North Brooklyn Slumlord Brothers Admit to Massive Tenant Harassment Scheme

BROOKLYN, NY — Two notorious Brooklyn slumlords, Joel and Amrom Israel, pled guilty Tuesday to running a massive tenant harassment scheme, in which they constantly defrauded and evicted people living in their North Brooklyn buildings, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office announced Tuesday.

The brothers knew if they evicted rent-regulated tenants and deprived them of their property rights, the DA said, they could jack up the price of their units in rapidly gentrifying Bushwick, Greenpoint and Williamsburg — then get thousands more from market price.

In exchange for pleading guilty, the Israels, 35- and 38-year-old brothers, will serve no jail time.

Instead, they'll get five years' probation, 500 hours of community service and a restitution of $248,000 to be split among eight tenants who were harassed while living in the brothers' buildings, the DA said.

The Israels own approximately 10 buildings in Brooklyn. The buildings involved in the case were 98 Linden St. in Bushwick; 324 Central Ave. in Bushwick; 386 Woodbine St. in Bushwick; 300 Nassau Ave. in Greenpoint; and 15 Humboldt St. on the border of Bushwick and East Williamsburg.

Kevin Keating, a defense attorney for the brothers, said: "The Israels have chosen to put this matter behind them, and are cooperating fully to ensure that the rights of their tenants are protected."

Under the plea deal, the Israels will enter a five-year agreement with the Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Tenant Protection Unit (TPU), in which they'll be required to form new policies for managing their rent-regulated buildings. They'll have to hire an independent monitor to report directly to the TPU and the Brooklyn DA.

In addition, the brothers must pay $100,000 into a "Tenant Compensation Monetary Fund" to be distributed between affected tenants.

"Landlords across Brooklyn should be put on notice by today’s felony guilty pleas that illegal actions they may take to harass and intimidate tenants in rent regulated apartments will not go unpunished," Acting Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. "Anyone trying to cash in on soaring market rents by breaking the law and abusing tenants will face serious consequences."

Gov. Cuomo said:

"New York has zero tolerance for those who seek to defraud or discriminate against rent-regulated tenants trying to make a home for themselves and their families. Together with our state and local partners, the Tenant Protection Unit will further crack down on unscrupulous landlords and ensure that those responsible for this reprehensible conduct are held to full account. The state is committed to protecting tenants’ rights and ensuring access to safe, decent, affordable housing statewide."

The Israels destroyed kitchens and bathrooms while tenants were away from home to intimidate them into leaving, the New York Times reported. They even once had a security employee intimidate tenants by blasting music in the early-morning hours and by bringing two pit bulls around to scare them, the late Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson said in 2015.

In one case, at the 98 Linden St. property, the Israels said wrecking the kitchens and bathrooms of two ground-floor apartments with a sledgehammer was necessary for repairs, according to the court indictment. They said the repairs would be done in three weeks, but the apartments weren't livable until 17 months later, and the tenants had to hire a lawyer, the indictment said.

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