Pushed out Greenpoint Tenants Return to Apartments Nearly 3 Years Later

GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN — Following a nearly three-year-long battle, residents who were allegedly pushed-out by notorious Brooklyn landlords, Aaron and Joel Israel, returned this week to their rent stabilized apartments at 300 Nassau Ave. in Greenpoint.

The three-story, six-unit building's water lines, boiler and electricity were intentionally cut during the winter of 2013 tenants claim, which led the New York City Dept. of Buildings to deem the building unsafe for residents to live in, WNYC reports.

The pushed-out tenants lived with their friends and families for the majority of the past three years, while attending housing court and waiting for $565,000 in repairs to be made, which "was loaned by the city's Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development and placed as a lien against the property," WNYC reports.

Rosita Navarro, 44, lived in the building for 23 years with her husband and two sons; the family was evacuated from the building by firemen and building inspectors, and used candlelight to gather only the clothing and important belongings they could carry at the time.

Navarro told DNAinfo that her family lived in a shelter for seven months before finding a semi-permanent apartment in an East New York public housing building.

The Israel brothers plead not guilty after they were indicted in 2014 and charged with grand larceny, unlawful eviction, and fraud for forcing out rent-stabilized tenants of their buildings.

The brothers allegedly locked out a woman living at 324 Central Ave. when she left home for a doctor's appointment, and refused to fix walls and floors that were intentionally damaged at their 98 Linden St. building, according to the indictment.

The trial for the Israel brothers is scheduled to start Nov. 7.

After suing the Israel brothers with the help of the Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation, the 11 pushed-out tenants are moving back into 300 Nassau Ave.

Lead image via Google Maps.