the gloves are off

Category: All posts

  • Gotham sued for noncompliance with Fair Housing Act

    It sure is starting to look like the only way David Picket's Gotham Organization can make a profit is off the backs of disabled and poor tenants through substandard construction design and cheating them out of utility allowances that were permanently written into leases. 

    Here Gotham is being sued by the Fair Housing Justice Center for construction at its Nicole (55th & 9th Ave) and Ashland (Brooklyn) buildings which does not meet standards of accessibility for disabled individuals. To add insult to injury, Gotham yanked away the utility allowances from the low income and disabled tenants at the Nicole who are fighting to survive during the pandemic.

    As the suit says, it's time to halt and reform Gotham's illegal and despicable practices.

    Here are the first two pages:

    P1-2 of Gotham.-Complaint-dkt-1-5-23-19-00377710x9CCC2 copy

     

    P2-2 of Gotham.-Complaint-dkt-1-5-23-19-00377710x9CCC2 copy

     

  • “Oh, no!! My tax returns and bank statements are published on the internet!!”

     
    Have you ever had that nightmare? Not yet, you say? Well, Gotham wants to bring it closer to a reality for you. And, oh, they are being so cool and casual about it.
     
    Just email us your Social Security number, your tax returns, all your bank statements, all your investment account statements, your wage & salary information, and every occupant's email address, they’re demanding in conjunction with the current certifications for LIHTC tenants. 
     
    No mention of security for the electronic files. 
     
    No promises not to share the documents with anyone who wants to see them. 
     
    No promises that employees won’t stick them on a flash drive and take them home for their own use. 
     
    No privacy policy whatsoever.
     
    If you want to increase the chances that your Social Security number and financial records will show up on the internet for purchase or for anyone’s use, please immediately send all of your most private financial information via email to Gotham as they are demanding. If you want to risk having the information that you give to them about your children show up on a website somewhere, go ahead and freely email the information to Gotham.
     
    Gotham is trying to claim that the electronic files are necessary because they are working remotely. That’s a lie. Office employees are seen on the property everyday. And the sad truth is that there are so many empty apartments that every office employee could have his own office-apartment with private bathroom and kitchen. Furthermore, if it’s not safe for Gotham employees to work on site, is it safe for tenants to live here?!
     
    Tenants should demand to continue to mail or deliver in a sealed envelope to the concierge desk their certification materials. Demand that Gotham NOT EMAIL any documents that include Social Security number or financial information to you for signing via DocuSign. DocuSign is not safe. That company has had high profile hacks of sensitive data. 
     
    Tenants should also demand to see Gotham Organization's Privacy Policy with regard to tenants’ financial records. What legitimate company in the 21st century doesn’t promote its concern for privacy of records? A person can’t even buy dog food on the internet at Mr. Chewy without encountering a Privacy Policy. Where is Gotham’s Privacy Policy? 
     
     

  • Hurly-burly with Gotham management over utility allowances escalates

    Gotham West tenants' complaint cauldron is starting to bubble and soon will be ready for Gotham management to be dropped into it.  

    If you are an affordable unit tenant at Gotham West or one of its other properties, e.g., the Nicole, the Atlas, and want to pursue permanent recovery of your monthly utility allowance, please contact Housing Conservation Coordinators. This includes all low income, moderate income, and middle income tenants.

    HCC is assembling a list of plaintiffs.

    Contact:   Housing Conservation Coordinators
                    777 Tenth Avenue
                    (212) 541-5996 ask for Elise Levy or Richard Semegram
                    http://www.hcc-nyc.org

     

     

     

  • Tenant Safe Harbor Act signed into law!

    Senator Brad Hoylman

    Dear Neighbor,

    Late Tuesday night, Governor Cuomo signed the Tenant Safe Harbor Act into law.

    The Tenant Safe Harbor Act is legislation I sponsored to create new protections for tenants struggling during the COVID-19 crisis. It prohibits courts from ever evicting residential tenants on the basis of unpaid rent that accrues or becomes due during the COVID-19 period, if the tenant experienced financial hardship during this period. You can learn more about the Tenant Safe Harbor Act in the New York Daily News.

    Already, roughly 1 million renters in New York have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 period. The Tenant Safe Harbor Act will ensure we don't see a tidal wave of evictions in the coming months. While no bill can single-handedly fix the COVID-19 housing crisis, I'm confident the Tenant Safe Harbor Act will add an important layer of protection for New York City tenants.

    If you're a tenant who's struggling to afford rent, please contact my office. We'll be able to connect you with local nonprofit groups and other resources to help during this difficult time.

    You can always reach me at Hoylman@NYSenate.gov or leave a voice mail at 212-633-8052. Please keep in touch.

    Sincerely,

     

  • Food or rent? Medicine or rent? Health insurance or rent?

    These are not choices that Gotham West tenants should be making.

    A reader sent us this link to the The Action Network's call for rent cancellation. The organization is sponsored by:

    Action Network Sponsors

     

    Landlords like Gotham are seeking forbearance on their federally-backed mortgage payments. THIS FORBEARANCE SHOULD BE PASSED ALONG TO ALL TENANTS WITHOUT TENANTS HAVING TO BEG FOR IT.

    Meanwhile, Gotham West tenants who died from COVID-19 struggled with their last breaths as Gotham Management continued to cheat them out of proper utility allowances and proper leases. There is no lowest point to this management's behavior.

