Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Announces Historic $2.1M Court Judgment Against Bronx Landlord, Requiring Repairs and Financial Penalties
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for being here. It is an honor to be here alongside [Bronx] Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Council Member Justin Sanchez, our Corporation Counsel, Steve Banks; our Health commissioner, Dr. Alister Martin; DOB Commissioner Ahmed Tigani; HPD First Deputy Commissioner Adam Phillips, as well as our executive director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants, Cea Weaver. I also want to thank the dedicated attorneys from our Law Department whose hard work made today a reality, as well as the attorneys from TakeRoot Justice who fought on behalf of the tenants, the residents of 919 Prospect Avenue who refused to be silenced, and the committed advocates and organizations who have never stopped fighting for tenants across the city. Today we celebrate a landmark victory, not only for those who call 919 Prospect [Avenue] home, but [also] for all those across the five boroughs contending with the daily misery, mistreatment and neglect of a bad landlord. For the past 15 years, residents of 919 Prospect Avenue have known this pain all too well. Since your landlord, a repeat offender on New York City's annual Worst Landlord Watch List, purchased the property in 2011, your tenants have faced an unending stream of violations that have taken a toll on their health, safety and well-being. We are speaking of infestations of, mice, rats and cockroaches; leaking pipes; collapsed ceilings; black mold; and lead paint. The list of abuses and failures, frankly, goes on. Tenants report that not only has this landlord left the building in a state of near-complete neglect, [but] he has also cut off heat from families in the dead of winter, locked elderly residents out of their bathrooms and suspended utilities as a form of punishment for those who dare to lodge a complaint. On top of this, the landlord has the audacity to raise the rent year after year and bring tenants to court when they take a stand against him. We are not speaking about a failure of building management. We are speaking about open contempt in the City of New York. No longer will City Hall turn a blind eye while New Yorkers suffer, while slumlords abuse tenants with cruel impunity. Taking action against the owner of 919 Prospect [Avenue] and other bad landlords across the city is a fundamental responsibility of practicing good government in the place that we call home. On my first day in office, I vowed to uphold that responsibility, revitalizing the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants, and I promised that if your landlord does not responsibly steward your home, City Hall will take action to protect you. We delivered on that promise just two weeks later when we announced a historic $2.1 million settlement for thousands of tenants in 14 buildings owned by A&E Real Estate. Today, I am proud to announce that we fulfill that obligation once again. On February 21st, the Bronx Supreme Court decreed that years of uncorrected code violations at 919 Prospect Avenue constitute a public nuisance. And in a city where we know that time is money, there has been an order that the owner pay $1,000 a day in penalties for violations dating back to April 21st, 2019, totaling more than $2.1 million so far, with fines continuing to accrue if conditions are not addressed as required by the court. A permanent injunction was also issued to put a stop to the building's neglect once and for all. This is a landmark victory, the first time that the court has levied the maximum civil penalties allowed on a landlord under the Nuisance Abatement Law, an indication of the extreme state of disrepair that these tenants were being forced to live [in]. I want this legal decision to put other bad landlords across our city on notice. If you do not change your ways, we now have a strong precedent to pursue the same kind of legal action against you. And we have allocated more than $85 million in our preliminary budget to add 200 new attorneys and 100 support staff to our Law Department so we can take on more cases just like this one. And while we welcome the award of the maximum penalty permitted, our interest, frankly, is ultimately not in the scale of the fine. Our interest is in finding compliance across the city so the residents of 919 Prospect [Avenue] can finally have safe and healthy homes. Though the victories against both this landlord and A&E [Real Estate] mark key steps in our fight for tenant rights, these are only two examples of those who have forced New Yorkers to live in abysmal conditions for far too long. We know that there are many, many more across our five boroughs. And that's why we've invited New Yorkers to participate in Rental Ripoff Hearings across each and every one of those boroughs, so people can share the stories of mistreatment and neglect that afflict them on a daily basis. And those that have been silenced repeatedly will finally have their voices heard by City government. I was here in the Bronx just yesterday for our third hearing at Fordham University, where I spoke with a tenant who told me about how her landlord had allowed their elevator to remain inoperable for five months in one period of time. And she then showed me a video of a neighbor of hers who had a young daughter who is disabled and requires the use of that elevator on a daily basis and how in this video that mother carried her daughter in her own arms from the school bus through the lobby and up multiple flights of stairs. The consequences of this kind of inaction and impunity are felt in the day-to-day lives of working-class New Yorkers across the city. And I am proud to stand here alongside partners in our own administration and