Brokerages cough up $115k to settle Newsday discrimination claims

Nearly three years after a Newsday investigation pulled back the curtain on racial discrimination by Long Island residential brokers, three agencies named in the probe will fork over $115,000 as part of a settlement with New York State. The penalties, paid by two Keller Williams franchises — Keller Williams Greater Nassau and Keller Williams Realty Elite — and Long Island-based Laffey Real Estate, will fund fair housing trainings for agents and the enforcement of fair

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AG jumps into Freeport ballfield fray

Letitia James is accusing Freeport Village of skipping a base as it looks to hit a home run with a land sale to an industrial developer. The New York attorney general filed a petition seeking to halt the sale of the nine-acre Cleveland Avenue ballfields, Newsday reported. The petition doesn’t contest the sale on the grounds of the development plans, but on the lack of an environmental review. The petition claimed the village board said

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For rent law cheaters, the ultimate punishment: Endless stabilization

A landlord busted in a scheme to yank hundreds of apartments out of rent stabilization claims it was really a victim of it. Attorney General Letitia James didn’t buy the excuse, though, and said Wednesday that she has extracted a $4 million settlement from the building owners — 29 limited liability companies tied to Manhattan-based Sentinel Real Estate Corporation. The facts of the case didn’t help Sentinel’s cause. The LLCs had hired management firms that

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For rent law cheaters, the ultimate punishment: Endless stabilization

A landlord busted in a scheme to yank hundreds of apartments out of rent stabilization claims it was really a victim of it. Attorney General Letitia James didn’t buy the excuse, though, and said Wednesday that she has extracted a $4 million settlement from the building owners — 29 limited liability companies tied to Manhattan-based Sentinel Real Estate Corporation. The facts of the case didn’t help Sentinel’s cause. The LLCs had hired management firms that

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Cushman delivers 36K documents to AG in Trump probe

Cushman & Wakefield had a message for Letitia James: You want documents? We got your documents right here! The real estate giant provided nearly 36,000 documents to the New York Attorney General’s office, according to court filings. The AG’s office acknowledged as much in its own court filing, asking for the court to “hold any contempt purged, without any fines due or owing.” The document dump completes Cushman’s compliance with subpoenas issued in September 2021

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Rockland County “fraudster” banned from real estate

A property manager in Rockland County agreed to banishment from the real estate business in New York for milking an affordable co-op for personal benefit and nearly driving it to financial ruin. James announced the agreement Wednesday following a two-year investigation of the manager, Russell Mainardi. The probe found he had illegally misused funds at 18-36 Columbus Avenue in Spring Valley, putting it on the verge of foreclosure. Mainardi installed his girlfriend as property manager,

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AG nails landlord for breaking rent law, promises more to come

Ink Property Group and three of its principals will pay up to $1.75 million to settle claims by state Attorney General Letitia James that they duped rent-stabilized tenants out of leases, illegally deregulated units and falsified financial documents to secure bank loans. But for now, Ink is on the hook for only a fraction of that. The firm has shelled out $300,000 to a state affordable housing fund and promised $400,000 to the tenants who

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Brooklyn landlord forced to return $300k to tenants

Small security deposits are adding up to big trouble for a Brooklyn landlord. New York Attorney General Letitia Jame on Thursday announced an agreement with SGW Properties to return nearly $300,000 of security deposits to tenants. James found the company, founded by Yeshaya Wasserman in 2008, didn’t comply with a 2019 change to the rental law that required a written, itemized list of reasons for a withheld security deposit. SGW will return the security deposits

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Cushman slapped with $10K daily fine in Trump property probe

A judge has decided enough is enough, holding Cushman & Wakefield in contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena in the investigation into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. Judge Arthur Engoron signed the contempt order on Tuesday, The Daily Beast reported. The commercial real estate giant will be fined $10,000 per day until it hands over evidence to state investigators. The judge said in the order the company “fails to identify any good

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Cushman pushes back on subpoena in Trump property probe

Cushman & Wakefield is resisting an order to comply with an investigation into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. The commercial real estate giant filed an appeal Wednesday, seeking to overturn a judge’s decision to uphold a subpoena in the probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James. As part of the civil inquiry, James is seeking information about Cushman’s appraisals of several Trump properties, including 40 Wall Street. In its appeal, Cushman argued it

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