Governor Andrew Cuomo and Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman today announced a lawsuit against Marolda
Properties, Inc., a Manhattan property management company that manages
rent-regulated apartment buildings and the landlords who own the
buildings. The lawsuit is the result of a joint investigation between
the Attorney General’s Office and Governor Cuomo’s Tenant Protection
Unit. An investigation into defendants’ practices was originally initiated by
the Tenant Protection Unit of the New York State Division of Housing
and Community Renewal after receiving complaints from various non-profit
organizations that work with and in the tenants’ neighborhoods. A TPU
subpoena examined the business practices of Marolda for tenant
harassment and allegations of trying to force long-term Asian-American
tenants out of their rent-regulated apartments.
“This administration has no tolerance for
those who seek to undermine the rights of tenants and use intimidation
and harassment to deny them the protections they are entitled to under
the law,” Governor Cuomo said.
“We created the Tenant Protection Unit to ensure these renters have a
voice and, as today’s action demonstrates, we will continue to root out
these unscrupulous practices and create a safer, fairer and more
affordable New York for all.”
“No tenant should be subjected to unsafe
conditions, harassment, illegal eviction and other violations of the
housing and rent laws,” Attorney General Schneiderman
said. “Unfortunately, some landlords believe they can get away with
using these tactics to coerce tenants out of their apartments so they
can then raise the rent. My office will continue to partner with TPU
and other government agencies to do everything in our power to put a
stop to these types of unlawful practices.”
The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme
Court, alleges that Marolda Properties and the other defendants
improperly sought to evict rent-regulated tenants by serving notices and
bringing proceedings in housing court falsely alleging that the tenants
no longer occupied the premises as their primary residence. The
lawsuit also alleges that defendants refused to renew tenants’
legally-required leases, overcharged and failed to account for rent paid
by tenants, did not conduct necessary and proper repairs and
renovations, and engaged in other harassing, deceptive and retaliatory
behavior. The suit seeks a court order prohibiting defendants from
engaging in these kinds of practices in the future, directing them to
pay damages and/or restitution to tenants who were harmed, disgorge all
profits that resulted from their illegal practices, pay penalties for
their illegal conduct, create comprehensive policies for employees to
follow and engage a third-party administrator to monitor compliance with
the law.
New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner James S. Rubin
said, “This joint investigation between the Governor’s Tenant
Protection Unit and the Attorney General brings the full weight of the
state’s resources to bear on landlords who use harassment schemes in an
effort to vacate rent-regulated apartments and break up tight-knit
communities. It’s wrong and it stops here. We’re fighting for the
rights of tenants in Chinatown and the Lower East Side and across the
city to stay in their affordable homes. The Tenant Protection Unit will
continue to work hard to combat landlords who are trying to use the
court system as a vehicle to harass and evict their tenants.”
Since its creation in 2012, the Tenant
Protection Unit’s enforcement activities have led to the registration of
over 53,000 improperly deregulated apartments and the recovery of over
$2.8 million in overcharged rent for unsuspecting tenants through
settlement agreements and administrative proceedings.
The affiliated landlords named in the
lawsuit include Green Leaf Associates, LLC, Forsyth Green, LLC, Forsyth
Blue, LLC, 83-85 Baxter Street, LLC, 7 Rivington Street, LLC, 90
Elizabeth St., LLC, Ludlow 65 Realty LLC, 13-15 Essex Street, LLC, 145
Ave. C., LLC, and 100 Forsyth Associates, LLC.
The lawsuit alleges that defendants served
tenants with notices (called “Golub” notices) that stated that the
tenants did not actually live at their apartments and that an eviction
proceeding would be filed if the tenants did not leave voluntarily at
the end of their lease. Defendants frequently had little or no evidence
to support their claims. In fact, database searches relied on by
defendants showed the tenants did in fact live in the apartments they
claimed to live in, or merely showed that the tenants had lived at other
buildings many years earlier. The notices and lawsuits were also
frequently based on conclusory claims that the landlords’ employees had
not seen the tenants around their apartments for an extended period of
time, when in fact many of the tenants frequently come and go from their
apartments and sometimes even see the landlords’ employees on a regular
basis. Defendants used these tactics to wear down their rent-regulated
tenants, many of whom are elderly and do not speak English fluently,
into leaving their apartments, sometimes in exchange for additional
payments. Once the apartments are vacated, defendants may raise the
rent under the rent regulation laws and thereby increase their profits.
The lawsuit further alleges that defendants
have engaged in construction, renovations and repairs on their buildings
without the legally required permits, and on other occasions have
signed statements on their permit applications falsely claiming that the
buildings are vacant. This allowed them to unlawfully evade the legal
requirement to create a tenant protection plan specifically designed to
safeguard the safety and health of their tenants during construction.
The lawsuit also alleges that defendants
have at times locked tenants out of their apartments, engaged in
unnecessary or unnecessarily burdensome and lengthy repairs and on other
occasions failed to engage in necessary repairs, sometimes leaving
tenants with substandard, unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions. For
instance, the lawsuit alleges that certain tenants living at 13-15
Essex Street in the Lower East Side are presently forced to pay for and
use slow, ineffective and in light of the electrical wiring in the
building, potentially dangerous store-bought hot plates to cook and heat
their food, because their gas has been turned off by the landlord since
February of this year. At the same time, these elderly tenants, one of
whom has a disability, are forced to climb three flights of stairs to
use an alternative restroom because their own toilet was removed in
August and never replaced.
Tenants who believe they are the target of
unlawful, deceptive or harassing behavior by landlords or their agents
are urged contact the A.G. in order to file complaints online or call 1-800-771-7755. Tenants who live in rent-regulated apartments and feel they are being harassed should also contact the TPU at (718) 739-6400 or TPUinfo@nyshcr.org.
The case against the Marolda Properties and
the affiliated landlords is being handled by Assistant Attorney General
Noah Popp, TPU Attorneys Karis Rasmussen and Jordan Fried, who have been
deputized as Special Assistant Attorney Generals for this matter,
Bureau Chief Jane M. Azia and the Executive Deputy Attorney General for
Economic Justice Manisha M. Sheth.
Additional TPU staff working on this
investigation includes TPU Legal Director Vernitta N. Chambers, under
the supervision of TPU Bureau Chief Gregory C. Fewer and under the
overall supervision of TPU Deputy Commissioner Richard R. White.
For more information about the Governor’s Tenant Protection Unit go to: www.nyshcr.org/TPU.
Source: Press Office, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
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