Memorandum

TO:

Honorable Bill de Blasio, Mayor of the City of New York

C/O:

Commissioner Marco Carrion, Commissioner of Community Affairs

FROM:

Yolande I. Nicholson, Esq. and Dr. Una S. Clarke following-up with discussion with
Commissioner Carrion

CC:

Letitia James, Esq., Public Advocate

RE:

Illegal Rent Charges and illegal Evictions at 421-a Development
125 Court Street, Brooklyn – Two Trees Management LLC

DATE:

August 8, 2014

SITUATION: ON INFORMATION AND BELIEF:


Two Trees Management LLC have continuously harassed (illegally evicted or forced out)
tenants like Yolande Nicholson and her family at 125 Court Street (80/20 building) in
Brooklyn from their rent stabilized apartments, using illegal rents, retaliatory management
practices, fraudulent leases, and false and fraudulent rent registrations. Moreover, a number
of residents, low income and middle income tenants alike, have consistently complained to
City agencies about their unsafe, hazardous, and disparate living conditions, to no avail!



Both New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”) and
Housing Development Corporation (“HDC”) have been aware of these illegalities and
violations for years, but have ignored the problem to the financial detriment, and risk to health,
welfare and safety, of residents at 125 Court Street, Brooklyn (resulting from overcharges,
illegal dispossessions, unfair living conditions, and unresolved C violations at HPD).



Two Trees’ illegal rental practices are specifically prohibited by New York City’s Rent
Stabilization Laws (along with New York State’s), violate Two Trees’ regulatory agreement
with the City of New York, and fly in the face of Mayor de Blasio’s recently announced FiveBorough, Ten-Year Housing Plan (the “Mayor’s Housing Plan”). $105,000,000 in New York
City 421-a tax-exempt bond financing for this $107,000,000 development at 125 Court Street
(97% in City funding) should be leverage enough to mandate Two Trees’ compliance with
New York City law and applicable regulatory agreement!



Direct enforcement by New York City regulatory agencies is urgently needed today to protect
tenants from harassment over the 25 years that Two Trees is enjoying excessive and extensive
real estate tax benefits. A change in policy to direct enforcement by New York City agencies
is urgently needed to protect the health, welfare and safety of residents at 125 Court Street—
that is, to carry out the intent of the City’s Rent Stabilization Law.



Direct Enforcement has to be an integral part of the Housing Plan if the City is “to protect
tenants in rent regulated units more aggressively” -- Housing Plan Goal #6.
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 

Without enforcement of New York City’s Rent Stabilization Laws and Two Trees’ regulatory
agreement with the City, Two Trees’ harassment of tenants has been and is being endorsed
(that is, being given the “good housekeeping seal of approval”) by HPD and HDC, while
families are being forced out, others live with mold, and others pay illegal monthly rents



Two Trees’ management team consistently informs tenants requesting and expecting a rent
stabilized lease and rental increase that their apartments are exempt from regulation, though
they know this to be a false statement, as they make a mockery of the City’s directive of 2011
to cease this practice and to correct their fraudulent rent registrations with DHCR.



Two Trees may very well exacerbate one of the problems that Mayor de Blasio’s Housing
Plan seeks to address: the cumulative loss of the stock of units that have become subject to
rent stabilization due to receipt of 421-a tax benefits.



Tenants of 125 Court Street would also like HDC to enforce its regulatory agreement that bars
the segregation and disparate living conditions of low income tenants at 125 Court.

THE TENANTS ARE SEEKING THE FOLLOWING:


Tenants at 125 Court Street want the Mayor and his Administration to ensure that HPD and
HDC are enforcing New York City's Rent Stabilization Laws and the City’s regulatory
agreement with Two Trees -- bringing Two Trees into compliance in order to immediately
implement the goal of the Housing Plan to protect rent regulated tenants “more aggressively”.



Yolande Nicholson and her family would like to know if they can rely on the principles and
goals in the Mayor’s Housing Plan to stop their illegal eviction and dispossession from their
home in August 2014, and that of other families at 125 Court that are in the works. In addition,
The Nicholson family would also like access to their possessions locked inside of their
apartment in which they were illegally expelled.



Tenants at 125 Court Street would undoubtedly like HPD and HDC to enforce the City’s law
and its regulatory agreement to stop the harassment against all families at 125 Court Street,
and in all other 421-a developments Citywide. Tenants at 125 Court Street would like the
Administration to reaffirm that the Mayor’s Housing Plan commitment to “preserving
affordable, rent stabilized units for moderate and middle income working families” is as much
a priority as is its commitment to preserving and creating affordable low income units.



Rent-regulated tenants Citywide respectfully call on Mayor de Blasio to immediately change
the “look the other way” policy of the City agencies involved in administering the City’s 421a tax-exempt bond issuances and affordable housing developments and program -- that is,
HPD and HDC’s non enforcement policy, and sanctioning of developers’ illegal practices.



We respectfully call on Mayor de Blasio to put an end to HPD & HDC’s disregard of their
duty to regulate Two Trees and to enforce the terms of the City’s regulatory agreement, and
protect the rent stabilized home of Yolande I. Nicholson, Esq., her family and her neighbors.

See Chart A (attached in the email) – “The Nicholson Family Rent History – Apartment 9S-D:
An Illustration of Harassment, Overcharges and Illegal Eviction by Two Trees
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