Eviction order stayed in Jamaica housing saga

A handful of tenants, who refused to temporarily vacate their Jamaica apartment building to make way for a gut rehabilitation there by a housing developer, recently claimed a measured victory after a Queens Housing Court judge dismissed an eviction proceeding against them.
Judge Bruce M. Kramer ruled that because the Jamaica-based Allen Affordable Housing Development Fund Corporation (AAHD) would use city and federal funds to rehabilitate the rent-stabilized building located at 89-06 138th Street, the government was sufficiently involved in the premises so that due process protections afforded by United States Constitution applied.
The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution states that, “No person shall be…deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.”
As such, neither the expiration of the tenants’ lease nor a 30-day notice of termination without good cause were sufficient grounds for eviction, Kramer ruled, citing legal precedent,
“The judge dismissed the eviction because he agreed that [AAHD] had no right to evict,” said Kenneth Schaeffer, the Legal Aid Society attorney who represents the tenants. “When the action is by a government, they can’t act arbitrarily without proper cause.”
In June 2006 the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) sold the building to AAHD, a subsidiary of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral, through its Neighborhood Development Program (NDP). In that program, city-owned buildings are sold to community-based not-for-profit organizations for rehabilitation and operation as affordable housing.
After taking over the three-story walk-up, AAHD, in consultation with experts, determined that a gut rehabilitation was needed and asked the tenants to leave voluntarily—and temporarily—for approximately one year. After the tenants refused, AAHD moved to have them evicted.
Since that time AAHD and the few remaining tenants have been embroiled in legal a legal battle.
AAHD has maintained that the building in its current condition is unsafe for occupancy. The residents believe that the gut rehabilitation is a cleverly-disguised ploy to make room for higher-paying tenants.
“We’re happy that they just can’t bully us around,” said Tony Pimentel, a resident, of the decision. Pimentel went on to explain that the tenants will continue to battle AAHD in hopes that HPD will regain ownership of the building and then make it available to the tenants through its Tenant Interim Lease Program (TIL).
The TIL Program gives tenants living in city-owned buildings the chance to learn skills to improve, run and manage their building. If the tenants have successfully managed the building and 80 percent agree to buy, HPD could sell it to them as a low-income cooperative.
“We really want to reverse this case to see if we can get the building back,” Pimentel said, “We don’t want [AAHD] to be our landlords anymore.”
Carmen Boon, a spokesperson for HPD confirmed that while HPD does have an option to regain ownership of buildings sold through the NDP, she had not provided information on the circumstances under which the agency would exercise that option as The Queens Courier went to press.
“HPD is not interested in buying back this building. We have never exercised this option,” Boon said.
Reverend Edwin Reed, chief financial officer for AAHD and minister of finance and development for Greater Allen Cathedral, did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment on the decision.