NYC Landlord Must Pay $2M For Illegally Harassing Tenants, AG Says

NEW YORK CITY — A notorious New York City landlord group must pay more than $2 million for illegally harassing tenants and violating rent stabilization laws, according to a settlement.

Attorney General Letitia James announced the settlement with Ink Property Group in a blistering Friday news conference in which she said the landlords made “quick cash” by preying on vulnerable people and families in low-income communities of color.

Ink bought dozens of rent-stabilized buildings and forced out at least 80 tenants to offer units at market rate, among many other abuses and predatory practices, James said.

“Ink’s days of preying on tenants and making a mockery of the laws meant to protect tenants without consequences end today,” she said.

Under the settlement, Ink must pay up to $1.75 million to preserve affordable housing and $400,000 in restitution to tenants, as well as install a monitor and external property management company.

An Attorney General's office probe into Ink began in 2019 following a raft of complaints from tenants, according to the settlement.

Investigators found that Ink bought 32 apartment buildings, largely in northern Brooklyn, starting in 2014 with the intention of forcing out rent-stabilized tenants, the settlement states. The company even paid commissions up to $5,000 for employees who extended illegal buyout offers to tenants who they wanted to vacate, according to the document.

When tenants refused buyouts, Ink subjected them to "relentless construction" in an effort to force them out, James said.

“They tore out bathrooms and apartments that were occupied, displacing tenants for no reason other than their bottom line," she said.

Ink properties also wracked up scores of violations for hazardous conditions ranging from lead-based paint to blocking access to heating system, according to the settlement.

James said Ink also submitted falsified documents to banks in order to obtain favorable loans and mortgages.

Ink is managed by Eden Ashourzadeh, Alex Kahen and Robert Kaydanian, who was included on the city's 2016 Worst Landlords List, according to the Attorney General's Office.