Crown Heights Tenants Seek Court Landlord to Fix Hazardous Living Conditions and Stop Tenant Harassment

February 21, 2019, BROOKLYN, NY – Today, 18 rent-stabilized tenants in four buildings in Crown Heights, Brooklyn are seeking a court order to force landlord Rubin Dukler, ranked the 17th worst landlord in New York City by the Public Advocate’s office, to fix 561 hazardous and unsanitary building violations and stop tenant harassment. 
 

 
Dukler has racked up more than 561 violations in these buildings, including inadequate heat and hot water during winter months, mold and water leaks, vermin infestations, uncapped radiator valves, missing window guards, and broken front doors and intercoms. Dukler also has a history of harassing tenants, including adding unjustified fees to their rent bills, failing to cash their rent checks in a timely way, and ignoring their lawful requests to succeed to a rent-stabilized lease, which tenants believe is a tactic to force them out of their rent-stabilized apartments. The tenants, organized by UHAB and represented by Brooklyn Legal Services’ Tenant Rights Coalition with support from the City’s Anti-Harassment and Tenant Protection program, are also asking the court to levy civil penalties against Dukler.

“We demand timely repairs and clean living conditions. You’re coming to us every month for rent, so don’t wait until the building is falling apart to make repairs. It’s disrespectful to the tenants, especially those of us who have lived here thirty or forty years,” said Viola Bibins, a tenant in one of the buildings.

“We’ve seen these tactics from landlords time and again — illegal charges and neglect of buildings — intended to force tenants to give up their rent-stabilized tenancies so their apartments can be deregulated and gentrified,” said Vivian Xie, staff attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services Tenant Rights Coalition. “Our office is proud to stand with these tenants as they fight back against their landlords’ unlawful conduct. That is why we are seeking a court order to force the landlord to maintain safe conditions and essential services, and to stop harassing their tenants.”

“New York City tenants are entitled to a safe and decent place to call home and the landlords who disregard their obligations will be held accountable,” said NYC Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks. “In collaboration with our legal assistance provider Legal Services NYC, we will use every tool available to ensure that this landlord clears up hundreds of well-documented violations in his buildings while we give tenants the support they need to live in the homes they deserve free of harassment and fear of displacement.”

All four buildings — 1018 Eastern Parkway, 1074 Eastern Parkway, 1392 Sterling Place, and 1460 Sterling Place — are owned by Rubin Dukler. Three of the four buildings are managed by Iris Holdings Group, whose principal Marc Blumenfrucht is alleged to have falsely reported the number of rent-stabilized tenants in other buildings he owns in order to get construction permits. In early 2018, Iris Holdings Group (IHG) took over management of 1018 Eastern Parkway, 1074 Eastern Parkway, and 1392 Sterling Place from Dukler’s Rikud Realty (Dukler still manages 1460 Sterling Place through Zohov Realty). Iris Holdings Group engages in speculative purchases to turn “distressed and under-performing assets into valuable, thriving properties,” according to their website.

In 2014, Iris Holdings Group sold six buildings on Eastern Parkway to an LLC controlled by Urban American, an investment firm that made the Public Advocate’s Worst Landlord List in 2015 for bad conditions and tenant harassment. The tenants fear that if Iris Holdings Group purchases their buildings, they will be subject to continued mistreatment in order to displace them from their apartments and replace them with higher-paying tenants.

Tenants are also drawing a connection between the lack of adequate repairs and the campaign for stronger rent laws that is heating up in Albany. Many owners of rent-stabilized buildings withhold repairs and harass long-term tenants in an effort to get them to leave. Once the apartment is vacant, landlords are legally allowed to take advantage of the “vacancy bonus” and hike rents by 20 percent. Eventually, this results in the deregulation of desperately needed affordable apartments. In 2017, over half the rent-stabilized units in New York City lost were lost due to vacancy decontrol. Local elected officials are joining the tenants on February 21 to offer support for the court case and call for an end to loopholes in the rent laws.

“We know landlords are trying to push out long-term tenants so they can raise the rent. We’re asking our legislators to reform the rent laws by closing the loopholes so tenants don’t have to deal with this harassment anymore,” said Paul Hanley, another tenant of the buildings.

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ABOUT THE URBAN HOMESTEADING ASSISTANCE BOARD (UHAB)

UHAB is a 45-year old affordable housing nonprofit that creates opportunities for resident empowerment by supporting low-income residents to take control of their housing solutions, and build their communities through cooperation UHAB organizes residents to be active participants and decision-makers in shaping and building their neighborhoods. Most notably, UHAB utilizes cooperative ownership as a model for democratic participation, and a tool for permanent affordability, helping to create and preserve over 30,000 affordable co-op units across the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan

ABOUT BROOKLYN LEGAL SERVICES’ TENANT RIGHTS COALITION

Brooklyn Legal Services, a program of Legal Services NYC, fights poverty and seeks racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For 50 years, Brooklyn Legal Services has challenged systemic injustice and helped clients meet basic needs for housing, access to high-quality education, health care, family stability, and income and economic security. Legal Services NYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country, with neighborhood-based offices across all five boroughs helping more than 80,000 New Yorkers annually. The work of Brooklyn Legal Services’ Tenant Rights Coalition is funded by NYC Human Resources Administration’s Anti-Harassment and Tenant Protection program.