Politics
Their Landlord Overcharged Them. Now Tenants Will Split $15 Million.
Dozens of New York City renters are receiving payoffs from Blackstone in a settlement of a case that accused the previous landlord of violating rent-stabilization rules.
The private equity firm Blackstone is paying some New York City renters more than $100,000 each to resolve claims that they had been overcharged for their rent-stabilized apartments, according to court papers and an announcement from a housing watchdog group on Tuesday.
The total payout of nearly $15 million, which involves dozens of tenants who will receive thousands of dollars each, is one of the largest in state history, according to the lawyers representing the tenants.
It resolves a 2018 class-action lawsuit that residents of Parker Towers in Queens filed against the former property owner, the Jack Parker Corporation, and Blackstone, which purchased the complex that year. The building has more than 1,300 units, and the Jack Parker Corporation had received lucrative tax breaks through a city program to renovate the apartments but keep them rent-stabilized.
“This settlement is more than just a settlement for these families,” said Aaron Carr, the founder and executive director of the nonprofit watchdog group, the Housing Rights Initiative, which investigated the overcharges that led to the lawsuit. “It means more money for food, health care and housing in one of the most unaffordable cities on planet Earth.”
Blackstone, a major investor in real estate around the world, moved to settle the case soon after purchasing the complex but has spent years wrangling with Newman Ferrara, the law firm representing the renters.
