Cipriani Chef Kicked Out Of Crown Heights Home Over Month's Rent + $84

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — After 15 years of paying his rent on time, financing his own repairs and never causing a ruckus, Darrell Stone faces eviction over a single rent check plus $84, the Crown Heights tenant says.

Stone, a pasta chef at Harry’s Table Cipriani, has until March 31 to leave his garden-level apartment at 1610 Lincoln Place which, even though conditions have been steadily worsening, he doesn't want to lose.

"It’s like living on the streets, except for the heat and hot water," Stone said. But he added, “I love this block. It’s a nice, quiet block.”

Stone is being evicted by building landlord Rick Muhammad who filed a notice in October claiming the lease hadn't been renewed and Stone owed him $1,284.

In November, court records show, the judge ruled in favor of Muhammad.

Patch was unable to reach Muhammad or his attorney for comment, but Stone denies he owes his landlord money.

“My rent is always paid, I’m never behind on my bills,” Stone told Patch. “There’s no protection for people who pay rent."

Problems began in the the garden-level apartment between Ralph and Buffalo avenues a few years ago when parts of the ceiling began to collapse, leaks appeared, the bathroom sink broke and the landlord, blaming another tenant, never fixed it, Stone said.

“The last five, six years have been a living hell," Stone said. “I’d hate for people to go through what I went through.”

Stone paid out of his own pocket to fix his toilet when it broke, but was never paid back for what is typically a part of the owner’s regular maintenance, said Stone.

When Hurricane Ida flooded his apartment, Stone had to rip up his damaged and moldy carpet himself. And when Stone asked his landlord for help, Stone said he told him he should find a new place to live.

Said Stone, “It’s always an excuse.”

Stone doesn't know why the landlord wanted him out, but he said he was even offered $2,000 to move. “That’s practically my security deposit,” Stone said.

“We’re in a pandemic,” Stone said. “Where’s anybody going? There’s no place for anyone to go.”

But on March 31, when his eviction takes effect, Stone will have to answer that question, and he's the only one.

In 2022, there were over 30,000 eviction filings in Brooklyn, the first year since the COVID-19 eviction moratorium ended, according to city and state data. In Crown Heights, city marshals carried out at least 156 evictions.

Meanwhile rents have skyrocketed by nearly 25 percent across Brooklyn, raising the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment from $2,685 to $3,289.

“I don’t want to go through this again,” Stone told Patch. “It takes a long time to find an apartment.”

Stone believes the solution is the Good Cause Eviction bill.

Tenants advocates and legal groups have spent years pushing Albany to pass law that would protect market-rate tenants like Stone from sudden evictions and huge rent hikes.

The bill would also establish automatic lease renewals limiting landlords' ability to refuse tenancy.

While critics argue Good Cause Eviction would choke much needed housing development in the city, advocates say that connection is tenuous — and that development in the Big Apple has to do more with an arcane zoning system, also facing reforming battles.

Proponents also look to New Jersey, which is currently experiencing a long housing boom and has had a similar law on the books since 1974.

And Good Cause, the advocates say, will help tenants stay housed now while building hundreds of thousands of overdue apartments will take many years.

For Stone, Good Cause Eviction might have meant a place to call home next month instead of a difficult road ahead.

"I figured I could get some help from the courts, but the court can't do nothing," Stone said. "I think that's so unfair that you can just put someone out."