Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday that the city has scored a record-shattering $31 million judgment against the owners of two troubled Bronx apartment complexes, putting both buildings under strict court-ordered oversight. Tenants say they have spent years riding out broken elevators, living with pests and dealing with recurring loss of heat and hot water. City officials say an independent chief restructuring officer will now step in to run the properties’ finances while money is funneled into immediate repairs.
The judgment, which city officials describe as the largest ever obtained by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, targets owners Karan Singh and Rajmattie Persaud of Robert Fulton Terrace and Fordham Towers, according to the Bronx Times. The outlet reports that tenants have been organizing and complaining for years about vermin, chronic elevator breakdowns and a persistent lack of heat and hot water. HPD’s Anti‑Harassment Unit filed the case last year, city officials said.
Part of a broader enforcement push
City leaders are casting the ruling as a cornerstone of a broader crackdown on some of New York’s worst-maintained buildings, using the Alternative Enforcement Program to keep closer tabs on problem properties and intervene when landlords refuse to act. As laid out by the Mayor’s Office, the AEP allows HPD to carry out emergency repairs, issue orders to correct violations and then recoup costs from owners who fail to provide basic living conditions.
What the order does immediately
Under the court order, an independent Chief Restructuring Officer will assume control of the buildings’ finances and oversee urgent repair work. The city says it has already frozen more than $900,000 in the owners’ accounts to bankroll fixes in roughly 500 apartments. Officials are also pressing Fannie Mae, which has begun foreclosure proceedings on the properties, to coordinate with HPD and tenants to find a preservation-minded buyer, per the Bronx Times.
Legal precedent and next steps
City Hall has already leaned on aggressive litigation this year to force repairs elsewhere in the Bronx. A March judgment in another case showed how judges can order corrections and tack on daily penalties for outstanding violations. That earlier ruling, paired with the AEP framework, gives HPD and the Law Department legal tools to compel compliance and push for long-term stability during bankruptcy or foreclosure proceedings, according to the NYC Law Department.
Tenant advocates are hailing the $31 million judgment as a major win on paper, but they say the real test will be how fast the heat, hot water and basic repairs actually show up - and whether the oversight sticks. City officials insist the court order finally gives them the muscle to force the work. Now residents will be watching closely to see if life inside Robert Fulton Terrace and Fordham Towers really changes.
