City Settles with A&E Real Estate Over Thousands of Housing Violations

A major real estate firm with a history of housing violations across the city has reached a $2.1 million settlement with the City of New York following years of complaints from tenants and elected officials about unsafe and deteriorating conditions in its rent-stabilized buildings.

On Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the settlement between the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and A&E Real Estate at a press conference held inside one of the affected properties, located at 35-64 84th St. in Jackson Heights. The agreement requires the company to correct over 4,000 housing code violations across 14 buildings in three boroughs affecting approximately 750 tenants, while also prohibiting tenant harassment.

“For years, A&E has operated with callous disregard for those residing in its properties, racking up over 140,000 total violations,” Mamdani said. “This is not just a failure to serve those to whom it holds an obligation, it is a cruelty to over tens of thousands of New Yorkers.”

According to HPD, tenants in these buildings have reported bed bugs, fire hazards, broken elevators, and other dangerous housing conditions. Of the total 140,000 violations recorded against A&E, 35,000 occurred in the past year alone.

In Jackson Heights, tenants have long voiced concerns about mismanagement and unsafe conditions. Diana de la Pava, a tenant at 35-64 84th St., said her building's elevator has been out of service for 12 of the past 18 months, starting in July 2024. The lack of a functioning elevator proved devastating for some tenants.

Eighty-four-year-old Alberto Quintero, who lived on the fourth floor of the building, died during a heat wave while the elevator was still inoperative. De la Pava stated his death deeply affected the residents and drove them to pursue legal action.

“This is not about broken machinery,” de la Pava said. “It is about neglect, indifference, and lives treated as disposable until public pressure makes inaction inconvenient.”

Other tenants echoed similar frustrations. Nathan Harding, who lives in the same building, described years of unanswered complaints and worsening conditions that have forced many neighbors to move out. “A&E will just waste your time, or they just don’t maintain your apartment, so people just leave,” Harding said. “There is no level of accountability.”

City Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, who represents Jackson Heights, said the conditions in A&E’s buildings have long alarmed city officials. He noted that across the 17 buildings A&E owns in the neighborhood, the landlord has accrued a total of 2,000 housing code violations.

“A&E’s greed has left New Yorkers without working elevators, crumbling bathroom ceilings, and termites eating through the walls,” Krishnan said. “Here in Jackson Heights, we’ve been fighting alongside the tenants of A&E buildings for years. Every repair we’ve won leaves us with 10 more to fight for, their buildings are revolving doors of neglect and major housing violations.”

One of those buildings, La Mesa Verde, has become a focal point in the legal struggle. In September, its tenants’ union filed a lawsuit against A&E with the support of the legal nonprofit Communities Resist. The lawsuit cites hundreds of violations including collapsing ceilings, pest infestations, exposed electrical wiring, and mold.

La Mesa Verde resident Ursulina Mora, who has lived in the building for seven years, said her family continues to struggle with severe mold. “When we call the office and leave messages, they don’t even respond to the messages,” Mora said. “The mold harms all of us, even our pets, and us as human beings, so we’re demanding that our landlord fix it for us.”

According to Christos Bell, an attorney with Communities Resist who represents the tenants, the problem goes beyond infrastructure. “It’s a systemic issue,” Bell stated, suggesting that A&E’s neglect amounts to a form of harassment.

In response to the settlement, A&E Real Estate issued a statement defending its record, asserting that it invests heavily in building rehabilitation. The company spokesperson said that in all buildings it has purchased, A&E has funded boiler replacements, elevator repairs, and the resolution of longstanding violations.

“We’ve made it our mission to collaborate with the city to improve this building and others that were in deep disrepair when we took ownership,” the spokesperson said. Regarding the 35-64 84th St. building, the company claimed that most violations had been resolved since acquiring the property in 2021, though over 200 violations remain open.

Despite the multimillion-dollar agreement, city officials and tenant advocates emphasized that the settlement is only one step in addressing the broader crisis in A&E-managed buildings. Mayor Mamdani remarked that his administration’s actions against A&E are far from over.

“This is the beginning,” Mamdani said.