Sunday, June 26, 2011

Illegal conversion with a twist

From BushwickBK:

The Department of Buildings and Fire Department arrived Wednesday afternoon and kicked out some residents of 401 Onderdonk Avenue after a tenant called the DOB to complain about the two-story apartment building. But according to the husband of the landlord, a Giovanna Torres, it was that very tenant who altered her own apartment into rentable rooms with separate entrances.

“She converted two rooms in her apartment into smaller apartments by installing doors and locks. We didn’t know she was renting the rooms until the Fire Department went inside and we saw what she did,” said the landlord’s husband, who did not want to give his name.

Torres’s husband told BushwickBK that the tenant was being evicted after not paying rent for six months; a judge ruled last month that she must move out by August 2.

“Her rent was only $900 for the last 6 years and we later found out she was charging $500 for each room and pocketing the money herself," said the husband, who also lives on the top floor with the landlord and their three children. He said he did see two men going in and out of the tenant’s apartment over the past few months but since she was being evicted he didn’t bother to question who they were.

"It wasn’t until the firefighter came and kicked everyone out that we found out the two men were actually her tenants."

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

when illegal conversion landlords want to evict, they always concoct stories to get the city authorities to do the dirty deed.
courts usually do not acknowledge that the illegal tenants exist.

a similar greedy owner on my nice N.E.Queens block, usually gets a swat team to evict psycho /druggies & NYPD to evict pot smokers ,after the illegal tenant lived there for many years.
as soon as the rent is slow,out they go,with the city conned to do it.

call I.R.S. & nys dept. of taxation

Anonymous said...

"...the husband, who also lives on the top floor with the landlord and their three children."

Strange men coming and going yet no one inquired?

Right. Sure.

---------

"a similar greedy owner on my nice N.E.Queens block, usually gets a swat team to evict.."

"Usually" -as in a regular occurrence?

Doesn't sound like such a "nice" neighborhood to me.

Anonymous said...

Vibrant, diverse, illegal and f----g dangerous!

As long as NYC's machine politicians allow NYC to remain a sanctuary city...we, as law abiding taxpayers, will continue to subsidize these kind of shady 3rd world practices.

Anonymous said...

I have to say, I have seen this happen way too many times. You rent to a couple and next thing you know they are renting out rooms at $200 a week to their "cousins". When the tenant is out and you go into the apt, you then see the locks on doors, and other signs of room rentals.

Anonymous said...

"right sure". properties sold for $1.2 million on the block.

after the swat team, two homosexual "partners "lit candles on a "valentine's night celebration" and left their illegal basement. it burned and almost killed the legal tenant on the first floor.

this happened many years ago,but the greedy owner still is in the illegal business. no d.o.b agents are ever allowed in the basement?

Anonymous said...

As long as wages stay stagnant for the lower class, people will engage in illegal activities to get that "extra" dollar they need/want.

Suzannah B. Troy artist said...

http://www.change.org/petitions/urge-judge-carro-to-give-max-sentence-to-nypd-officers


Please sign this petition tonight because NOW is handing it in tomorrow to Judge Greg Carro. Tuesday hopefully he will give the NYPD RApe Cops jail time.

Anonymous said...

Oh, so now we can blame low wages among the lower classes as an excuse to break the law?

Bah!

My dad, orphaned during his early 20s in the south Bronx, managed to rise from the lower classes without resorting to any life threatening illegal activity.

We moved into a nice home (that dad worked 1 full time and 2 other part time jobs to pay off) in a nice middle class Queens neighborhood.

So buzz off you damned slackers!

Anonymous said...

We moved into a nice home (that dad worked 1 full time and 2 other part time jobs to pay off) in a nice middle class Queens neighborhood
-----------------------------------

While I would love to agree, show me a "Nice middle class Queens neighborhood" Where one can afford with just one person working? You need at least two people working with one have a minimum of one Part Time job.

Also, there is no more "Middle Class" in Queens just "Working Class", for now that is

Anonymous said...

"...the husband, who also lives on the top floor with the landlord and their three children."

Strange men coming and going yet no one inquired?

Right. Sure.

It all good when the rent flows in until it doesn't. When renting and if providing a lease - the lease can state who the legal occupants are. But otherwise if the space is not legal than the occupant can with-hold rent and actually not obligated to pay rent to the landlord for an illegal space. neighbors, it's your civic duty to report illegally converted houses, apartments or spaces rented to tenants by landlords. No response? Call the IRS on the landlord for non-payment of taxes for re portable rental income.

Anonymous said...

who exactly do you call at the I.R.S ? can it be done anon ?

please give details.

the illegal conversion landlords,collecting millions in cash, deserve to be punished.

save your block now !!!! and your quality of life and property values.

screw the corrupt D.O.B. agents and judges.

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