New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman speaking at New York Law School. Image credit: CityLaw
Schneiderman announces guilty verdict for Brooklyn landlord who harassed rent-stabilized tenants. On June 20, 2017, New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the guilty verdict of Brooklyn landlord Daniel Melamed on three counts of Unlawful Eviction of rent-stabilized tenants. Melamed is scheduled to be sentenced on September 13, 2017 and could face up to one year in jail.
The guilty verdict stems from an investigation into Melamed’s management of an apartment building at 1578 Union Street. During the investigation the Attorney General found that Melamed used construction and the interruption of services in an attempt to force rent-stabilized tenants to abandon their apartments. Daniel Melamed was the first arrest resulting from the Tenant Harassment Prevention Task Force which was created in February 2015.
At trial the Attorney General’s Office proved that Melamed had engaged in a pattern of dangerous and unlawful construction that jeopardized the health and safety of tenants with the intent of evicting rent-stabilized tenants. Melamed’s disturbing actions included illegally shutting off heat, exposing tenants to lead dust and removing the boiler in the middle of winter without City approval.
The three rent-stabilized tenants remaining in the building testified to having to use ovens to heat their apartments, bathing with buckets and covering their noses and mouths to protect against lead dust.
“We won’t hesitate to bring the full force of the law against anyone who harasses, intimidates, and jeopardizes the health and safety of tenants,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Daniel Melamed intentionally endangered rent-stabilized tenants in order to push them out – and line his own pockets. Today’s guilty verdict marks another win for our Tenant Harassment Task Force and the strong partnership we’ve created between the state and the city to hold bad landlords accountable.”
By: Jonathon Sizemore (Jonathon is the CityLaw Fellow and a New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2016).