New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and incoming Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Dina Levy on Jan. 16 announced a $2.1 million settlement with A&E Real Estate and its associated principals Douglas Eisenberg and Margaret Brunn, as well as registered managing agent Brian Garland, over tenant harassment and hazardous living conditions across 14 residential buildings in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.
The settlement includes civil penalties and requires A&E to correct more than 4,000 outstanding building condition violations. It also imposes court-ordered injunctions barring future tenant harassment. The action was led by HPD’s Anti-Harassment Unit and targets long-standing safety and habitability issues that tenants had faced across the affected properties.
“Every tenant in New York City has a right to a safe and livable home and our administration is taking decisive action to deliver exactly that. This settlement will bring real accountability and relief for the tenants of these buildings, who have been suffering from poor conditions and harassment for far too long,” Mamdani said in a statement.
The case involves 14 buildings located at 150-45 73 Avenue, 35-64 84 Street, 37-06 81 Street, 35-16 34 Street, 48-16 46 Street, 37-25 81 Street, 80-01 37 Street, 37-30 81 Street and 150-40 73 Avenue in Queens; 2 Ellwood Street, 342 Fort Washington Avenue, and 350 Fort Washington Avenue in Manhattan; and 65 Ocean Avenue and 230 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn.
HPD’s investigation initially uncovered widespread unsafe conditions at several properties. When violations went uncorrected, the agency escalated enforcement by seeking civil contempt findings, additional court-ordered repairs and increased penalties.
During the course of litigation, more than 1,000 violations were corrected following court orders and enforcement actions. HPD also carried out nearly $488,000 in repairs through the Emergency Repair Program. City officials noted that failure to comply with the settlement terms could result in further court action and additional penalties.
