New York – Brooklyn Landlord Accused Of Illegally Evicting Flophouse Tenants

New York – A Brooklyn landlord has been accused of illegally evicting tenants from so-called three-quarter houses.

The misdemeanor charges against Yury Baumblit are punishable by up to a year in jail.

Housing advocates told The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/1gY8xk3 ) they hoped the case against Baumblit marked the beginning “of a sea change in prosecuting illegal evictions” against flophouse landlords.

The transitional homes cater to poor people in drug and alcohol treatment, the homeless and mentally ill with nowhere else to go.

Operators usually charge the monthly $215 housing allowance for people on public assistance or $300-a-month for people on disability.

The Times says city Law Department doesn’t comment on continuing cases and couldn’t provide numbers on how often eviction cases go to trial.

Baumbilt said investigators never interviewed witnesses on his side.

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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com