Gov. Cuomo has jumped into a dispute between alleged slumlords and their tenants on the side of the renters.
The governor’s office and the state Tenant Protection Unit slapped Joel and Aaron Israel’s JBI Management company with a subpoena demanding that they turn over all the files for their 10 Brooklyn apartment buildings so that investigators can look into claims that they sabotaged their own housing stock in an attempt to drive their rent-stabilized tenants out.
“The subpoena served on JBI Management examines patterns and practices of the landlord with the goal of preserving tenants’ rights to a safe home and preventing further harassment and destruction of apartments,” said Tenant Protection Unit Deputy Commissioner Richard White.
Israel tenants at 300 Nassau Ave. in Greenpoint have been locked out of their homes since December after they say the landlords had someone smash the building’s thermostat, electrical system, and boilers with an ax, causing the city to declare it uninhabitable. Three miles away at another of the brothers’ buildings in Bushwick, renters got the support of politicians and activist groups after they say they endured constant harassment and one family has lived for 11 months with gaping, 10-feet wide holes in its floor, forcing its members to go upstairs to use the kitchen and bathroom.
Officials who rallied behind the renters bemoaned the lack of recourse for rent-regulated tenants facing harassment and sabotage, but the state, when bringing its subpoena, brought another piece of leverage to bear, using its rent-setting authority to lower the monthly bill of all complaining Israel tenants to $1 while their cases are arbitrated.
“It is not only unconscionable, but it is flat out illegal for any landlord to subject families to living without running water or a functioning bathroom or kitchen,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement. “We are sending a clear message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated and that we will fight to keep New York families protected and safe.”
As a third measure, the city appointed administrators to manage the Israel’s buildings while the court battle is under way. Under the terms of the arrangement, the brothers are barred from having contact with the residents of their buildings and are not allowed to make repairs. Money that would go towards rent will instead go into a city-run fund for fixing the abodes.
The Israels did not return calls for comment.
