Bill de Blasio, the city's public advocate, is proposing an eight-point package agreement with Craigslist permits tenants to clink on a link named "NYC's worst landlords" on the apartment search pages to get information that highlights, with the help of Google Maps, landlords with the worst inspection records, according to an article by David W. Chen in today's edition of The New York Times.

"With the support of the Bloomberg administration," the article continued, "the package would deprive landlords with dubious records of certain taxpayer subsidies; they would not, for example, be permitted to accept rental vouchers, and they would be denied new leases or lease renewals from city agencies."

"We need a more aggressive and creative approach," Mr. de Blasio said, adding that "when landlords know that there will be financial ramifications to inappropriate behavior, that is the best way to induce change," the article said.

"A new board member for the New York City Housing Authority. Housing could also be a major issue in the next mayor's race, in 2013, which seems likely to feature a crowded field of Democratic candidates. And Mr. de Blasio, a former housing official in the Clinton administration, is burnishing his housing resume with the kind of pro-tenant talking points favored by the powerful unions that often dominate a Democratic primary," the article said.

"Mr. de Blasio is not the only potential candidate with extensive housing credentials: Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, is a former tenant organizer who has worked closely with developers and housing groups; she has recently been promoting a proposal to allow developers to use stalled condominium sites for moderate-income housing," the article continued, adding that "asked about Mr. de Blasio's package, Jamie McShane, a spokesman for Ms. Quinn, said: 'protecting tenants is a top priority for the Council. We welcome any ideas on this issue and look forward to reviewing these proposals.'"

"The Craigslist link, to 'NYC's Worst Landlords Watchlist,' is part of an initiative Mr. de Blasio began last year. It identifies landlords and maps buildings that have been cited for repeated housing code violations. More than 400 buildings owned by 320 landlords have been listed so far," the article said.

Several of Mr. de Blasio's proposals were welcomed by the Bloomberg administration.

"Under one proposal," the article said that "Mr. de Blasio, with the help of South Brooklyn Legal Services, would recruit private lawyers to assist tenants, pro bono, in housing court. Under another, State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, would sponsor a bill imposing mandatory minimum fines on landlords for the most egregious housing violations."

"Not all the proposals are intended to punish landlords," the article said, adding that "one would help landlords gain access to capital to help them repair shoddy buildings more quickly. Another would cut red tape in the certification and inspection process - much to the satisfaction of landlord groups like the Rent Stabilization Association of New York, said Frank P. Ricci, the group's director of government affairs."

But, the article added,"Mr. Ricci also voiced concern about the provision preventing a landlord with repeated housing code violations from renewing a lease with the city in a separate office building with an unblemished record. He noted that the lines between ownership and management are often blurred, and that, sometimes, personal grudges or unsubstantiated claims can seep into a tenant's complaints about an owner."