Recidivist city slumlords bringing their scummy tactics upstate

The Real Deal

E&M Management — a longtime multifamily owner known for buying rent-stabilized buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx and converting them to market rate — is finding greener pastures beyond the city.

The controversial landlord, which owns and manages more than 3,000 apartments in the boroughs, is aggressively expanding its portfolio to upstate New York, where taxes are lower and rental laws are far less stringent.

E&M pounced on the Hudson Valley rental market in March 2018 when it bought two multifamily complexes in Kingston, Lakeshore Villas and Sunset Gardens, for $44 million. The firm is also set to close on another rental complex in Kingston for $28 million and has plans to buy a six-story senior residence in Newburgh.

E&M is “out of the city,” said managing partner Daniel Goldstein, who has taken over the company’s day-to-day operations, while its founder, Irving Langer, spends most of his time in Florida.

The landlord is on track to own and manage more than 850 units upstate. At the same time, E&M has been selling off dozens of properties in the city, reportedly including two Harlem portfolios last year that went for north of $300 million combined.

Goldstein said the upstate expansion was a natural move for the company for several reasons: 

Negative media attention in the city was causing publicity problems, while hefty regulations and property taxes were putting a squeeze on E&M’s bottom line, among other factors.

But tenants and public officials accuse the landlord of foul play — from aggressively pushing out tenants to failing to provide basic maintenance in areas like heating and plumbing. An E&M subsidiary was a subject of an extensive New York Times exposé last year for evicting 15 low-income renters and suing 250 rent-regulated tenants at a property in East Harlem.

And the company may soon face similar pressures in Ulster County, as two bills in the state Senate could extend the reach of New York’s rental laws and hinder the firm’s plans to corner the Hudson Valley market.

Here's proof of E & M's shenanigans.