Bed-Stuy Landlords Must Pay $214K After Failing To Fix Buildings

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Two Bed-Stuy landlords will be forced to pay the city hundreds of thousands of dollars after failing to fix hundreds of violations at their buildings — for the third time, according to officials.

Alexander Horn and Sam Kooris were ordered last week to pay $214,000 in a settlement with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development after investigators discovered they still hadn't repaired seven buildings in Brooklyn and Queens.

“We have zero tolerance for landlords who use construction to harass their tenants and put the safety of our fellow New Yorkers at risk,” said Buildings Commissioner Melanie E. La Rocca.

The settlement is the third time Horn and Kooris have faced civil penalties for not fixing the buildings, which include five in Bed-Stuy, one in Bushwick and one in Queens.

In October of last year, the two landlords were ordered to pay $109,000 and given 30 days to repair the buildings, which investigators said had "substantial neglect" including inadequate heat and hot water, exposed wiring, water leaks and rodent infestations.

The buildings had more than 500 HPD violations and had been issued 18 Department of Buildings violations and multiple Stop Work Orders, officials said.

But months later, investigators found that the violations were still not fixed. In May, they again took Horn and Kooris to court, this time ordering $105,000 in penalties, according to the department.

The latest settlement orders Horn and Kooris to fix the violations and stop tenant harassment at the buildings, which include 62 homes, according to the department.

The Brooklyn buildings in the settlement are found on Halsey Street, Dekalb Avenue, Macon Street, Bleecker Street and Marcus Garvey Boulevard.