Daniel Melamed alleged used construction and demolition to force out the rent controlled tenants. A criminal indictment against him issued today charges Melamed with unlawfully evicting tenants from rent-regulated apartments, endangering the welfare of a child and filing a false document.
Crown Heights Landlord Busted For Illegally Forcing Out Rent Controlled Tenants, Endangering Welfare Of A Child
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A Crown Heights, Brooklyn landlord has been arrested for allegedly illegally driving tenants out of rent-controlled apartments, the AP reported.
Daniel Melamed alleged used construction and demolition to force out the rent controlled tenants. A criminal indictment against him issued today charges Melamed with unlawfully evicting tenants from rent-regulated apartments, endangering the welfare of a child and filing a false document.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio reportedly plan to discuss the case this afternoon at a news conference scheduled to held on a Brooklyn street corner.
Melamed is expected to be arraigned today.
Update 1:00 pm CDT – The Daily news reports the construction and demolition was all done without permits and was illegal. It also reports that:
The indictment alleges he knocked down interior walls and destroyed common spaces and illegally shut off heat to rent-stabilized tenants as temperatures plummeted last December.
He also exposed tenants — including a 6-year-old — to toxic lead paint dust. In some apartments the dust tested at 80 times above acceptable levels, the indictment alleges.
Tenants told the Task Force investigators the dust was so bad, they had to stuff wet towels under their doors to keep it from entering their apartments.
Prosecutors also allege Melamed filed false documents with the buildings department, claiming his building was vacant when it was filled with tenants.…
As of Wednesday, Melamed's building had 251 open housing code violations, including 185 deemed serious by the city Department of Housing Preservation & Development.
The building is so bad it's been put in HPD's "alternative enforcement program" for careful monitoring by the city, records show.
Most of the violations date back years but have not yet been certified as resolved, records show. Violations included flaking lead paint, no hot water and busted door locks and mailboxes.
Since 2012 the city has sued Melamed five times for lack of heat and hot water, records show. A tenant-initiated suit is still pending.
Melamed was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon. A licensed engineer he hired for the Union St. job, Pirooz Soltanizadeh, 39, was also arrested.
[Hat Tip: The Lion.]