New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas have filed a lawsuit against Peak Capital Advisors, LLC, a real estate development company in New York City, along with its operators Juan David Gomez, Alex Rabin, Amnay Labou, Michael Lohan, Bryan Anderson, Alex Kaskel, and Alex Mendik. The lawsuit alleges that the company illegally deregulated at least 159 rent-stabilized apartments across 31 buildings in Brooklyn and Queens. According to the complaint, Peak deceived tenants, investors, lenders, and state housing regulators about the legal status of these units.
Attorney General James stated: “It is no secret that New York City is already battling an affordable housing crisis, and yet Peak and its operators still chose to line their own pockets at New Yorkers’ expense. As these bad actors illegally raked in profits, affordable housing in New York grew even more scarce, and that is unacceptable. Let this lawsuit be a warning: when corporate developers and bad landlords try to cheat housing laws, my office will always take aggressive action to stop them.”
Commissioner Visnauskas added: “HCR’s Tenant Protection Unit, in partnership with the Office of the Attorney General, conducted an extensive investigation resulting in a lawsuit against Peak Capital Advisors for improperly deregulating dozens of buildings in New York City. The investigation showed that none of these Peak properties met legal requirements for deregulation. We look forward to returning these buildings to their proper status under the rent stabilization law. HCR’s Tenant Protection Unit and the Office of the Attorney General will not allow unlawful profiteering and deregulation.”
A joint investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and HCR’s Tenant Protection Unit found that since 2019 Peak acquired many buildings subject to rent stabilization laws but claimed they were eligible for deregulation through a “substantial rehabilitation” exemption. This exemption applies only if a building was previously substandard or seriously deteriorated before undergoing full system replacement renovations. Investigators determined that none of Peak’s properties met these criteria; records indicated most buildings were already in average or good condition before renovation.
The authorities allege that Peak marketed renovated apartments toward young professionals at higher rents while disregarding rent stabilization rules. In neighborhoods like Sunnyside, Astoria, Long Island City, and Greenpoint—areas experiencing gentrification—Peak targeted properties it saw as having “significant upside potential.” Officials say Peak used several deceptive tactics including changing apartment numbers after renovations to obscure lawful rents from regulators and tenants; providing misleading rent projections to investors; submitting fraudulent affidavits regarding building conditions; and requiring new tenants to sign leases acknowledging apartments as deregulated.
The affected buildings are located throughout Brooklyn (including addresses such as 70 Middagh Street and 131 Greenpoint Avenue) and Queens (such as 48-36 41st Street).
In court filings today Attorney General James seeks mandatory reregulation of all units found unlawfully removed from rent stabilization protection; payment of treble overcharge penalties for affected tenants; restitution of profits gained from illegal activity; appointment of an independent administrator to audit all Peak holdings; as well as penalties for violations of consumer protection laws.
The OAG expressed gratitude for collaboration from agencies including HCR’s TPU—the New York City Department of Buildings—the Department of Housing Preservation & Development—and the Law Department—in efforts supporting tenant protections.
Senior Enforcement Counsel Rachel Hannaford and Special Assistant Attorney General Stephanie Cunningham are leading this case under supervision by Housing Protection Unit Chief Brent Meltzer within the Division for Social Justice.
