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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 17 July 2018

Jared Kushner's family firm accused of pushing out tenants

By BERNARD CONDON and "They won, they succeed- exposed, provides a win-
GARANCE BURKE ed," says Barth Bazyluk, who dow into the Kushner Cos.'
Associated Press left apartment C606 with predatory business model."
NEW YORK (AP) — The his wife and baby daugh- In a statement, the Kush-
hammering and drilling be- ter in December. "You have ner Cos. acknowledged it
gan just months after Jared to be ignorant or dumb to received some complaints
Kushner's family real estate think this wasn't deliberate." about construction during
firm bought a converted This up-close look at one major renovations, which
warehouse apartment of the Kushner Cos.' largest ended in December 2017,
building in the hip, Williams- residential buildings in New but said that it responded
burg section of Brooklyn. York illustrates what critics to them immediately and
Tenants say it started early describe as the firm's sharp- that "tremendous care was
in the morning and went elbowed business practices taken to prevent dust and
on until nightfall, so loud while it was run by President inconvenience to tenants."
that it drowned out normal Donald Trump's son-in-law It said many tenants moved This June 28, 2018 photo shows 184 Kent Avenue in the Brooklyn
conversation, so violent and eventual White House out when their rent was in- borough of New York owned by the Kushner Cos.
it rattled pictures off the adviser Jared Kushner. creased to the maximum Associated Press
walls. So much dust wafted The Kushner Cos. told the allowed under rent-stabili-
through ducts and under AP that it didn't harass any zation rules. and Wild Turkey bourbon, and countertops that had
doorways that it coated tenants to get them out. Those rules limit the amount was gutted by a previous been installed five years
beds and clothes in clos- But the data suggest turn- that landlords can hike rent owner in 2010 to create before.
ets. Rats crawled through over at the building known each year to protect ten- sleek apartments that took "There were consistently
holes in the walls. Workers as the Austin Nichols House ants from getting pushed advantage of the build- people in the hallway early,
with passkeys barged in was significantly higher out, though in this building ing's high ceilings and wa- 8 or so, banging on things,
unannounced. Residents than city averages for cov- the rents weren't cheap, terfront views. taking down walls. There
who begged for relief got eted rent-stabilized build- with one-bedrooms go- When Jared Kushner and was lots of dust. ... They had
a standard reply, "We have ings, leaving behind a trail ing for more than $3,000 a two partners bought it for fans, and they were blow-
permits." of anger, disrupted lives month. $275 million in April 2015, ing dust under the doors,"
More than a dozen current and a $10 million lawsuit Also, the city's building they made it clear they says tech salesman Mar-
and former residents of the filed late Sunday in which department says it sent wanted to convert the cus Carvalho, who left the
building told The Associat- 20 tenants say they were inspectors to the build- building's 338 apartments building in December af-
ed Press that they believe harassed and exposed to ing dozens of times since — all of them rent-stabilized ter six years, deciding the
the Kushner Cos.' relentless high levels of cancer-caus- 2015 and uncovered no — into condos. All but nine $1,000 or so increase in rent
construction, along with ing dust. evidence that construction were occupied, and other to renew his lease wasn't
rent hikes of $500 a month On Monday, a New York rules were being violated, a than maxing out the rent, worth it. "I didn't want to
or more, was part of a state agency announced it finding that some residents developers had few tools if spend another minute in
campaign to push tenants was launching an investiga- say doesn't square with they wanted to get tenants that construction zone."
out of rent-stabilized apart- tion into whether Kushner their experiences. out. His 679-square-foot
ments and bring high-pay- Cos. violated state housing The landmarked Austin Just months after the pur- (63-square-meter), one-
ing condo buyers in. laws and regulations meant Nichols House at 184 Kent chase, the Kushners began room apartment, B502,
If so, it was a remarkably to prevent landlords from Avenue, for decades a extensive renovations, rip- sold the next month for
successful campaign. An disturbing tenants' peace warehouse for groceries ping out appliances, floors $800,000.q
AP investigation found that and privacy.
over the past three years, "We've looked into hun-
more than 250 rent-stabi- dreds of rent-stabilized
lized apartments — 75 per- buildings and this is one of
cent of the building — were the worst we've ever seen,"
either emptied or sold as says Aaron Carr, head of
the Kushner Cos. was con- tenant watchdog Housing
verting the building to lux- Rights Initiative, whose in-
ury condos. Those sales so vestigation led to the law-
far have totaled more than suit. "The scale and speed
$155 million, an average of of tenants leaving, the con-
$1.2 million per apartment. ditions to which they were