Shady Management Company Sued for Allegedly Harassing Lower East Side Tenants

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Tenants at 15 Essex St. haven't had gas for months, elderly residents have to climb three flights of stairs just to use a bathroom and the hot water stops working once a month. On Wednesday, those residents learned their landlord won't get away with it unpunished.

The state announced a Manhattan property management company that tenants have said for years has been harassing, threatening and deceiving them to get them to leave their apartments is being sued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

A joint investigation by the AG's office and Cuomo's Tenant Protection Unit found several complaints of tenant harassment at the hands of Marolda Properties, Inc. and its landlords. The governor's unit served Marolda with a subpoena in 2014 after long-term tenants complained that their landlords were engaging in deceiving practices to evict them from their apartments, or pressure them to leave on their own. Now it's taking the case to the New York State Supreme Court.

Name almost any tenant harassment tactic, and the lawsuit alleges that Marolda Properties or its landlords did it. The lawsuit alleges the company locked people out of their apartments and served them with "Golub" notices that said they had to leave their apartment when their lease was over.

The lawsuit also alleges that landlords under Marolda refused to make repairs that were necessary for tenant safety. For example, at 13-15 Essex St., the gas has been turned off by the landlord since February. They have to use dangerous hot plates to cook and heat their food.

Filipo Fiskieti is renting on the second floor of 15 Essex St., and says his whole building hasn't had gas since he moved there in September.

"It's very annoying to use the plate, and I don't do it often," he told Patch of the hot plate management provided him with.

He said Con Ed was working Wednesday evening to repair pipes in the lobby.

Another tenant, who wanted to remain anonymous, said 15 Essex St. has had no gas for at least seven months.

"It's a pain in the a--," he said. "During the summer, you blow a fuse if you turn the air conditioning and the hot plate on at the same time."

The tenants, many of whom are elderly, have to climb three flights of stairs to use a toilet because their landlord removed the toilet on their floor in August and has neglected to replace it, the lawsuit says. The man said one of his neighbors had to walk up to the sixth floor to use a working bathroom.

When asked if he had other issues with the landlord in the 11 years he's lived in the building, the tenant said once a month the hot water goes out.

"This administration has no tolerance for those who seek to undermine the rights of tenants and use intimidation and harassment to deny them the protections they are entitled to under the law," Cuomo said in a statement. "We created the Tenant Protection Unit to ensure these renters have a voice and, as today’s action demonstrates, we will continue to root out these unscrupulous practices and create a safer, fairer and more affordable New York for all."

"The state is not going to stand by as tenants are threatened, harassed, and willfully exploited," said Assemblymember Alice Cancel in a statement. "I commend the Governor’s Tenant Protection Unit and Attorney General Schneiderman for their decisive role in bringing relief and a civil remedy to Asian American rent-regulated tenants in Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Working together we can fight to protect our communities from those who are seeking to target our seniors and families and force them out on the street."

The lawsuit also alleges Marolda has done construction in its buildings without getting the legally required permits. The company also lied on the permit applications to say the buildings were vacant so it wouldn't have to come up with a safety plan for tenants during construction, according to the lawsuit.

Many of the tenants harassed are elderly Asian-Americans don't speak English fluently, the governor's office said.

The lawsuit implicates the following landlords: Green Leaf Associates, LLC, Forsyth Green, LLC, Forsyth Blue, LLC, 83-85 Baxter Street, LLC, 7 Rivington Street, LLC, 90 Elizabeth St., LLC, Ludlow 65 Realty LLC, 13-15 Essex Street, LLC, 145 Ave. C., LLC, and 100 Forsyth Associates, LLC.

Prosecutors are seeking damages from Marolda and a court order prohibiting the management company from harassing and deceiving tenants in the future, the governor's office said.

The endangerment of the lives of long-term tenants has become a common story in the Lower East Side and all throughout Manhattan. Patch reported that low-income tenants at 121 Broome St. hadn't had gas for 55 days. Many of the tenants were elderly shut-ins or people whose health was endangered by not having a method of cooking.

The AG's office urges anyone who feels they have been the target of unlawful, deceptive or harassing behavior by landlords or their agents to contact its office in order to file complaints online or to call 1-800-771-7755. Tenants who live in rent-regulated apartments and feel they are being harassed should also contact the TPU at (718) 739-6400 or TPUinfo@nyshcr.org.

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