NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Manhattan landlord was indicted for allegedly harassing senior tenants to get them to leave rent-regulated apartments they've lived in for nearly a half-century, officials said Wednesday.
Meyer Chetrit, 61, and his companies, The West Paramont LLC and The Chetrit Group, LLC, were charged with harassment of a rent regulated tenant.
According to the indictment, Chetrit and his co-defendant engaged in a five-year campaign of harassment against two tenants, both in their mid-70s, who have lived in their building at 117-119 West 26th St. in Chelsea for nearly five decades.
Prosecutors allege the defendants aimed to force the tenants out to facilitate the building’s demolition or sale.
"New York City landlords must maintain safe and habitable living conditions for their tenants. A deliberate failure to do so, in an effort to drive tenants from their residences, is a violation of City building codes and also a criminal offense," said D.O.I. Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber.
The indictment details numerous instances of alleged harassment including:
• Extended heat outages during winter, with one outage in 2021 lasting nearly two months.
• A non-functional elevator since September 2023, forcing the tenants, who live on the fourth and fifth floors, to use the stairs.
• Roof deterioration that led to persistent leaks, a ceiling collapse, and flooding in one of the apartments.
The building has been mostly vacant for over a decade. In 2023, a section of the unoccupied commercial portion of the building collapsed, leading to a partial vacate order from the Department of Buildings.
Following the incident, tenants reportedly found notices threatening them with arrest if they did not leave their homes, despite their units not being part of the order.
“As alleged, Meyer Chetrit waged a campaign of harassment against two rent-regulated tenants in their 70s in hopes they would move out, and the building could be sold,” said District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “From winters without heat and unrepaired roofs causing leaks and ceiling collapses, these New Yorkers were forced to live in uninhabitable conditions."
The D.A.'s office asked anyone with similar complaints to contact the Housing and Tenant Protection Unit at 212-335-3300 or Danyhousing@dany.nyc.gov.