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Astoria tenants win class action lawsuit
Residents battled landlord group that they accused of trying to dismantle rent regulations
BY MAX PARROTT
A pair of Astoria tenants
just won a strategic battle in
a lawsuit against one of three
landlord groups challenging
the state’s newly strengthened
rent laws.
A Queens State Supreme
Court Judge has granted a
class action lawsuit that will
allow more than 50 identified
members to recover rent
overcharges allegedly collected
by defendant Vermyck LLC.
The two tenants filed
a suit in 2018 that alleges
the landlord fraudulently
deregulated many or all the
apartments in their building,
while simultaneously
receiving J-51 benefits, a
property tax exemption for
renovations. Now the lawsuit
could potentially impact more
than 100 current and other
“similarly situated” tenants
of Vermyck’s building at 28-
30 34th St., according to the
Housing Rights Initiative,
a legal support group
whose investigation led to
the lawsuit.
In the time elapsed since
the original lawsuit against
the landlord, Vermyck’s
management companies
joined two other landlords to
file a lawsuit of its own against
New York City and the Rent
28-30 34th St. in Astoria Photo via Google Maps
Guidelines Board that claims
measures included in the rent
control legislation that the
state passed in June violate
the U.S. Constitution.
“It’s highly ironic that a
landlord accused of flouting
the old rent laws (Vermyck
LLC) is now suing to challenge
the new ones,” said Aaron Carr,
founder of HRI. “This victory
couldn’t be more timely.”
Seven of the 57 pending class
action lawsuits HRI generated
have been granted classcertification
status, Carr said.
Last week, a judge granted a
motion allowing more than
100 East Harlem tenants to sue
landlord Steven Croman for
similar charges of allegedly
overcharging and not offering
rent-stabilized leases.
Reach reporter Max
Parrott by email at mparrott@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260-2507.
Vol. 7 No. 31 48 total pages
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