Photo Courtesy of Google
Blackstone Group bought the 1,327-unit complex from the Jack Parker Corporation in November for $500 million.
By Forum Staff
The landlord of a sprawling Forest Hills housing complex has agreed to pay approximately $1.1 million in refunds to its tenants as part of a class-action lawsuit that alleges that the landlord illegally leased apartments at market rents, never gave leases to tenants, and failed to register the units with the state, the housing watchdog organization that generated the suit announced on Saturday.
Blackstone Group bought the 1,327-unit complex from the Jack Parker Corporation in November for $500 million. According to the Housing Rights Initiative, Blackstone illegally deregulated apartments despite getting massive tax breaks under the J-51 program, which requires owners to keep their apartments rent stabilized.
In announcing the agreement, Blackstone said it is reviewing lease agreements and has found that 110 units were entitled to reductions and about 82 units should be re-regulated. Blackstone said the average rent reduction would be about $230 a month.
Housing Rights Initiative Executive Director Aaron Carr said the suit, along with HRI’s 50-plus class action cases, sheds light on the lack of enforcement; and demanded that Gov. Andrew Cuomo ramp up investigations into tax-cheating landlords in the Empire State.
“Gov. Cuomo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the real estate sector,” Carr added.
The lawsuit, which was filed in March 2018 by the law firm Newman Ferrara and is one of the largest J-51 actions in city history, remains ongoing.
“The goal here is not to get back some of what was stolen, but to get back all of what was stolen,” Carr said. “Stay tuned.”
