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QUEENS WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2019
Forest Hills tenants were victims of
rent regulation scheme, judge says
BY MARK HALLUM
A Queens Supreme
Court judge ruled in favor
of Forest Hills tenants who
claimed to have been the
victims of a fraud scheme
to de-regulate apartments
with over 40 residents
being overcharged.
Now that the case is
class action, the landlord
— simply referred to in
court documents as 111-
32 76th Avenue LLC —
will possibly be paying
out clients of Newman
Ferrara hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
It was determined
through an investigation
by the watchdog group
Housing Rights Initiative
(HRI) that the landlord
had violating the J-51 tax
abatement program and
pushed the units out of
regulation status.
Judge Timothy
Dufficy said the holding
company had been
reaping the benefits of
the tax abatements while
failing to register them
with the Division of
Housing and Community
Renewal, provide rentstabilized
leases and
charge only the rent
increases allowed under
the law.
“It’s time for New York
State to have a serious
conversation about the
enforcement of our rent
of our rent stabilization
system,” HRI Executive
Director Aaron Carr
The exterior of 111-32 76th Ave. in Forest Hills. Photo via Google Maps
said. “The customary
indifference to fraud is
beyond comprehension
and belief.”
Tenants who rented
from the defendant
are eligible for
reimbursement as long
as they lived in the
building prior to May 29,
2014.
The J-51 tax abatement
is an incentive given
to developers who
revitalize and make other
improvements to multifamily
homes for a certain
number of years.
J-51 tax breaks are
given for 34 years to
affordable housing
complexes, according to
the Furman Center, but
most projects only get 14-
year exemptions.
Most properties get
abatements equal to 8.3
percent or 12.5 percent of
the cost of work done each
year for up to 20 years.
Reach reporter Mark
Hallum by email at
mhallum@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4564.
Ast. Heights man
busted for series of
west Qns. break-ins
Photo via Shutterstock, inset courtesy of the NYPD
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
An Astoria Heights
man who police say
is behind a series of
commercial burglaries
throughout Queens was
arrested in Long Island
City on Tuesday evening,
Aug. 27.
Following an ongoing
investigation, Mark
Tortora, 33, was arrested
on Aug. 27 in the vicinity
of 41st Avenue and 12th
Street.
He was charged with
three counts of burglary,
grand larceny, criminal
possession of stolen
property, petit larceny,
reckless endangerment,
unauthorized use of a motor
vehicle and fleeing an
officer in a motor vehicle.
Police say that
between 1:07 a.m. on July
16 and 2:38 a.m. on Aug.
23, Tortora allegedly
entered 23 commercial
establishments located
within the 104th,
108th, 112th and 114th
precincts.
Tortora allegedly
targeted stores that
didn’t have a security
gate and would break
through glass doors with
a blunt object.
Once inside,
Tortora allegedly took
merchandise, lottery
tickets and cash from the
locations.
Sources familiar with
the investigation say that
Tortora was identified
through surveillance
footage obtained from
the businesses.
Reach reporter Emily
Davenport by email at
edavenport@qns.com or
by phone at (718) 260-2576.
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