BERLIN ROSEN STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF TWO TREES RECEIVED: 11/24/2015  In exchange for 421a tax benefits at 125 Court Street, Two Trees has fulfilled its obligation to build and maintain 64 affordable units that otherwise would not exist. All apartments, market rate and affordable, are registered and subject to rent increases under stabilization. A preliminary 421-a certificate was issued and we are working with HPD to correct our administrative oversight and receive the final certificate.  125 Court was Two Trees’ first 80/20 building and the first 80/20 in Brooklyn. When Two Trees discovered accidental overcharges – averaging about 4% and impacting 80 of 321 units – it moved to address them, providing full refunds with interest to all affected tenants for every overcharge. Total overcharges amounted to less than .5% of total rent collected during that period.  125 Court Street is one of the best and highest rent luxury rental buildings in Brooklyn, and Two Trees works tirelessly to protect this asset. In one unit we have been unable to address an alleged issue because the tenant has refused to provide access to the apartment for more than two years. This tenant is a professional litigator who has failed repeatedly in court and was recently forced to pay $95,000 in back rent. “We have proudly participated in the 421-a program, meeting our commitments to deliver integrated affordable housing in some of the city’s finest luxury rental buildings. Two Trees provides exceptional service in all of our buildings, but these isolated tenants, who did not pay rent until ordered by a judge, have made that impossible by barring access to their apartment for maintenance. This incident is in no way reflective of conditions in the building.”