across city government to showcase what it will look like now for us to finally take a stand to stand up for safe and healthy conditions for each and every tenant across the city. Because [of] what these hearings do, they are not simply places to air grievances, to finally have someone hear the pain that so many tenants are living through. What they also do are events [that] allow us at City government to understand the scope of the issues that tenants face and allow us to draft reports and policy informed by that very testimony. Because for far too long New Yorkers have been abandoned to a living nightmare when bad landlords are able to operate with impunity. And now we are working together to bring that time of living nightmares to an end. So, let today not only set a legal precedent; let it also set a precedent for what the future of renting in our city will look like. One where City Hall steps up and ensures that every tenant is safe in the place that they call home. Thank you very much. And I will not pass it over to our executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, Cea Weaver.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think one thing that he has not met in all of those years is our administration. And we are an administration that believes in accountability for each and every person that calls this city home. And for far too long, landlords such as him have acted with a sense of impunity precisely because they have never had to actually face it. I'm just going to call my Corporation Counsel to speak a little bit to the specificity of the manner of this order. And I'll also just say — and Cea is also here, [and] can add anything if needed — that there are multiple proceedings that are currently underway against this landlord. What we are talking about is a court order. There's also the city-led alternative enforcement program, which is currently underway with regards to this specific landlord.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceActually, just before we go, could I ask the tenants to come and join us up here, if you'd feel comfortable with that? [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I'll start with the second, and then I'll go into the first. We are looking forward to building on our city's history of generating wealth across these five boroughs and on ensuring that wealth reaches the lives of working-class New Yorkers. Because for far too long, the language of economic development and economic justice has somehow been characterized as if in tension, when our administration believes that they can be one and the same. I'll give you one example. Just yesterday, I had a meeting with the FIFA president Gianni Infantino, as well as two of his top deputies, about the World Cup that is coming to New York City. This is not only something that many New Yorkers are looking forward to because we love the game, but also because it has the potential to be an immense economic driver in this city for the number of tourists that will come here, and also for New Yorkers who have an opportunity to reimagine and understand their own city. One thing we want to make clear, and that [Bronx] Borough President Gibson makes clear every single time that we speak, is that we want to ensure that every single borough in this city is one that feels that tournament and also the prospect of economic development from it. On the first point, I will just say that with Moody's outlook change, I think given the $5 billion in additional funding that both the Senate and the Assembly put forward for the city in their one-house budget proposals — proposals that are being voted on today — I think that the decision to revise the outlook, frankly, is premature. I do acknowledge that they are maintaining the city's credit rating at AA2. The proposals that we're seeing from Albany reflect a real commitment to ensuring that we can bridge this inherited fiscal deficit and do so while continuing to invest in the city services that so many New Yorkers rely on. And I'll just give you one last example. We would not be standing here were it not for the deep commitment across both city agencies and organizations like TakeRoot Justice. We want to ensure that we meet impunity with accountability. Part of that comes from being able to invest in the law department so that cases like these — which we know are not actually unique cases, they are cases that are commonplace across the city — are finally met with the same kind of response from the city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think that jobs are critical to generate in this city. I also think that we've seen corporations, the ones that we speak about are the ones that are making an immense amount of profit, not corporations at large or small businesses. We're talking about the most profitable ones in New York City. And amidst being in the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, we already see an exodus of working- and middle-class New Yorkers. So, I don't have a hesitation in asking those who make the most amount of money in this city or the most profits in this city to pay a little bit more so that everyone can actually stay in this city. It's also something not just about justice or the ability for working-class people to live here. It is also actually about ensuring that corporations can continue to attract the top talent to this city. Because in a city where child care costs more than $20,000 a year, I've heard from corporate leaders about how difficult it is for them to attract individuals who would work at their companies but want to raise a family, because you could be making $300,000 a year and you will feel that $20,000 a year because of the fact that we have allowed for the absence of affordable child care to become reality here in this city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYeah. Governor Shapiro reached out to check in on me and on my wife, and I really appreciated that, especially given what he has had to experience in Pennsylvania. And he shared some words of support, and he also made clear that Pennsylvania stands ready to help our city and our state in pursuing accountability for the two individuals who came across straight lines throwing an IED.