Assembly Member Claire Valdez, Woodside on the Move, the Met Council on Housing and Sunnyside residents protest against alleged tenant harassment at 43-33 48th St. Photo: Shane O’Brien
June 11, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
Tenants in a Sunnyside apartment building say they’re being harassed, intimidated, and even threatened with deportation simply for requesting basic repairs—sparking a rally on Saturday led by Assembly Member Claire Valdez, Woodside on the Move (WOTM), and the Met Council on Housing to demand accountability and tenant protections.
The rally took place Saturday afternoon outside 43-33 48th St., a 58-unit building that includes 18 rent-stabilized apartments. Tenants allege that the landlord has repeatedly responded with intimidation and threatening behavior whenever residents request essential maintenance work.
The building has racked up more than 180 complaints with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) over the past three years, including dozens of open violations. Tenants say they’ve reported serious conditions such as black mold and bed bug infestations, but claim they’ve received no meaningful response from landlord Paraag Sarva or his management company, Camelot Realty Group.
Sarva has not responded to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Camelot Realty Group said the company was unaware of the allegations but added that it “strives to work directly with each unit owner and resident across all our managed properties to resolve issues to everyone’s satisfaction.”
HPD officials confirmed the agency has issued 180 violations at the property and said that while Sarva has addressed some issues, others required emergency repairs carried out by HPD itself, costs that were then billed to the owner. Officials encouraged tenants to continue calling 311 to report conditions or reach out directly to HPD’s Anti-Harassment Unit if they feel threatened.
“It’s the responsibility of all property managers to follow the City’s Housing Code and promptly address violations,” said HPD Press Secretary Matt Rauschenbach. “We encourage tenants to contact their property manager or building owner first, and if that does not result in resolution, report complaints—along with any instances of alleged harassment—to 311.”
One tenant, who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, alleged that residents have been taken to Housing Court under threat of eviction after requesting basic repairs. The tenant further claimed that some immigrant residents were threatened with calls to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they continued to raise concerns.
Valdez and representatives from WOTM said the reported tactics appear to be aimed at coercing tenants to “self-evict” rather than endure the stress of legal proceedings or the threat of deportation.
Residents and advocates also alleged that building management sent individuals to knock loudly on tenants’ doors in the middle of the night—specifically targeting those who had filed complaints—as part of an ongoing campaign of intimidation.
Saturday’s rally sought to make clear that tenants have a legal right to report unsafe conditions and request repairs without fear of harassment, eviction, or retaliation.
Photo: Shane O’Brien.
Following the demonstration, protestors marched through the neighborhood to the Sunnyside Arch, chanting messages like “No more harassment” and “We are here and we’re not moving.”
Valdez said the allegations that immigrant tenants have been threatened with calls to ICE or other immigration authorities are especially troubling amid heightened fear of deportation and federal immigration raids across the country.
She emphasized that Saturday’s rally was an important step in empowering tenants, particularly low-income and immigrant residents, to understand and assert their rights in the face of alleged harassment.
“Tenants are living in these really deportable conditions for months or years on end, and the landlords have the resources to either wait them out or take them to court, which is notoriously very slow,” Valdez said to the Queens Post. “They [landlords] have the resources to keep paying a lawyer to do that, whereas oftentimes tenants do not.”
Speaking to protesters, Valdez underscored the importance of collective action and legal knowledge in fighting back against neglect and intimidation.
“I know it is a scary time to be organizing. I know it’s always hard to stand up against landlords and corporate interests,” she said. “But I also know that you are all committed—not just to your own improvements, but to the entire building and to improving the lives of all of your neighbors.”
Valdez speaks at a rally supporting tenants’ rights in Sunnyside. Photo: Shane O’Brien.
Farah Salam, a representative from the office of Council Member Julie Won and a local resident herself, said she experienced similar neglect in a neighboring building managed by a different landlord — until tenants united and demanded change.
“It’s so important that all the residents here can come together and speak on their behalf, on behalf of their own community,” Salam said. “Without the landlord making these repairs, we will have people who fall sick due to the mold infestations.”
Salam noted that 138 of the violations at 43-33 48th St. are classified as “hazardous” by HPD, including dry ceiling collapses and “significant” mold growth. She added that many unresolved issues stem from basic maintenance failures that have been allowed to spiral into serious health and safety hazards.
Ramon Mendez, an organizer with WOTM, said tenants are not only being denied essential repairs but are also subjected to harassment when they speak up.
“We have bad conditions, and people are starting to move out and continuing to move out,” Mendez said, adding that fear is a major barrier for many tenants. “Residents were afraid to come to today’s rally out of fear of being identified and reported to immigration authorities.”
Mendez said such fears are frequently voiced to the organization by tenants across the neighborhood, especially undocumented residents or those with precarious immigration statuses.
“That’s something that’s hindering more people from speaking up,” he said. “We’ve seen multiple reports in various buildings that if tenants complain, whether directly or through vague insinuations, landlords threaten to call ICE. That’s real.”
Mendez explained that immigrant tenants who don’t speak English as a first language are particularly vulnerable to intimidation and often “succumb” to the pressure by quietly moving out.
“People are thinking, ‘I’d rather just stay in this apartment paying X amount of money, even though I don’t have the conditions that I want,’” Mendez said. “They don’t want any issues.”
One tenant, who spoke anonymously, called the situation “a nightmare.” They described being targeted after making complaints.
“People banged on my door in the middle of the night,” the tenant said. “We have a lot of mold issues, a lot of leaking issues — and he [the landlord] doesn’t care. They always use the excuse that we won’t give them access, which is not true.”
The tenant also accused Paraag Sarva, the building’s landlord, of exploiting the slow pace of Housing Court proceedings to wear down and evict tenants.
“He has the resources to go through the court system and just wait people out,” they said.
Photo: Shane O’Brien.
The resident, who has lived in the building for over 20 years, said landlord Paraag Sarva threatened them with eviction based on what they described as false accusations, including claims they assaulted other tenants and stole packages. The tenant insisted the allegations were entirely fabricated as a tactic to force them out. A judge ultimately dismissed the case in Housing Court.
They further alleged that for 15 years, Sarva refused to provide them with a formal lease agreement, despite the unit being rent-stabilized. They said they lived on a month-to-month basis until finally securing a lease through legal proceedings.
The years-long legal fights, combined with the fear of losing their home, have taken a deep emotional toll.
“It’s giving me nightmares,” the tenant said.
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