Queens landlords land on nonprofit’s ‘worst evictors’ list
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A new report by the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition, JustFix and the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project outlines the landlords who filed the most eviction motions over an 18-month period. Photo courtesy of Right to Counsel Coalition
By Rachel Vick
A number of Queens landlords landed themselves on the 2021 Worst Evictors List released Wednesday by the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition, JustFix, and the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project.
Though the list is the third annual analysis of eviction data, due to pandemic protections, the 2021 report is the first time the groups examined the number of eviction cases filed instead of actual evictions enacted.
Topping the list of 20 was the LeFrak Organization, which filed more than 2,000 eviction suits from March 2020 to September 2021, according to the report.
“Our analysis of the city’s worst evictors echoes what tenants and organizers have known for a long time. These evictors are not lone actors; they are part of a larger system that supports their business practices,” said JustFix Data Lead Sam Rabiyah. “Nearly all landlords on this list receive public funding and participate in subsidy programs, and several names on the list are known to have close ties with city agencies as affordable housing developers.”
Phipps Houses President Adam Weinstein made the list for the organization’s 442 households sued in the last year, bumping their rank on the list from 11 up to 8.
The list was compiled using public data on any residential eviction case — holdover or non-payment — filed with a New York City court between March 23, 2020 and Sept. 23, 2021, and included narratives from tenant organizers and residents.
Landlord groups contacted by the Eagle disputed JustFix’s methodology for compiling the list.
A representative from Phipps told the Eagle that though the group filed over 400 cases for eviction, no one was evicted during the timeframe JustFix analyzed for its list.
During the pandemic, tenants were only evicted under extreme circumstances due to protections put in place due to factors brought on by COVID-19.
Rabiyah said he remains confident in the integrity of the data presented, which does not significantly differ from earlier reports.
“We're sharing our sources of data and the code — any member of the public has the ability to fact check us,” he added. “We have a community of folks we've relied on to refine the methodology. Because of the fact that this is a sensitive subject we’re spending extra time to be [accurate].”
Rabiyah said repeat offenders “had ample opportunity to reach out to us with issues with the methodology — we still have yet to hear specific criticism.”
Efstathios Valiotis and others from Long Island City based Alma Realty ranked ninth on the list, and Jay and Ken Subraj from Zara Realty — which is among the borough’s largest landlords — was ranked 14 on the list with 385 households sued for eviction.
"Unfortunately it's not surprising that Zara is one of the worst evictors in NYC,” Cristina Jeffers, Tenant leader with the Zara Tenant Coalition. “They have been so aggressive and use a variety of tactics… but the worst came with the pandemic: at a time when stable housing could literally mean the difference between life and death, landlords like Zara decided to double down on tactics, trying to evict tenants who have fallen behind on rent.”
The real estate group was sued by State Attorney General Letitia James in 2019 for allegedly violating rent-stabilization law by charging new tenants hundreds of dollars for new keys and other exorbitant fees.
“While they profit, a single immigrant mother like myself - supporting my son through college and caring for my 90 year-old mother - is facing eviction even after they got most of my rent arrears from the government's ERAP program,” Jeffers said. “It's time to get our priorities right: use the City and State resources to keep people home and hold millionaire landlords accountable."
Other landlords in Queens named in the list include Jay Rosenfeld, Labe Twerski, Ved Parkash, and Progressive Management led by Lsoo Kim and Robert Corso.
Tenant organizations and community groups in the neighborhoods around the properties managed by the newly dubbed “worst” landlords were highlighted to connect readers with resources to address harassment or disputes.
The zip codes with the most eviction cases filed during the period were in Edgemere/ Far Rockaway, Corona, Elmhurst and Hillcrest/Jamaica Hills — most of which also overlap with areas with high COVID infection rates — according to the report.
The list differs from the the annual “Worst Landlord Watchlist” released Thursday by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, which is based on the number average open HPD violations across watchlist buildings.
Zara, LeFrak and Alma did not respond to requests for comment.
