Attorney General files lawsuit against local landlord Marolda Properties; accused of intimidating rent-stabilized tenants

Via the EVG inbox this morning...

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today filed a lawsuit against Marolda Properties, Inc., a Manhattan property management company that manages rent-regulated apartment buildings in the New York City metropolitan area including in Chinatown and the Lower East Side, and affiliated landlords that own the buildings.

The lawsuit is the result of a joint investigation between the Attorney General’s Office and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Tenant Protection Unit.

The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court, alleges that Marolda Properties and the other defendants improperly sought to evict rent-regulated tenants by serving notices and bringing proceedings in housing court falsely alleging that the tenants no longer occupied the premises as their primary residence. The lawsuit also alleges that defendants refused to renew tenants’ legally-required leases, overcharged and failed to account for rent paid by tenants, did not conduct necessary and proper repairs and renovations, and engaged in other harassing, deceptive and retaliatory behavior.

The affiliated landlords named in the lawsuit include Green Leaf Associates, LLC, Forsyth Green, LLC, Forsyth Blue, LLC, 83-85 Baxter Street, LLC, 7 Rivington Street, LLC, 90 Elizabeth St., LLC, Ludlow 65 Realty LLC, 13-15 Essex Street, LLC, 145 Ave. C., LLC, and 100 Forsyth Associates, LLC.

Read the full release from the AG's office here.

145 Avenue C (649 E. Ninth St.) sold in 2011 for $9.7 million. An entity named Ninth and C LLC is listed as the building's owner, according to public records. At the time of the sale, a resident told us that Marolda Properties would manage the building. Ninth and C LLC has an address in Houston.

145 Avenue C sells for $9.7 million

A reader told us that residents of 649 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue C) recently received notification that their building had been sold. (Indeed, Streeteasy notes that the sale was for $9.7 million.)

According to the reader, an entity named Ninth and C LLC now owns the building, but that the previous owner, Marolda Properties, would remain the managing agent of the building.

City property records show that the address for Ninth and C LLC is in Houston.

The address listed is 1919 Post Oak Park Drive, home of the Post Oak Park Luxury Apartments.

Per the Post Oak Park website: "Enjoy the convenience of a premier Uptown address while living in a community that provides a peaceful retreat from the bustle of the city. ... Experience luxury living in your own private sanctuary from the outside world overlooking streams, ponds, scenic gardens and a five-acre wooded park."

Winther Investment, Inc., "an upscale multifamily lifestyle development company" based in Houston, owns Post Oak Park.

Winther, whose address is 1919 Post Oak Park Drive, has "upscale multifamily lifestyle developments located throughout the United States," including Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, Little Rock and Columbus, Ohio.

The Winther website describes most of these properties as an "oasis" of "luxury" in the "shadow" of the respective downtowns. Most of their properties appear to be new. Not sure just yet what Winther's interest is in 145 Avenue C. (An investment? Chance to expand the portfolio?) We're still connecting the dots.

According to the Winther website, the privately held company "excels at identifying the ideal urban setting, and then carefully integrates neo-traditional architecture, resort-style site design and lush terraced landscaping themes to create a warm and inviting community to live, work and play."

Perhaps Winther had identified 145 Avenue C as a future fit for "resort-style site design."