Vantage Reaches $1m Settlement with Cuomo’s Office
From YourNabe.com
Vantage Properties, which owns more than 80 buildings in Queens, agreed to pay $1 million to compensate harassed tenants as part of a settlement that state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
The settlement comes after Cuomo said at the end of January that he planned to sue Vantage to stop it from forcing tenants from their homes in order to rent the apartment to individuals who could pay for more expensive, market-price units.
“Landlords who harass tenants harm all New York City residents by displacing long-time tenants from stable neighborhoods and exacerbating the affordable housing shortage,” Cuomo said. “In these tough economic times, the preservation of affordable housing is of the utmost important. Today’s agreement with Vantage not only preserves the rent-regulated apartments owned by them, but also sends a strong message that my office will continue to protect tenants and bring unscrupulous landlords to justice.”
As part of the settlement, Vantage will stop serving tenants with “baseless legal notices” and no longer conduct “frivolous housing court eviction proceedings,” according to Cuomo. The company also must implement new policies related to processing complaints, initiating legal proceedings, and collecting rent as part of the agreement with the attorney general’s office.
The agreement requires Vantage to pay $750,000 in damages to tenants who can demonstrate that the company unjustly vacated their apartments or were subject to frivolous housing court proceedings. The company must pay an additional $250,000 to not-for-profit organizations that provide free legal and educational services to tenants.
For more, go to:
http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2010/02/11/queens/queenssljnawb02112010.txt
About time Cuomo put these sick real estate investors in their place. There are ways to make a good living in real estate without taking advantage of people.