benefit from certain LLCs.
CBS New York investigative reporter Tim McNicholas looked into what the database would've meant for New Yorkers and how it ties into the partial building collapse in the Bronx.
"Right now, there's no way to know who owns an LLC. So if there's any issues with that business, it's very difficult to hold that actual business accountable," Gallagher told McNicholas.
The Real Estate Board of New York opposed the creation of the database, saying it "would create privacy and identity theft risks for New Yorkers and risks weakening New York's economy."
