Stuy Town Ruling Opens Door to More Tenant Lawsuits

"Standing in the Middle of the Stuy Town Oval," from Marianne O'Leary's Flickr.

When the state's highest court ruled in October that the new owners of Stuyvesant Town should not have raised rents beyond certain set levels while also receiving tax breaks from the city for major renovations, other landlords started to sweat. Tishman Speyer, which bought the sprawling housing complex in 2006 but must now pay back millions of dollars in rent rebates, is not the only property owner in the city to raise rents on formerly rent-stabilized units, while also getting a J-51 tax break. ~~Smelling fresh meat~~ sensing injustice, the lawyers have sprung into action!

The firm that represented tenants at Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town in the class action lawsuit has launched a mail campaign targeting tenants who may be living in illegally deregulated units at Parker Towers in Forest Hills and other complexes citywide. The letter begins, "We believe that your landlord may also be overcharging you." Ronald Aranoff, a lawyer with the firm, tells the Daily News, "The phones are ringing off the hook. We want to spread the word to people and to tell them that there are options out there." Those lawyers, always trying to help.

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By John Del Signore in News on December 7, 2009 3:12 PM

Comments [rss]

youngpro

John,

Get your facts straight- the Roberts case was NOT class action, never has been certified as such, and will take a while before it does.

Thanks,

lawyer in stuy town

NannyState

It'll be a class action soon enough: what lawyer isn't constantly praying for enlargement?

youngpro

'soon enough' doesn't mean 'now', and certainly doesn't excuse false information reported by john...

nicemarmot

These lawyers are delusional. All the money is going to go to the city, not the tenants. And that's speaking as someone who is eligible for any potential settlement - I don't expect to see a penny, the city will take it all.

youngpro

delusional? we're already talking with counsel on negotiating a settlement before Tishman-Speyer defaults, thanks.

ohgoodgolly

I'm in the same position as you and I know my excitement over the lawsuit isn't about the money but about the possibility of becoming rent stabilized again. That's worth way, way more to me than an extra $5k in back rent.