     

     

  • 2020 Utility Allowances

  • Keep up the pressure

    Tenants who have received renewal leases from Gotham West which do not include the Utility Allowance should continue to file complaints with the DHCR, if they have not already filed. When the DHCR forwards a copy of Gotham's response to you, it's important to share that response with as many other complaining tenants as possible for comparison purposes. Sharing will aid everyone in preparing replies to the DHCR that respond to Gotham; it will also help to find inconsistencies in their claims.

    Here is a link to the proper filing form. The entire complaint package must be sent in duplicate. Be absolutely sure to attach copies of your original lease, the current renewal offer, proof of the last six months of rent payments, and anything else you believe to be of importance.

    Tenant Complaint Form – Landlord's Failure to Renew Lease

     

     

  • blink, blink

    Yesterday Gotham Organization took a step back (with a sigh and tears in its eyes) and decided that it's not going to ram its shoddy, illegitimate removal of the utility allowances down the throats of Gotham West affordable tenants at the moment. Instead Gotham will wait a while and maybe try again at a later date if they can find an easier path. Meanwhile, they'll be dealing with a flood of complaints directed through the DHCR, the New York State Attorney General's office, multiple elected officials, and local organizations.

    Gotham continues its bald-faced lying about the utility allowance. They are arguing as though they think the low income tenants have a collective I.Q. of –2. We are entitled to a true HUD utility allowance by virtue of our leases and the HFA agreement that Gotham made with the regulatory authority. HFA has already confirmed that in writing and it has been provided to Gotham. But hundreds of thousands of dollars are on the line, so Gotham will try every crooked trick and lie that they can come up with to get our money.

    It is extremely important for the low income tenants to continue to file their DHCR complaints. We should not allow the DHCR to overlook the differences in the rights of the low income tenants and the rights of the moderate/middle income tenants who have fewer protections and a more difficult challenge to keep their utility allowances. We're prepared to go the distance — wherever that takes us. Of course, we're here to help you assemble your complaints and can provide documents that might be helpful to each case.

    It is also extremely important to keep track of the amounts that Gotham reimburses for the utility allowances (per its email yesterday). As we all know, nearly everything that the Gotham West staff does is wrong. And we also know that they don't care that it's wrong and are not the least bit interested in correcting their errors. They are the very definition of a sloth staff. So, keep on top of it. Keep all copies of emails, followups, and keep a detailed accounting of any effort you must make in order to get your utility allowance refunds. 

    Onward.

     

     

  • Utility Allowance Theft by Gotham Organization

    We received a couple of requests for these DHCR complaint forms which will come in useful if Gotham West Management fails to correct all of the LIHTC renewal leases which it knows illegally eliminated the Utility Allowance.

    Make no mistake about it – this is not a situation in which Gotham West has made innocent mistakes or the result of simple incompetence on the part of its employee, Amine Ourahou, who is pushing these faulty renewal leases onto tenants. This is a planned strategy to cheat LIHTC tenants out of their Utility Allowances. It is a crafted conspiracy to steal tenants' Utility Allowances and pocket them.

    It is theft.

    It is such a shame that David Picket's Gotham Organization doesn't maintain employees who are skilled enough and talented enough to be successful without cheating less fortunate people. 

    Download DHCR Tenant Complaint Form–failure to renew lease

    Download Ra89–rent-overcharge

     

  • If you think there is a lot of poop on the sidewalks out front, get a load of what’s in Friday’s email from Gotham

    As you are trying to decipher the abstruse goop in the email sent out late Friday by Gotham's Rosemary Pagan, keep in mind the following information. 

    Below are links to the definitive regulatory agreements that govern the Gotham West Project from 2011. There are a lot of interesting rights in these agreements that Gotham West Management doesn't want tenants to know about.

    Download HFA Regulatory Agreement

    Download HPD Regulatory Agreement

    Download Inclusionary Housing Regulatory Agreement 2011

    First and foremost, there is a "good cause" eviction clause repeated several times which states that no existing tenant may be removed whether by eviction, expiration of lease, or for any reason other than good cause. Good cause is not paying your rent, damaging your apartment or the building, harassing your neighbors, or not following the building's rules. Unfortunately for Gotham West Management, good cause does NOT include its right to kick out a tenant from his home to make way for a larger household. Gotham is compelled to set aside another unit in the project for that larger household, NOT kick out the existing tenant. In other words, there is no Reassignment Right of the Landlord in our leases or in the original regulatory agreements. Don't sign away your rights. Don't be tricked by a crooked, deceiving, untrustworthy landlord.

    This "good cause" eviction clause is also in First Tenants' leases.

    Second, tenants' annual certification obligations are specified in these documents and in the leases. There is NO existing obligation to sign lease riders that amend the terms of the lease in conjunction with the annual certification. NONE. ZIPPO.

    Third, Gotham West Management is expressly prohibited from charging low income tenants (rent-restricted) ANY fees other monthly rent, a $25 late fee, and a bounced check fee within certain limits. If Gotham West Management has tried to pass on any other fees to you such as their legal fees or administrative fees or repair fees, don't pay it. If you already paid it, take it back via the filing of a rent overcharge complaint with the DHCR.

    Fourth, low-income tenants are expressly entitled to a true utility allowance by the regulatory agreements and by the leases. Furthermore, Gotham West Management is expressly required to apply to HFA if it thinks that it has a legitimate reason to eliminate the utility allowance. Gotham West has made NO application — this, according to the office of our elected official, Linda Rosenthal. Any removal of the utility allowance from lease renewals is illegal. The utility allowance is not a GIFT from Gotham West. It is not optional. It is compelled and it is part of the lease.