Photo: Danielle Storm
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An Upper East Side landlord has reportedly been hit with a $60 million lawsuit for allegedly evicting a tenant, then renting out his apartment without removing his belongings.
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Justin Collins told the New York Post that he was forced out of his one-bedroom apartment because of unlivable conditions that included a carbon monoxide leak. Past reports claim the building also had a malfunctioning elevator, rodent infestations, and a lack of heat and hot water, among other unresolved issues.
Collins stopped paying rent on the $3,500 per month apartment in September 2023, which resulted in a legal battle with The Moinian Group, a powerful real-estate investment company that owns the building at 1264 Lexington Ave (at East 85th Street).
“Owners wrongfully circumvented New York City and New York State Law which requires a landlord to evict a tenant in court and in doing so, failed to follow proper procedure,” the lawsuit reads.
The ongoing litigation revolved around whether Collins owed rent backpay and had abandoned the lease, or if he was entitled to keep the rent-stabilized lease. The Post reports Collins’ apartment and other units in the building were created when the landlord divided existing rent-stabilized apartments. Collins’ attorney, Leon Behar, claims the rent-stabilized lease should have been renewed automatically.
During the multi-year legal battle, The Moinian Group rented out the apartment and collected a $34,000 payment from Collins’ rental insurer due to unpaid rent. The lawsuit claims the insurance payment resulted from The Moinian Group “lying to the insurance providers so that they could be paid.”
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Collins told the Post that a few of his belongings he left in the apartment actually appeared in the rental listing photos.
The 24-unit building has regularly made headlines for tenant complaints. In July 2024 East Side Feed reported that the property had more than 300 open violations with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. There have been nearly 400 complaints against the building in the last two years.
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