By Forum Staff
Housing Rights Initiative, a housing watchdog group, recently uncovered that landlords Joseph Brunner and Abe Mandel, along with David Lubinitsky, and Heatherwood have been abusing the 421a tax benefit program.
421a is a tax benefit program that landlords receive as-of-right for new construction of multi-family rental housing. As a condition of the benefit, most landlords are required to rent-stabilize 100 percent of their units.
As of January, the landlords, collectively, have received over $20 million in 421a tax credits across 427 units in three buildings, and illegally overcharged thousands of former and current tenants an estimated $10 million in rent. The buildings in the suit are 12-15 Broadway in Astoria with 214 units; 1875 Atlantic Avenue with 118 units, and 544 Union Avenue with 95 units (both of Brooklyn). HRI announces these class action lawsuits, which were filed by the law firm Newman Ferrara, LLP, in conjunction with the Housing Justice for All Coalition, State Sens. Jabari Brisport, Michael Gianaris, Brian Kavanagh, and Julia Salazar; Assemblymembers Emily Gallagher, Zohran Mamdani, and Linda Rosenthal; and City Councilmen Costa Constantinides and Stephen Levin.