Brooklyn Tenants On Rent Strike Get Half-Million Settlement: AG

The attorney general initially referred to Coastline Real Estate Advisors as the property owner, but later stated the company was the managing agent for the landlords. This story has been altered to reflect that.

CLINTON HILL, BROOKLYN —Dozens of Brooklynites who went on rent strike last year when landlords refused to fix their crumbling apartments but demanded more rent than stated in lease agreements will get thousands of dollars back in their pockets, the attorney general announced.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said that an investigation into the buildings' owners and management company California-based Coastline Real Estate Advisors ended with a settlement that will give more than half a million dollars back to 82 tenants who live in the four buildings they manage on the Bed-Stuy and Clinton Hill border

Each tenant — from 423-427 Grand Ave., 429-435 Grand Ave., 27-29 Putnam Ave. and 88-100 Downing St. — will get $6,500 under the settlement, James said.

The settlement comes after years of tenants, some of whom formed a tenant association to take legal action, speaking out about their landlords, who they say tried to push them out of their rent-stabilized apartments and refused to make long-needed repairs.

"Coastline Real Estate Advisors engaged in tenant harassment and deception from the moment they became the managing agent for the four properties," James said in a release. "[They] engaged in construction harassment, frivolous litigation, and improperly increased the legal regulated rents of rent-stabilized apartments."

Coastline Real Estate Advisors is affiliated with Coastline Apartment Investors, which had an ownership interest in the property, the attorney general said.

The investigation found that Coastline would send tenants false notices saying that their rent-stabilized status was expiring and increased legally-regulated rents for 33 of the apartments. The landlords are required to lower those rents and refund overcharges as part of the deal, according to the settlement.

The investigation also found that representatives of the landlords would come up to tenants and offer buyouts without giving the required written notices that describe tenant's rights, the settlement said.

As part of the settlement, all violations of housing code at the buildings will have to be repaired within 90 days.

Back when tenants went on rent strike in 2018, residents described broken fire alarms, chipped lead paint and deteriorating walls that they said landlords wouldn't fix.

"One of the things I've experienced in my apartment is the sound of raining rocks," said resident Karma Johnson at the time, "which is the inside of the wall crumbling as the apartment above mine is being demolished and redone."

James said that any current tenant who lived in the buildings on or before January 1, 2017 can also seek the $6,500 rent credit.

“Landlords and management companies are obligated to meet a certain level of service for residents of their properties," James said. "Should they fall short of meeting this standard, we will hold them to account and seek reprieve for renters.

"That’s exactly what we accomplished in this case, holding the landlord responsible for its failures and providing relief to tenants."

Coastline did not immediately return a request for comment.