Pay us $100G, Kushner: Suit
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S sonin-law’s real estate company has a reputation of siccing lawyers on tenants who are late with the rent — but it doesn’t seem to pay its own bills on time.
A law firm that represented Jared Kushner’s real estate company in dozens of eviction and housing court cases is now suing the company, saying it is owed more than $100,000 for legal work from two years ago.
The law team Cornicello, Tendler & Baumel-Cornicello filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court on Dec. 7 against Kushner Cos. and 19 of its subsidiaries that own or manage properties. Cornicello seeks $102,000 for work it did between December 2014 and May 31, 2015.
In 2014 and 2015, Cornicello represented Kushner properties in at least 32 landlord-tenant cases, mostly involving apartments in the East Village, records show.
Cornicello did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokeswoman for Kushner Cos. said, “We are working to resolve this matter.”
Kushner Cos. has amassed a large real estate empire in the city — one that includes the skyscraper at 666 Fifth Ave. and rental units in the East Village and Brooklyn Heights.
Jared Kushner stepped down as the company’s CEO in January to become a senior White House adviser to Trump. While he no longer runs the firm, he still owns it — and many of the beefs over the conditions of his apartments came while he was in charge.
Tenants have accused Kushner Cos. and its property manager, Westminster, in lawsuits and in other complaints of using harassment tactics — like loud construction and poor maintenance of properties — to get them to move out of rent-regulated apartments.
Brandon Kielbasa, director of organizing for affordable housing advocacy group Cooper Square Committee, said he wasn’t surprised Cornicello didn’t get paid.
His group has advised tenants in Kushner-owned buildings on how to fight back against evictions and harassment through legal and regulatory channels as well as organizing. Kielbasa has heard nightmare stories of units with collapsed ceilings and shoddy gas line hookups.
“I feel like profit is the priority here,” he said of Kushner Cos. “Parting ways with money seems like a very difficult thing for them.”
Fredy Kaplan, 56, has lived in an E. Second St. rental apartment for more than a decade. When Kushner purchased his building and an adjacent building in 2013 for $17 million, Kaplan and several tenants organized to fight back against evictions and shoddy conditions.
They held press conferences, met with elected officials and fought in court. Cornicello represented Kushner in a case to push Kaplan and his husband out of their apartment.
The couple won in court and were able to prove their unit was a rent-stabilized apartment.
Throughout the ordeal, Kaplan said, they had to endure horrible construction that left their building in shambles.
“At one point, it was like World War III in this building,” Kaplan said.