Two landlord who persecuted tenants demanding their eviction from their rent stabilized rent in three buildings in Bushwick, agreed to pay $ 132 000 fine for violation of the law on harassment.
The building at 920 Bushwick Ave, Bushwick Ave 926 and 1075 Greene Ave was purchased by Graham and Greg Jones in 2016. According to a statement by state attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the landlords immediately began to offer residents the purchased buildings to leave their apartments in exchange for a reward.
«Tenants should never be prosecuted and be forced to evict,» said attorney General Schneiderman. «We will aggressively apply the law to protect tenants from those who seek to profit by violating the rights of new Yorkers. And we will continue to fight for stricter state laws, which we need for criminal prosecution against unscrupulous tenants.»
In the period from June 2016 to July 2017 about one third of tenants in three buildings, referred to, has accepted the proposals of landlords and moved out, getting a small fee, but the landlord has not provided them with the required written explanation of their rights in accordance with local laws. This practice of «redemption» without written notice of rights was deemed illegal in 2015 in accordance with the bill Intro 700, which was clarified definition of «harassment» in accordance with the housing regulations. Now brothers-the landlords will be required to pay a fine in the amount of $ 132,000. The money will be transferred to the Department of Finance in new York.
This case is the prosecution of landlords is a landmark for new York as retribution for the harassment of tenants has overtaken the landlords for the first time in accordance with the new law. The city authorities hope that the case will be significant and will lead to a significant decrease in the level of abuse by landlords.