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceIt was a few days ago that he reached out.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI continue to maintain the position that I've had, which is that we have to ensure that we allow New York City's homes to remain as homes and not become hotels, and that we have hotels for exactly that purpose.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceAt this time, the information that I have is what I've shared with the public. However, what I will say is that I am so appreciative of the hardworking men and women of the NYPD, who not only ensured that they were able to keep New Yorkers safe on that day, but have also ensured that accountability is something that we are pursuing as a city, not just at this press event, but frankly, in those charges as well.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceAs the mayor of New York City, I believe it is my responsibility to fight for the safety and for the rights of each and every New Yorker. Mahmoud Khalil is a New Yorker who one year prior to the iftar that we shared with him was returning from another iftar when he was detained by ICE agents, flown to Louisiana and held in an ICE facility. And he was held there for months. And the only charge that was levied against him was the exercising of his First Amendment rights. And I have long maintained that he and any New Yorker should be able to exercise their First Amendment rights in this city without fear of the kind of punishment that was inflicted upon him. And it's a punishment that many of us have quantified in the days that he was held in an ICE facility and the fact that his case continues to be ongoing. But also in that moment, it was a punishment that I understood more personally, given the fact that he missed the birth of his first child. And I think that it is critical that every New Yorker know that I will stand up for their right to exercise their First Amendment rights. And I'll even just say, as much as I abhor the views that were expressed by the protesters who set up a protest outside of Gracie Mansion, in their words, to protest the “Islamic takeover of New York City,” the fact that they brought a goat and a bigoted display of what they view to be Islam, that they brought a roasted pig to my residence during the month of Ramadan — I still believe they have the right to protest. And I will still protect that right for each and every New Yorker. And I think that for far too long, we've seen in this city and across the country, frankly, an inability to understand what it takes to stand up for the Constitution, for the laws that we have. And that has led to a sense of fear as to whether the law is merely an assessment of power as opposed to an instrument of justice and consistency.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, that's a lot of the work of our city administration, is doing that notification, that engagement. I want to just first answer the question around the 30th Street Shelter, which is the fact that we saw a number of structural concerns around that shelter and the potential for real damage, not only to the infrastructure of that building, but also to the health and safety of those who are working and residing within that building. And we've known about this, actually, for quite some time, but we've made the decision — we being the city — had known about this. We've come into office and made the decision that we cannot entertain the possibility of anyone facing any kind of a lack of safety at their workplace or at a shelter. And so, the vision is for buildings that are safe for New Yorkers to work in and for New Yorkers to reside in. These relocations are part and parcel of us taking the temporary steps to ensure that we can actually evacuate and stop using that building in a timely manner.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I'm actually not sure on where the request came from. I can tell you, though, that we can follow up on that with you. I appreciated the chance to sit down with FIFA president Infantino and to speak about the ways in which we want to transform the city as we deliver this World Cup and the potential to be working together to ensure that New Yorkers, beyond just those who can afford a ticket to get into the stadium, can experience the same tournament. And I shared with him both my own experiences at attending a prior World Cup in South Africa in 2010, but also my experiences as a New Yorker and seeing how the city comes alive when the World Cup is being played hundreds, thousands of miles from here, and what it can look like to ensure that kids are growing up in this city with better facilities in order to play soccer here, that adults are given the kinds of skills they need to coach those same kids, the many different prospects of partnership. And I'm hopeful of what that can deliver for New Yorkers across the five boroughs. I spoke to him about a wide variety of things, and I spoke to him about the importance of ensuring that this isn't just a tournament that comes and goes, but one that has a lasting legacy. And I will say that here in New York City, we're excited at being a fixture when it comes to soccer, when it comes to not only this World Cup, not only the next Olympics, but we also have hopes around 2031 as well. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Announces Historic $2.1M Court Judgment Against Bronx Landlord, Requiring Repairs and Financial Penalties.