Bronx landlord fined $10 million for ‘unsafe’ apartment building

A Bronx judge has fined the landlord of a Belmont apartment building $10.14 million in what appears to be one of the largest housing court judgements ever.

The order issued by Judge Diane Lutwak on Wednesday came in a case brought by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development against the owner of a 15-story building on East 188th Street in Belmont. The agency alleged landlord Karan Singh and his associates failed to provide heat on 10 days and hot water on 17 days between 2023 and 2024.

Housing Preservation records show there are currently 539 open violations at the building called the Fordham Towers, including 145 classified as “immediately hazardous.”

“Respondents have failed to correct unsafe conditions that pose a threat to the health and safety of their tenants for years on end and display a callous disregard for immediately hazardous conditions like lack of heat and hot water,” wrote HPD attorney Benjamin Bisaro.

The landlords, he argued, “have engaged in this conduct with the intent of defying the law, intimidating their tenants, and avoiding enforcement action.”

HPD inspectors found that Singh repeatedly failed to address many of the violations and falsely reported some had been corrected, according to court papers.

The suit alleged the landlord and his associates threatened "that tenants could face reprisals from management” if they reported unsafe conditions to city agencies.

The tower was built in 1967 and contains 169 units.

In addition to problems with heating and hot water, city records cite defective self-closing doors, broken locks at the building’s entrances, and extensive roach and mice infestations.

Legal Aid Society attorney Zoe Kheyman, who represents some tenants in the building, wrote in an email that the judgement was one of the largest of its kind in Housing Court history.

“For years, our clients — tenants in buildings owned by Karan Singh and Rajmattie Persaud — have endured unlivable conditions, chronic disrepair, and neglect,” Kheyman wrote. “Many of our clients continue to suffer — elevators remain out of service, forcing elderly residents, people with disabilities, and families to climb up 17 flights of stairs during a dangerous summer heatwave. These conditions are inhumane, and immediate action is needed.”

Singh, who also owns an apartment building in Morrisania, was number 17 on the public advocate’s Worst Landlord List of 2023. His lawyer did not respond to an inquiry.

An HPD spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry.