We are a group of tenants and tenant organizers who have recently learned that your landlords (they are our landlords too!) own over 50 buildings with hundreds of tenants. 

 

We learned that they have over 3700 violations with HPD and the DOB. They are in  NYC's "100 Worst Landlords List" (though they hide behind different LLCs and switch their names on their buildings' records in order to avoid detection.) Through press articles and city records, we believe that they are possibly engaged in the same illegal, harassing behavior with many of the tenants across all of their buildings.

 

So let's unite!

 

As a tenant of one of the Top 100 Worst Landlords in NYC, it is imperative that you know your rights and what you can do to get your apartment fixed, and report your landlords to the proper authorities. Click here to learn what to do next!

 

For years, your landlords (listed below) have displayed behavior perfectly typical of predatory landlords. We believe they want to make it so uncomfortable for you to live in your apartment so that you will move and they can raise the rent, making themselves as much money as possible. Predatory landlords don't want your rent, they want you to MOVE OUT.  Why? Every single time a rent-regulated tenant moves out, they can raise the rent by 20%.  If they do renovations, they can raise the rent even more. Once an apartment reaches $2700, it ceases to become rent regulated and they can charge whatever they want.  In the meantime, more and more of us are forced out of our homes, or if we choose to stay, find ourselves constantly begging the landlords to fix things, to no avail. But there is hope.

 

Our landlords have been counting on the fact that the tenants in their 50+ buildings don't talk to, or even know about, each other. Those days are now ending.  

 

TYPICAL PROBLEMS MANY OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED:

 

-Not receiving leases within the legal amount of time required by law

-Not receiving  a lease at all

-Landlord illegally trying to raise the rent

-Landlord not registering our buildings as rent-stabilized, when they actually are

-Bug infestations

-Floods

-Heat not working

-Broken thermostats

-Garbage Accumulation

-Hallways, entryways and other public areas with lights out

-Broken laundry machines

-Electrical wiring (for lighting, outlets, etc.) not working

-Leaks

-Mold

-Sinks, showers, toilets and other plumbing not working

-Crumbling walls, floors, tiles

-Holes in ceiling and walls

-Mice, rats, squirrels, cockroaches

 

-The landlords often either send no one to fix anything, or send unlicensed, untrained people (when the law requires a licensed professional to complete work) -these people often actually make the problem worse.

 

-Verbal harassment. Many tenants have reported that when they ask the landlords to fix something, the landlord team has asked them why don't they move out.

 

Asking tenants to move out instead of fixing things, and forcing the tenants to live in unlivable conditions is all a form of tenant harassment and is illegal. We believe they want you to move out, so they can keep on raising rent!

 

ABOUT YOUR LANDLORDS:

 

ALEX KAHEN: Cofounder (along with Eden Ashourzadeh) of Ink Property Group. Stabilizing NYC lists Ink Property Management as one of the ten worst landlords in all of NYC. INK is also mentioned in this letter to Signature Bank by tenant housing advocates.  

Here is his LinkedIn profile.

 

EDEN ASHOURZADEH: Cofounder of INK PROPERTY GROUP, targeted by  STABILIZING NYC as one of the 10 worst landlords in NYC. INK is also mentioned in this letter to Signature Bank by tenant housing advocates.  

Eden's practices are also written about here. 

 

ROBERT KAYDANIAN.  Listed on former Public Advocate, now Attorney General's "100 Worst Landlords List" as  the 12th worst landlord in all of NYC (in 2018).  He has been on the list for several years and continues to rise up on the list (meaning he is gaining more and more violations every year, instead of correcting his behavior.) We believe that he has now scrubbed his name off of all building records in an attempt to not be on the list next year. In most cases, his name has been replaced by Eden Ashourzadeh's.  Robert is also mentioned in a letter to Signature Bank - the largest lender to predatory landlords.  

​

CATHERINE LLOPIS: Her LinkedIn Profile shows that she worked for Croman Real Estate from August 2001 to May 2007. With the help of then-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Governor Cuomo's Tenant Protection Unit, Steve Croman was jailed for one year and forced to pay tenants 8 million dollars for illegal, abusive behavior, similar to what Catherine engages in now - forcing tenants to live with debris, falling apart walls, floods, leaks, trying to get people to be so uncomfortable that they move out etc.- all while the Croman family enjoyed living in mansions and had lavish parties. You can see stopcromancoalition.org or google "Steve Croman jailed" for more info.

 

JACKIE ORTIZ: Works at Ink Property Group, one of NYC's 10 worst landlords.

 

ELLIOT SOHAYEGH, DAVID GERSTEL, JOEL RADMIN, WILLIAM RADMIN, JOSE GUERRERO, GARRETT WITTELS, HUGO GALLEGOS, LUZ VIRELLA and DAVID GRYSTAL all appear to be associated with the buildings we live in.

 

 

 

TACTICS THEY MIGHT USE AGAINST YOU:

 

1. They say they will come to fix something, then they get "stuck in traffic," or give you some other excuse & never show up to fix your problem.

 

2. They illegally ask you why don't you move out "if you don't like where you live."  This is tenant harassment and is also illegal.

 

3. They pretend to misunderstand times. You agree with them that someone will come to fix something at 4 pm. They later tell you, "Someone came at 9 am to fix it, you weren't there." Also, no one ever actually came, they are lying. 

 

4. The string-along. "Someone will be there tomorrow." You wait all day, no one comes. 

 

5. They send someone completely untrained and unlicensed to fix your apartment issues, even when the law requires them to send someone who is licensed. Often this person makes the problem even worse.

 

 

Remember, all of this behavior is ILLEGAL. We believe that they are purposefully trying to get you to move out so they can raise the rent. This is called being a predatory landlord, and what they are doing is called Tenant Harassment.

 

These days of that sort of treatment will end. You deserve to live in a comfortable home and not be harassed by your landlords.  Click on "To Do, Now!" in the menu at the top of the page to learn what to do right away!