In a rare triumph of justice for abused NYC renters, two Brooklyn landlords known for destroying their own properties to force out rent-stabilized tenants have been arrested.
Brothers Joel and Aaron Israel—collectively forming JBI Management— made headlines last year for taking such drastic measures as blasting a crater-sized hole in the middle of one family's Bushwick apartment at 98 Linden Street, as well as incurring similar miseries on the occupants of other properties in Greenpoint and Williamsburg.
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson announced yesterday that the brothers have been indicted on a slew of charges including fraud, grand larceny, criminal mischief, falsifying business records and unlawful eviction.
"We simply will not allow the hardworking people of Brooklyn to be intimidated and harassed or have their apartments destroyed by those who seek to force them out just to make money from the lucrative real estate market," Thompson said in a statement. "Rent-stabilized apartments are designed to protect tenants and cannot be turned into market value apartments through intimidation and fraud. It's against the law and we will investigate and vigorously prosecute those who harass and prey on innocent tenants in Brooklyn."
"Vigorous" is perhaps not the word maligned tenants would have used to characterize prosecutor's efforts: Noelia Calero, who refused to leave her Linden Street apartment despite the gaping maw in the kitchen floor and lack of bathroom walls, hired a lawyer to fight her eviction notice. It did, however, take more than a year to win her case, during which time she and her family lived off of a hot plate.
Other tenants living under the Israels' tyranny have similar tales. Catalina Hidalgo, a decade-long resident at 300 Nassau, arrived home one day to find that someone had taken an axe to her building's boilers, forcing her and her small children to move out. Silveria Hormiga-Rey lived in her third floor apartment at 324 Central Avenue for nearly nine years—that is, until the Israels smashed up its entire rear portion.
If nothing else, perhaps the Israels' long-delayed indictment may serve as a warning to others that burning down homes is not an wise tactic for landlords.
"Safe and affordable housing is a basic right of every single New Yorker, Public Advocate Letitia James said in a statement. "The charges brought against the perpetrators by District Attorney Thompson shock the conscious and cannot go unpunished. Let this be a message to all that harassment of tenants will not be tolerated, and that government will use every tool possible to defend working families and take on unscrupulous landlords - whether through the Worst Landlord's Watchlist or criminal prosecution."
