NEW YORK – November 16, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the settlement of a dissolution action against a cooperative housing corporation, Ft. George Apt. Corp., and its shareholders, the affiliated entities Fort George Property, LLC, Fort George Realty, LLC, and NY Tryon Realty LLC. The settlement resolves allegations that Ft. George Apt. Corp. exploited the rent stabilization exemption available to housing cooperatives – an exemption that is meant to promote homeownership by protecting individual homeowners, not landlords. Under the settlement, all tenants residing in the building will be entitled to rent-stabilized leases at affordable rents.
The Martin Act regulates the conversion of rental buildings to cooperative status – providing protections for tenants while promoting homeownership. After the conversion, however, newly leased apartments in a cooperative are exempt from providing rent-stabilized apartments, in order to promote homeownership.
The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Richard Shore , Bureau Chief Erica F. Buckley, both of the Real Estate Finance Bureau, and Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Karla G. Sanchez. Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Lilliam Perez assisted in bringing the matter to the Attorney General’s office.
More…
