Mayor Mamdani said the city won a $31 million settlement against the owners of Robert Fulton Terrace and Fordham Towers.
City officials said tenants had complained for years about a range of issues, including lack of heat and hot water, while continuing to pay rent. During the press conference, several tenants became emotional, saying they could not believe the day had finally come. Others asked the mayor whether they would be reimbursed for years of unmet basic living needs.
"I shouldn't be boiling water to bathe in 2026," a tenant said. "That's completely unacceptable, so I'm hopeful."
As part of the court-ordered judgment, necessary repairs and upgrades to the properties are set to begin immediately. A chief restructuring officer will be hired to oversee the repairs, and landlord accounts have been frozen.
Since taking office, the mayor has frequently stood with tenants facing neglect from landlords whose buildings failed to meet basic living standards.
Speaking before a packed room Wednesday morning, Mamdani addressed tenants who raised their voices together, calling their living conditions inhumane.
The settlement follows a lawsuit filed in 2024 with assistance from the Legal Aid Society, which ultimately led to the judgment.
"This is more than just a conversation of patchwork solutions," Mamdani said. "It's about shattering a time of abuse and neglect. We will ensure the end of this impunity for those landlords. It will ensure better living conditions for those forced to live in negligence."
"We are dealing with financial mismanagement that creates instability, a lack of leases that leaves us unprotected and, most of all, a lack of humanity in how we're treated," a tenant said.
The owners of the properties, Karan Singh and Rajmattie Persaud, are listed on the Public Advocate's Worst Landlords list.
Of the settlement, $900,000 has been allocated for immediate building repairs.
"These funds come directly from the landlords' accounts, money that should have otherwise been allocated for this work long ago," Mamdani said. "And we will not only make the urgent repairs that are needed today, but also the long-term improvements that tenants deserve."
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson called the case an example to landlords across the city.
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