Nature of Claims: This action seeks to enjoin the owners of the Noble Drew Ali housing complex from, inter alia, (1) selling the complex to a new, for-profit owner; (2) allowing any person to take occupancy except pursuant to a rent-stabilized lease; and (3) seeking to evict any tenant or resident, or communicating with any tenant or resident, for the purpose of inducing them to vacate possession. Additionally, the action seeks an order requiring the defendants to correct housing violations on record, restore facilities and services that were decreased or removed, and provide rent stabilization, vacancy leases to homeless families placed in the complex by the Department of Homeless Services.
Background: Prior orders in this case prohibited the defendants from allowing any person to take occupancy except pursuant to a rent-stabilized lease, and granted the Attorney General’s motion to vacate a prior judicial approval of a sale of the project.
Current Status: In January 2007, the bank¬ruptcy court approved a wide-ranging agreement granting the tenants a key role in determining the company that will own and the company that will manage the Plaza going forward. The new owner – a genuine “black knight” who came to the rescue, former Red Sox and Mets slugger Mo Vaughn and his company Omni – agreed to forgive more than four years of rent arrears to com¬pen¬sate for years of neglect and abuse at the Plaza. Omni will put in $23 million to rehabilitate the complex, including two community centers and programming for the centers, including a computer lab. Other key features of the agreement include:
No. Persons Affected: The Noble Drew Ali housing complex consists of 385 residential apartments.
Reported Decisions: Noble Drew Ali Plaza Tenants Ass’n v. Noble Drew Ali Plaza Housing Corp., New York Law Journal, April 2, 2003, at 23, col. 3 (Sup. Ct. Kings Co.).