Owner Of Illegal Hell's Kitchen Rentals Hit With $700K Settlement

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — A landlord accused of hosting dozens of illegal, short-term rentals in Hell's Kitchen has reached a costly settlement with the city.

Maxine Gilbert agreed in June to pay $700,000, court records show, concluding a legal battle that began in 2018 when the city first filed suit.

The city accused Gilbert, and property manager Big Apple Management, of renting out 26 apartments at seven walk-up buildings — all on West 47th Street. The Airbnb listings boasted rentals as cheap as $40 per night, according to screenshots submitted by the city.

Most short-term rentals have been illegal in New York City for years, in response to complaints that they had worsened the city's housing crisis and driven up costs for long-term renters.

The landlords had ignored repeated efforts by the city to get them into compliance with the law, the city said, racking up 50 complaints and more than $120,000 penalties since 2011.

The city announced the judgment on Wednesday, along with settlements in two other Airbnb lawsuits focused on the Lower East Side and East Village.

The Hell's Kitchen defendants did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. Gilbert's attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, contends that Gilbert was unaware of the short-term rentals — a claim that the city disputed.

"My client is an elderly woman who got taken advantage of by professional operators who rent out apartments by the dozens, and my client happens to own a number of buildings," Bailey said. "My client considers this case to be a victory since she only has to pay 20 to 25 percent of the fines she would have had to pay, had she lost at trial."

Bailey also represents Big Apple and said the management company was wrongly named in the lawsuit and will not pay any of the settlement cash — contrary to what the city announced.

In addition to the settlement, which covered the seven buildings at 321, 323, 328, 332, 334, 348 and 350 West 47th St., the judge's order permanently bans Gilbert from hosting future short-term rentals at another five buildings not named in the suit. Those buildings are on 47th, 49th and 18th streets.

"Speaking on behalf of my neighbors, we are incredibly hopeful to not have to experience another Airbnb nightmare in Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea," said Chris LeBrón, president of the West 47th Street Tenants Association, in a news release.

"The loss of affordable apartments and the loss of neighbors cannot be adequately measured in a dollar penalty but $700,000 sure is a great deterrent to other bad faith housing actors."