Mamdani Administration Transfers Ownership of Three Crown Heights Buildings Away from Negligent Owners
Today, Mayor Mamdani celebrated the transfer of three long-neglected, rent-stabilized apartment buildings in Crown Heights to new ownership.
The buildings, previously owned by Rubin Dukler, who routinely ranked among New York City’s worst landlords, were sold Wednesday to Mark Schwartz. Following the sale, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) will work with tenants and the new owner to ensure the buildings receive the repairs and maintenance they have been denied for years.
“The tenants of the Dukler Tenant Union have suffered from neglect and disinvestment for years. Today, a new chapter begins for these buildings. We will work alongside tenants and the new owner to put these 88 homes on a path toward stability and make clear that every New Yorker deserves a safe, well-maintained and stable place to call home,” said Mayor Mamdani.
The three buildings – 1018 Eastern Parkway, 1074 Eastern Parkway and 1392 Sterling Place – are part of HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP), which targets buildings with the most severe uncorrected violations. Together, the buildings have nearly 1,000 open code violations, and HPD has been required to make emergency repairs at each property. HPD and the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants (MOPT) have supported tenants in their fight for better conditions, including through Housing Court litigation seeking to compel the previous owners to make repairs.
Following the sale, HPD and MOPT will continue working with tenants and Schwartz to ensure the new ownership adequately invests in repairs and maintenance.
Tenants at the three buildings began organizing in 2018 for repairs and investment with support from Housing Organizers for People Empowerment (HOPE), a member-led tenant organizing project of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB), and Brooklyn Legal Services. They formed the Dukler Tenant Union in 2025 to organize for resident ownership and the transfer of ownership away from the Dukler family. The tenant union has reached an agreement with Schwartz that commits to rehabilitating the three buildings with tenant oversight and moving toward resident ownership.
The transfer is part of the Mamdani administration’s broader effort to hold the city’s most negligent landlords accountable and improve conditions for tenants across the New York City. The administration is using the enforcement and litigation tools available to the City to stand up for tenants, pursue repairs and work toward transferring buildings to more responsible ownership.
This work is part of the Mamdani administration’s commitment to addressing New York City’s housing crisis with the scale and urgency New Yorkers deserve. In Mayor Mamdani’s first budget, the administration invested $22 billion over five years in affordable housing capital, including $2.6 billion over the next two fiscal years specifically for affordable housing preservation.
Meyer Chain
Put 451 Kingston ave on the list
Krystal A.
Can someone put me In the right direction of where can I go so the building were I live can be inspected by these people. We live in horrible conditions and the owner from here has multiple hundreds of violations and nothing gets done.
Horrified
This is terrible news.
Literal communism.
Yes, it’s a bad landlord. But tomorrow they can say that anyone else is a bad landlord. If they can just take away property… isn’t that exactly what happened in Russia?
Not Exactly
In Russia they took the property for the government to keep.
Shmuly
The city ignored an issue and historically when you don’t address certain issue then bad people step in.
Johanna
He needs to check all the rent stabilized and rent control buildings especially mines that’s in desperate need of repairs and to be up to code the landlord is definitely a slum lord I constantly have leaks in my kitchen when it rains or snows
Anonymous
Like the city owned housing buildings are maintained swimmingly well.
Can we the people take back ownership of those? Or rules for thee but not for we
Anonymous
Well my tax dollars must not be used to fix tenants apartments. When I have to pay my own house repairs. Unless the state wants to give me 40k for my new roof! And My house taxes go up every year so should their rent. Then landlords could afford to fix things better
Robert
Racists always talk about how they don’t want their tax dollars spent to help poor people, blacks, latinos, tenants. Tenants are black and latino in these buildings and the racist concerned tax payer knows that. These people pay taxes too. They want their tax dollars used to improve their lives just like you racists do.
BG
Well, isn’t it interesting. “Anonymous” didn’t mention any racial or ethnic group. While Robert does, then preening himself on fighting “racists.” He ought to have a look in the mirror.
Joe Gonzalez
Memo to CrownHeights.info Readers:
Say what you will about this building transfer; one thing is for certain: Mayor Mamdani has got people thinking and talking about the conditions many buildings are in and that certainly is a good thing.
Twisted thinking
I’m sure every other Jew hating Nazi did something you can call good. That’s not the way we look at jewelry obsessed Nazis.
If you somehow find yourself obsessed with Jews killing babies, you can be sure you’re a Jew obsessed Nazi. That’s what the current mayor is.
Anonymous
What help is available for homeowners of 1-4 family homes?
Anonymous
Hey hard working New Yorkers and home owners, your mayor just took $22 billion of your hard earned income and is giving it to those who already live on your taxed dollars. How do you feel about that?
Anon moose
Same way I feel about my tax dollar going towards sweetener for coffee oh let’s give reparations because we haven’t given enough already. Everybody should be allowed $40 towards doordash if they’re on the property level also I mean why are we stopping with rent