Lawmakers and the Manhattan district attorney’s office on Thursday announced a new bill upgrading criminal penalties for tenant harassment. The legislation would create a new class D felony, aggravated harassment of a rent-regulated tenant. Harassment of rent-stabilized tenants is already a class E felony, but the bill would upgrade the charges if landlords harass tenants systematically across multiple buildings or have already been found guilty of the lesser charge.  The new legislation underscores the district attorney’s focus on targeting landlords. The announcement came one day after the indictment of one of New York’s best-known real estate dealmakers, adding Joseph Chetrit […]

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