Trump Village at 2940 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. Image Credit: GoogleMaps.

Residents of Trump Village challenged size of rent reduction when Trump Village switched to individual electric metering. Trump Village, located at 2940 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, has 433 rent-regulated apartments. In January 2006, Trump Village applied to the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal to convert Trump Village to individual electric metering and to separate the cost of electricity from rent payments of tenants. In June 2006, the Division approved Trump Village’s application, including a required rent reduction based on the Division’s Operational Bulletin 2003.  Some tenants filed for administrative review with the Division, which the Division rejected in April 2008.  In June 2008, Michael Knee, a tenant, along with the Concerned Tenants For Equitable Submetering commenced an article 78 challenging the rent reduction. They argued that the Division should have updated its Operational Bulletin 2003 using data from the 2005 NYC Housing Survey.  While the petition was pending, the Division updated the Operational Bulletin. (read more…)