LESSON for 2008: IT MAY TAKE “INHUMAN CONDITIONS” (January 2008)
On January 8, 2008 Hamid Khan is sentenced to nine days in jail for criminal contempt. His crime is failure to repair hundreds of violations of the Housing Maintenance Code, including immediately hazardous conditions, in his tenants’ apartments. Judge Klein who visited the building issued his decision on January 28, 2008. Highbridge Apartments, LLC and Hamid Khan were assessed a $1,000 fine for criminal contempt and $155,000 in civil penalties. The case involved 1055 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a 94-unit building in the Bronx..
In Fiscal Year 2007 HPD collected $4.52 million in fines.
Background
HPD's Housing Litigation Division, handles nearly 14,000 cases per year to enforce the City's Housing Maintenance Code. HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program—is new and aimed at just 200 of the City’s most distressed residential buildings. Why is that?
Under the program, landlords are put on notice that comprehensive repairs must be made and, if they are not, HPD is given authorization to undertake a comprehensive review of the building, to make the necessary repairs and to bill the landlord for that work.
Why is the word “authorized” used? Why is it just 200 buildings? Is it because there are not enough judges like Klien?
The last time that a building owner or managing agent received jail time in an HPD prosecuted case in New York City was in February 2006 when building owner Olufemi Falade agreed to a finding of civil contempt for failing to correct scores of violations at his buildings at 367 Tompkins Avenue, 543 Madison Street and 1122 New York Avenue in Brooklyn.
In August 2005, building owner John A. Kosman pled guilty to criminal contempt for failing to repair scores of violations at his building at 117 West 142nd Street in Harlem.
This was cut from HPD Press Release # 03-08 Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Contact: Seth Donlin (212) 863-5176 for link to full version
Preventing Displacement Conference (November 2007)
 A conference on land control and community building tools will take place Nov. 14-16 in the Greater Washington, D.C./Baltimore area. The conference, which is sponsored by the Center for Community Builders, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, will be held at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum, Md. The conference is designed for community building practitioners who are not actively engaged in land-control issues but have constituencies that could be displaced by neighborhood development. It will cover such topics as community land trusts, inclusionary zoning ordinances, and community benefit agreements. The registration and payment deadline is Nov. 2. For more information or to register visit the Center for Community Builders Web site.
| Displacement Mitigation Plan near CD12 at 148th and Broadway
(September 2007)
Columbia University is closing a deal with HPD to construct a new 42-unit elevator building at 148th Street and Broadway. When completed it plans to move 27 of the 132 households displaced from buildings it wants for the campus expansion. Replacement housing is a precondition for getting government and public support. In this project’s case, the tenants are participating in the Tenant Interim Lease program (TIL). The programs helps renters in city-owned buildings become owners of co-ops, buying them for as little as $250 A key contact at HPD on details is Seth Donlin, as is La-Verna Foundatin, of Columbia regarding ongoing efforts to manage the forced displacement anticipated by the project. Secondary displacement remains an issue.
See http://www.observer.com/2007/columbia-finds-spot-27-families This is a signal that Columbia is moving forward on its committment to contribute $20 million to start a fund for affordable housing production. The question is where in the neighborhood how will these plans, projects and programs affect CD12? See HOUSING for more on this location Expanding Legal Services in Upper Manhattan to Serve Tenants
(August 2007) With the support of CUNY's Community Legal Resource Network, Columbia University and others, New York State Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat (D-72nd District) have developed plans for the expansion of legal services to advocate for residents in CD12.This is action is partly in response to an alleged scheme to defraud investors in Washington Heights & Inwood by real estate developers arrested and charged with a scheme to defraud investors. The charges focus on buildings owned by the Kingsland Group. Overall, the rising cost of housing in comparison to wages continues to press heavily on the economic well-being of Washington Heights and Inwood. The legal services planned are part of a yearlong campaign initiated by Assemblyman Espaillat and Nos Quedamos/Project Remain in coordination with the City University of New York (CUNY), the City University of New York School of Law and the Community Legal Resource Network (CLRN) and Columbia University.The resulting policy recommendations call for free housing legal services Nos Quedamos. Services will be housed in the district office of Assemblyman Espaillat, 210 Sherman Avenue, New York, New York 10034, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.Tenants interested in making an appointment to speak with an Attorney must call:(212) 544-2278. According to the Mortgage Fraud Blog (click here) The properties listed in the complaint associated with the Kingsland Group are: 2301-2303 2nd Ave 249 E. 118th Street 528 W. 152nd Street 531 W. 179th Street 283 Audubon Ave503-505 W. 176th St70-72 Pinehurst Ave. 2180-82 Amsterdam Ave507 W.184th St559 W. 183rd St704 W. 180th Street 234-236 E. l l 8t h Street 463, W. 15th Street 465, W. 15th Street 467 W. 15th Street 510-516 W. 184th St 500 W. 190th Street 516-520 W. 18Eth Street 515 W. 184th Street 520-524 W. 184th StreetFor FBI PDF Press Release of 07/30 by Michael J. GarciaUnited States Attorney - Southern District of New York go to this link U. S. ARRESTS TWO DEVELOPERS IN $27 MILLION FRAUD SCHEME |