NYC Slumlords Hit With Record Penalty of $31 Million for Housing Violations

New York City officials today announced a $31 million penalty against two of the city’s “worst landlords.”

“For years, tenants at Robert Fulton Terrace and Fordham Towers have been forced to live with vermin infestations, chronic elevator outages, and a lack of heat and hot water—while their landlords met their suffering with silence,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a press conference announcing the news. “Today, that neglect is finally met with consequences.”

Those consequences amount to the largest civil penalty in New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) history, and includes at least $900,000 directly from the landlords’ accounts to fund immediate repairs for the buildings.

Though the lawsuit was originally filed in 2024—before Mamdani took office—it is an early and visible victory for the mayor who ran on a platform of tenant advocacy and landlord accountability.

“No landlord is above the law. But penalties alone are not enough,” Mamdani added. “We are taking control of the situation to make sure repairs are made and conditions are permanently improved. Every New Yorker deserves safe, dignified housing.”

‘We finally have some reasons for hope’

The mayor’s announcement was warmly received by tenants of the Robert Fulton building present at the press conference.

“Today we finally have some reasons to have hope in our fight for repairs and a more stable home,” Charlene Banks, a representative of the Robert Fulton Tenant Association, said.

At Banks' building alone, tenants have filed more than 2,300 housing complaints over the past two years, resulting in over 1,100 violations, according to HPD data. Fordham Towers has logged an additional 1,800 complaints, raking in more than 500 violations in the same period.

Those shocking totals landed both buildings' landlords, Karan Singh and Rajmattie Persaud, on public advocate Jumaane D. Williams’ “Worst Landlords List”—essentially a hall of shame for property management companies with repeated open violations, evictions, and/or tax liens.

Tenants have reportedly been complaining about deteriorating conditions since the buildings were taken out of the Mitchell Lama housing initiative—a program signed into law in 1955 that provides affordable housing to moderate- and middle-income New Yorkers—and sold to what the mayor described as a “series of speculators.”

The buildings soon after fell into what Mamdani characterized as “a pattern of disrepair and foreclosure.”

The 2024 lawsuit described residents going without hot water for days on end, forcing them to boil water just to bathe. The suit also described rat infestations, and elevator outages that effectively trapped residents who were unable to scale the hundreds of stairs to ascend the building’s 17 floors.

The mayor credited the buildings’ tenant organizations for their years of work to advocate for their neighbors and bring about change to the disturbing pattern of neglect.

Cea Weaver, director of the mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, framed the ruling as a victory for tenants and tenant organizations throughout the city.

“In the Mamdani administration, the mayor of New York City is on tenants’ side,” she said. “This judgement is not just a step forward for the tenants of these buildings—it is a sign of a new era of leadership, where the City works hand in hand with organized tenants to deliver a fairer city for all New Yorkers.”

What’s next

But the work is far from over.

“I have to stress, we need and want new management,” Banks said.

Addressing those concerns, the mayor detailed that the $900,000 penalty will be released to an independent chief restructuring officer. This officer will oversee repairs across more than 500 units, prioritizing the most hazardous conditions first.

Additionally, the mayor called on the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) to collaborate with city officials in securing a preservation buyer for the buildings, both of which are currently in foreclosure.

While the timeline for new ownership remains uncertain, Leila Bozorg, deputy mayor for Housing and Planning, emphasized that it remains a top priority.

“Our administration will use every tool at our disposal to deliver repairs and better management for the tenants of these buildings,” she said. “I’m inspired by the organized tenants and grateful to the teams at HPD, the Legal Aid Society, and Our Bronx for fighting for accountability and improvements.”