Advantage over Vantage

From the Daily News:

THE STATE attorney general's decision to go after one of Queens' most controversial landlords won't deter a group of tenants from moving ahead with its own lawsuit, the tenants' attorney said yesterday.

Rob McCreanor, a lawyer for the Immigrant Tenant Advocacy Project, is representing 21 families that are suing Vantage Properties for allegedly using illegal tactics to evict them from their rent-regulated apartments.

McCreanor said his clients are "absolutely elated" by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's decision to independently seek legal action against the private equity-backed company, which owns some 9,500 rent-regulated apartments in Queens and Manhattan.

"We think this is a tremendous success," McCreanor said.

Cuomo announced last week that he intends to sue the landlord for using "underhanded tactics" to kick long-time tenants from their apartments in an effort to convert the dwellings into market-rate units.

McCreanor said Cuomo's findings bolster his clients' case against Vantage.