NYC reaches $2.1M settlement with A&E Real Estate over alleged tenant harassment

New York City reached a $2.1 million settlement with A&E Real Estate covering 14 buildings in three boroughs, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the agreement would mandate repairs and stop what he described as tenant harassment.

“I’m proud to stand here today to announce that New York City has reached an agreement with A&E Realty on 14 buildings in three boroughs,” Mamdani said at a news conference in Jackson Heights, Queens, on Friday. he said.

When asked at the press conference how aggressive the new administration plans to be against homeowners, Mamdani said, “We want to make it clear to everyone in this city that no one is above the law, and if you are a homeowner who violates the law, this administration will hold you accountable.” he said.

Mamdani said the settlement requires A&E to pay “$2.1 million in damages” and includes “injunctions restraining them from harassing their tenants” while forcing the company to “correct more than 4,000 building code violations in these 14 buildings.”

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“A&E has operated with callous disregard for those living on its properties for years, totaling more than 140,000 breaches, 35,000 of which occurred last year alone,” Mamdani said. he said. “City Hall will not sit idly by and accept this illegality, nor will we allow bad actors to continue harassing tenants with impunity.”

Tenant Diana De La Paz described conditions faced by building residents, including prolonged elevator outages, heat issues and infestations. De La Paz said the elevator in his building has been out of service for a long time, “effectively imprisoning it.”[ed] elderly and disabled tenants in their own homes.”

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NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference in Queens on Friday. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Dina Levy said the settlement will affect “750 tenants in 14 buildings” and that the city’s lawsuit “produces a solution that will lead to the correction of more than 4,000 Housing Code violations.”

“It will implement long-overdue court-ordered repairs and impose civil penalties of $2.1 million and include binding injunctions that will prohibit further harassment of tenants and require continued compliance by this landlord going forward,” Levy said.

Levy said the deal represents the agency’s largest deal to date.

“In fact, the agreement announced today represents HPD’s largest settlement in the department’s history,” Levy said, adding that the city has additional tools at its disposal, including responding to problem buildings and, in extreme cases, removing buildings from the control of their owners and establishing “responsive management.”

Levy said the city’s immediate focus is to correct violations through settlement, but cautioned that additional action could be taken if homeowners fail to comply.

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Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City on a pair of family Qurans on January 1. (Amir Hamja/Pool via Reuters)

“The intended outcome is the safety and well-being of tenants,” Mamdani said. “Today we are announcing a multimillion-dollar settlement with this homeowner to correct these violations. That’s what we want to see. If a homeowner cannot reach this settlement, if they continue to operate outside the law, then we will hold them accountable through additional means.”

City Council member Shekar Krishnan, who represents Jackson Heights, called A&E a “reprehensible landlord” and said enforcement is what tenants need.

“As a former tenant attorney, I have always said that tenant rights are not worth the paper they are written on if they are not actually enforced,” Krishnan said. “We are here today…showing what enforcement looks like.”

Mamdani also announced what he called “rent robbery” hearings across the city.

“Within the first 100 days of our administration, we will hold a rent robbery hearing in each of the five boroughs,” he said, describing them as hearings where multiple agencies will “listen to the needs of New Yorkers” and use that feedback to shape enforcement and policy.

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“We made it our mission to collaborate with the city to improve this building and other buildings that were in deep disrepair when we acquired ownership,” an A&E Real Estate spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “In every building we have purchased, we have invested in replacing boilers, renovating elevators and fixing tens of thousands of long-standing violations.

“We are pleased to have resolved all legal issues with the city and have agreed to a repair plan with the housing department that we are already working on. We look forward to partnering with the city to find collaborative ways to improve the lives of our residents and preserve and continue to invest in New York City’s housing stock.”