Let's not fool ourselves...this sort of disregard to the rights of our neighbors is an affront to human dignity.
Subpoena issued against Brooklyn landlord accused of harassing tenants
Darryl Towns, commissioner/CEO of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). AP PhotoFrom Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office
The
State’s Tenant Protection Unit (TPU) has served a subpoena on a
landlord who is alleged to be violating the rights of tenants in
Flatbush and Crown Heights.
The subpoena demands documents from Homewood Gardens and seven other properties with a total of 181 units, owned and managed by Yeshaya Wasserman. Wasserman has allegedly engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior and flagrant violations of rent laws.
“New York State will not let landlords get away with profiting off of tenants through dishonest and illegal schemes,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “When we launched the Tenant Protection Unit last year, my administration established a new strong tenant watchdog to stop harassment and prevent discrimination. These subpoenas are proof that the TPU is actively fighting to ensure that predatory landlords have no place in New York.”
Darryl C. Towns, commissioner/CEO of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), which includes the TPU, said, “In interviewing the tenants in these buildings, we understood how vulnerable they feel – some of them terrified about potentially losing their homes. As a native of Brooklyn, I know most landlords of rent-regulated housing here obey the law, dealing fairly and honestly with their tenants. Thanks to the governor’s leadership, the TPU is diligently responding to reports of harassment and unlawful behavior – and rooting out those few bad actors to hold them accountable.”
Long-term tenants at Homewood Gardens (651-667 Brooklyn Ave., 652-668 Brooklyn Ave. and 416-444 Hawthorne St.) contacted the TPU to help them with the landlord who they claim was victimizing them by failing to cash rent checks, failing to provide services including heat and hot water, pressuring tenants to vacate their apartments, subjecting tenants to frivolous housing court proceedings and doubling and tripling the rent soon after purchasing the property.
Additionally, a preliminary audit of agency records has shown that the landlord often registered rents with the agency as exactly $2,500, regardless of the amount previously registered. Doing so allowed the landlord to claim that the rent had reached the deregulation threshold – and could exit regulation. Agency records show that the landlord may have also unlawfully deregulated apartments while receiving a J-51 tax abatement, which mandates that apartments remain rent-regulated.
Aga Trojniak from the Flatbush Tenants Coalition, which worked with the TPU on the investigation, said, “For tenants who have been suffering and struggling with harassment, knowing Governor Cuomo’s agency is investigating provides immeasurable relief. But the relief is not just for the tenants of one bad landlord – it extends to other tenants who may similarly be tormented by an abusive landlord. Tenants and advocates now have somewhere to turn.”
Edward Josephson, director of litigation, South Brooklyn Legal Services said, “Landlords cannot engage in corrupt practices which threaten and endanger tenants. Harassment by landlords that violates the law will not be tolerated. We are delighted to be working with Governor Cuomo’s Tenant Protection Unit to halt this discriminatory and abusive behavior.”
The subpoena demands documents from Homewood Gardens and seven other properties with a total of 181 units, owned and managed by Yeshaya Wasserman. Wasserman has allegedly engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior and flagrant violations of rent laws.
“New York State will not let landlords get away with profiting off of tenants through dishonest and illegal schemes,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “When we launched the Tenant Protection Unit last year, my administration established a new strong tenant watchdog to stop harassment and prevent discrimination. These subpoenas are proof that the TPU is actively fighting to ensure that predatory landlords have no place in New York.”
Darryl C. Towns, commissioner/CEO of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), which includes the TPU, said, “In interviewing the tenants in these buildings, we understood how vulnerable they feel – some of them terrified about potentially losing their homes. As a native of Brooklyn, I know most landlords of rent-regulated housing here obey the law, dealing fairly and honestly with their tenants. Thanks to the governor’s leadership, the TPU is diligently responding to reports of harassment and unlawful behavior – and rooting out those few bad actors to hold them accountable.”
Long-term tenants at Homewood Gardens (651-667 Brooklyn Ave., 652-668 Brooklyn Ave. and 416-444 Hawthorne St.) contacted the TPU to help them with the landlord who they claim was victimizing them by failing to cash rent checks, failing to provide services including heat and hot water, pressuring tenants to vacate their apartments, subjecting tenants to frivolous housing court proceedings and doubling and tripling the rent soon after purchasing the property.
Additionally, a preliminary audit of agency records has shown that the landlord often registered rents with the agency as exactly $2,500, regardless of the amount previously registered. Doing so allowed the landlord to claim that the rent had reached the deregulation threshold – and could exit regulation. Agency records show that the landlord may have also unlawfully deregulated apartments while receiving a J-51 tax abatement, which mandates that apartments remain rent-regulated.
Aga Trojniak from the Flatbush Tenants Coalition, which worked with the TPU on the investigation, said, “For tenants who have been suffering and struggling with harassment, knowing Governor Cuomo’s agency is investigating provides immeasurable relief. But the relief is not just for the tenants of one bad landlord – it extends to other tenants who may similarly be tormented by an abusive landlord. Tenants and advocates now have somewhere to turn.”
Edward Josephson, director of litigation, South Brooklyn Legal Services said, “Landlords cannot engage in corrupt practices which threaten and endanger tenants. Harassment by landlords that violates the law will not be tolerated. We are delighted to be working with Governor Cuomo’s Tenant Protection Unit to halt this discriminatory and abusive behavior.”
3 comments:
wow...sounds like my landlord at 305 ocean ave.. the SMRC co uses all the same tactics to evict 8 tenants illegally in the last 2 years......holding our checks for up to 4 months and then cashing them all right after x-mss or right after tax time, posting eviction notices on our door with 5 days to see the judge ( a legal loophole) no heat, no hep when there is Bedbugs, vermin, illegal leases that say 'rent stadlised but are actually luxury leases that start at 2000.00 meaning they can double the rent after 4 years....etc....beware renters..these are the same ol same ole trix the slumlords use these days...
Glamoraglam: 305 Ocean, right near my beloved Q. Very, very useful to know. Others? Let's start keeping track...
"This sort of thing isn't happening in in our neighborhood" or "it's the price of living in NYC" are the responses usually given by many neighbors when this topic comes up at community gatherings. I wish more neighbors were like you and would do a bit of digging into these things to find out why established residents are so worked up before brushing what's said off as conjecture.
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