What Not to Rent

Renting from the worst, nabe groups tap scammers & rogues as New York's 11 lousiest landlords
By Peter Kadushin, Rich Schapiro, and William Sherman of The Daily News

"The city's worst landlords got their own awards ceremony yesterday - and a Brooklyn condo developer took the dubious top prize.

Adam Mermelstein, principal partner of 188 S. Third St. Investors and TreeTop Development, Brooklyn, was unofficially named the city's worst landlord by a consortium of neighborhood groups. Residents of 188 S. Third St. said he has been trying to empty the 41-unit building and that only 18 apartments are now occupied.

Jacquelyn Hernandez, a tenant for 15 years, said, "I was verbally and physically harassed by a phony inspector with a fake ID who said I hadn't paid the rent and gave me fake eviction papers." Hernandez said her small, two-bedroom apartment is "without hot water and is badly in need of repairs."

Neither Mermelstein nor any of the other landlords was present. When reached by phone later, Mermelstein denied trying to force tenants out.

"That's all false. Our practice is specifically not to do that. We have no interest in buyouts or harassment ... Tenants can stay for as long as they like for whatever rent they're paying. That's not our game. "The building is in very good shape. But any repairs or problems that do come up we do try to take care of them as long as tenants give us access," he said.

In all, 11 landlords were considered in a rowdy 11 a.m. ceremony sponsored by a neighborhood associations and community activists at Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square.

The main criteria were art and variety in harassing and intimidating rent-regulated tenants to get them to move out so the landlords could jack up rents, according to the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development.

Fake eviction papers, turning off gas, heat and hot water, changing locks, threatening naive immigrants, filing frivolous lawsuits, illegally raising rents and failing to make repairs were among the tactics used by the landlords, according to the event organizers.

More than 250 people attended the ceremony - none of them laughing - and they voted by shouting and using noisemakers as the landlords' names and properties were announced. The "winners" were selected based on crowd noise.

Other landlords cited were: Jacob Finkelstein, owner of 1356 Walton Ave., the Bronx; John Tsevelos, president of G-way Management and owner of 851 Franklin Ave., Brooklyn; Jay Podolsky, owner of 330 W. 95th St., 315 W. 94th St., and 316 W. 95th St., Manhattan; Nathan Schuchat, who owns properties on the lower East Side, including 141 Ridge St.; George Subraj, who owns homes divided into apartments in Jamaica, Queens; David Melendez, who owns buildings in Bushwick, Brooklyn, including 198 Knickerbocker Ave.; Doug Peterson, who owns 974 Sheridan Ave., the Bronx; Benjamin Shaoul, who owns 332 Mott St. and 166 Elizabeth St. in Chinatown, and Julia and Carlos Guzman, who own 268 Dean St. in Brooklyn.

Another recipient was Joel Weiner, head of the Pinnacle Group, which issued thousands of eviction notices to tenants in their many buildings as disclosed by a Daily News investigation."

Renting From the Worst [Daily News]
The Biggest Award Ceremony of the Year [Metadish]
Adam Mermelstein is Having a Bad Day [Curbed]

Benefit Gig to Fight East Vill Mass Eviction

A Columbia University dean has bought a fifteen unit, rent-stabilized building in the East Village and is trying to evict everyone. Why? So they can turn the building into a mansion for their daughter.

The tenants at 47 East 3rd Street managed to get a New York trial court to grant a permanent injunction, so that the new owners, Kathryn and Peter Yatrakis, will have to get approval from the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal in order to refuse to renew the tenants' leases. Rather than seek approval from DHCR, the Yatrakis are appealing the court's decision.

The 47E3rd residents have spent over $170,000 towards legal fees so far. They're throwing a benefit for their legal defense fund this Friday at Tonic. PennyRimbaud, Louise Elliott and Japanther are playing, and there's going to be a screening of Yes Sir, I Will by 80s punk band Crass. They're also raffling off two signed Crass litho prints. [flyer]

Admission $10 @ Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street
Read more on the 47E3rd website.

Phony Demolitions as Brooklyn Eviction Tactic

Five buildings in Prospect Heights and Park Slope face eviction based on their landlord's claim that he plans to wholly demolish or do a gut rehab of their building. The landlord, Frank Farricker, is currently running for Connecticut State Senate on an affordable housing platform.

Although Farricker insists that he will respect tenants' rent-stabilized leases, which guarantee tenants the right to renew their lease, Farricker's real estate investment firm's application to the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal suggests otherwise. The application asks the agency's approval for Farricker "to refuse renewal of" tenant leases "and/or proceed for eviction."

Bennett Baumer, who works for the Metropolitan Council on Housing, charged that "this is a mass eviction that he's applied for, so his intention is to have everybody out on the street. He says one thing in Connecticut and does another thing in Brooklyn."

Read more: Greenwich Times, New York Times.
Photo: 217 St. John's Place, one of the buildings Farricker seeks to gut.

Eyesore on 12th St & 4th Ave Soon to Be 12 Story Building

The former beer distributor at the corner of 4th Avenue and 12th Street has been an empty lot since the fall of 2004.

In December 2003, the building was bought by developer Park Slope Group, who planned to build a 6 story, 145,000 square foot building with 96 units of housing. Shortly before the winter of 2004, there was a flurry of activity for about a week as work crews installed plywood construction fencing and tore the building down. The demolition was halted on November 4, 2004 by ECB for failing to carry out a safe demolition. Since then, nada.

The demolition permit expired in December of 2004. As recently as June 19, 2006, the date of the last DOB inspection, no new permit had been obtained. The hearing against MMG Design, the construction group, for this latest ECB violation is on August 7th at 10:30am in the Brooklyn DOB office. They were last cited $2,500 in May of 2005 for the identical problem, in addition to the November 2004 citation for $2,000 for failing to carry out a safe demolition. Both citations remains unpaid.

Since November of 2004, the sidewalk has been about two feet wide, interrupted by two trees, forcing pedestrians out into the street. If you go by, you’ll see drunken looking fencing curving this way and that way, and a fair amount of trash and dog feces on the small amount of sidewalk that is still open. The inside of the lot is relatively clean, especially when you consider that it’s essentially been an abandoned lot for almost two years.

Change may be on the way, however – it looks like the developer is trying to get moving on this again. On June 22nd, the city approved a building plan submitted by Michael Matrisciani of the Park Slope Group, working with Scarano Architects, who received the Project of the Year Award from the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, and who is also building the 12 story tower at 255 4th Avenue at Carroll.

The plan calls for Scarano to build a 12 story building with 130 units, at an estimated cost of $3,940,000. Although much of the South Park Slope area was recently down-zoned specifically in order to protect low-density areas in the area from further high-rise development, much of the 4th Avenue corridor allows for buildings up to 120 feet. 4th Avenue is primarily zoned R8-A, which idesignates high-density contextual districts. The Dept of City Planning says that this type of zoning is “designed to maintain the scale and form of the city’s traditional moderate- and higher-density neighborhoods. These districts are mapped where buildings of similar size and shape form a strong neighborhood context or where redevelopment would create a uniform context.”

By zoning much of 4th Avenue as R8-A, the City says that it is trying to create incentives for the development and preservation of affordable housing. However, R8-A zoning requires that development be consistent with the character of the neighborhood. Opposition to the planned 12 story building on 4th Avenue and 12th Street comes from the Park Slope South Community Group, who are concerned about the pace of development in the neighborhood, and have posted signs reading “Kill the 12-story monster” nearby. To stay up to date on this, check out the Park Slope South Community Group’s website.