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March 20, 2018
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NYC Launches Investigation into Kushner Cos. False Filings

By BERNARD CONDON
NEW YORK (AP) — A New
York City council member
launched an investigation
Monday into the Kushner
Cos.' routine filing of
paperwork falsely claiming
zero rent-regulated tenants
in its buildings, saying that
the deception should have
been uncovered long ago
because the documents
are online for all to see.
Councilman Ritchie Torres
said the city's buildings
department should
have spotted the wrong
numbers because they
were contradicted by
tax documents filed with
another city agency.
"The scandal is not only
the deception of Kushner
Cos., the scandal is the
dysfunction of the city
bureaucracy," said Torres,
chair of the city council's
investigations committee.
"The right hand of city
government didn't know
what the left hand was
doing." This March 15, 2018 photo shows apartment buildings in the Astoria section of Queens, N.Y. The Kushner Cos. routinely filed false
paperwork with the city declaring it had zero rent-regulated tenants in dozens of buildings it owned across the city, including these,
The Associated Press when it, in fact, had many of them.
reported Sunday that a (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
tenants' rights watchdog
found that the Kushner regulation, they have a easier for the Kushner Cos. targeted harassment to get numbered as many as 94
Cos. had filed more than problem on their hands." to harass rent-regulated them to leave. when Kushner took over fell
80 construction permit The false documents tenants so that it could push “It was noisy, there were to 25 by 2016. The Kushner
applications for 34 buildings allowed the Kushner Cos. out low-paying tenants and complaints, I got mice,” Cos. sold the three Queens
across the city between to escape extra scrutiny replace them with higher said mail carrier Rudolph buildings last year for $60
2013 and 2016 stating it during construction paying ones. Romano, adding that he million, nearly 50 percent
had no rent-regulated projects, when the family Current and former tenants also bristled at a 60 percent more than it paid.
tenants. But tax documents real estate developer of three buildings in Queens rent increase, a hike the “Kushner Cos. made the
showed more than 300 was run by Jared Kushner, once owned by the Kushner Cos. contends was lives of many of its tenants a
rent-regulated units. who is now senior adviser Kushner Cos. told the AP initiated by the previous living hell,” said Aaron Carr,
Asked about the Kushner to his father-in-law, that they were subjected landlord. “They cleaned founder of Housing Rights
Cos. documents Monday, President Donald Trump. to extensive construction, the place out. I watched Initiative, which is joining
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Housing Rights Initiative, a with banging, drilling, dust the whole building leave.” with the Torres committee
that "if it proves to be true watchdog group, said the and leaking water that Tax records show rent- in the Kushner investigation.
that they lied to evade false documents made it they believe were part of regulated units that Continued on Page 3