Kushner Pays $100K To Brooklyn Tenants In Rent Dispute: Report

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS -- A real estate firm owned by Jared Kushner's family paid $100,000 to five Brooklyn Heights tenants who filed a suit against it, according to reports.

Kushner Cos., owned by the family of President Donald Trump's son-in-law, returned the cash to residents of 89 Hicks St. who argued the company improperly converted their rent-regulated apartments to market rate, Crain's reported Wednesday.

Tenants' attorney Lucas Ferrara argued Kushner knew the units in hopes of bringing in illegal profits, according to the Crain report.

"Kushner was aware of the risks and took a gamble that no one would notice," Ferrara said. "Any landlord worth their salt knows whether the units in a building they're buying are or should be regulated or not."

Kushner paid Brooklyn Law School $14.3 million in 2014 for the six-story, 48-unit building that was converted from student housing into apartments, city records show.

The apartments were rented out at market rates until the nonprofit organization Housing Rights Initiative discovered in 2017 that the building was rent-regulated, according to the Crain's report.

While the tenants argued Kushner knew the apartments were regulated, Kushner disputed the claims.

"Once the issue was brought to my client's attention, it immediately and voluntarily acted in good faith to address the issue," Kushner attorney Deborah Riegel told Crain's. "My client proceeded expeditiously to remedy the issues raised."

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