27-03 42nd Road (Ronda Kasl v. 1719 27ST LLC)

You received a notice, pursuant to Rule 904 of the New York Civil Practice Law, because records indicate that you may be a member of a Plaintiff Class in a lawsuit against the owner and manager of the Building, located at 27- 03 42nd Road, 1719 27ST LLC (“Defendant”), which is currently pending in the New York Supreme Court, Queens County.

Plaintiff here asserts that Defendant received 421-a tax benefits at the Building. Under New York State law, these benefits were only available if all the apartments at the Building were subject to the rent-stabilization laws. The 421-a Program limits the amount of rental increases available to a landlord at the time a lease is renewed. Plaintiff asserts that Defendant utilized concessions on initial or subsequent tenancies that were not taken into account when setting the initial or preferential rents at the Building. Plaintiff asserts that, as a result, tenants at the Building were charged more than the maximum legal rent for their apartments and/or were denied the other benefits of rent-stabilization, such as mandatory lease renewals at amounts allowed under New York State law.

A class action is a lawsuit where one or more persons sue not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of other people who have similar claims. These other people are known as Class Members. In a class action, one court resolves the issues for all Class Members.

On June 14, 2024, the Court certified the lawsuit to proceed as a class action on behalf of all current and former tenants of 42nd Road, who occupied their apartment at any time on or after October 12, 2016 (the “Class”).

Further, the Court certified a subclass of all current residential tenants of the Building seeking injunctive relief.

The Court named Plaintiff Ronda Kasl as Lead Plaintiff for the Class.

The Court named the law firm of Newman Ferrara LLP as counsel for the Class. Newman Ferrara LLP attorneys will represent you, as part of the Class, unless you request to be excluded as described in FAQ 6, in which case you will have the opportunity to hire your own attorney at your own expense.

A notice was sent to you in the belief that you may be a Class Member whose rights might be affected by this lawsuit. It should not be understood to be an expression of any opinion by the Court concerning the merits of the claims and defenses in this action. The Notice is merely to advise you of the pendency of the action and your rights with respect thereto.

As described in FAQ 6 below, Class Members have the opportunity to exclude themselves from the damages aspect of the Class by filing an opt-out form with the Court. Apart from this opportunity to opt-out, Class Members will be bound by the Court’s determination of the Class’s claims.

Plaintiff seeks to recover alleged rent overcharges from Defendant for both themselves and the Class. Plaintiff also seek to have the Court determine the correct legal regulated rents for the apartments at the Building. Plaintiff also seeks an order that any Class Member residing in an apartment at the Building be offered proper lease renewals at regulated rents established as required by the rent stabilization laws.

Plaintiff is not seeking on behalf of themselves, or the members of the Class, the treble damages penalty provided for in the rent stabilization laws and regulations for willful rent overcharges. In seeking Class certification, Plaintiff has agreed to waive that penalty on behalf of themselves and the Class and is requesting only injunctive relief and compensatory damages for the actual amounts of the overcharges, plus interest. If you are a Class Member and wish to pursue the statutory penalty, you may do so. However, to ensure your ability to pursue treble damages, you must exclude yourself from the Class and commence your own action pursuant to the procedures described in FAQ 6. You should note that any claims that you may be able to pursue individually are governed by a statute of limitations.

If you wish to be excluded from the Class, you must fill out the Exclusion Request Form provided with the Notice or available here. The Exclusion Request Form should be mailed via First-Class Mail postmarked on or before May 2, 2025, to the following address:

42nd Road
Class Action Administration
P.O. Box 2110
Portland, OR 97208-2110

If you do not request exclusion from the Class, or if your letter of exclusion is not postmarked on or before May 2, 2025, and the Court determines that you are a Class Member, you will be included in the Class and bound by any judgment ordered by the Court. In the event such judgment results from a settlement by the parties, you will have the right to object to the terms of the settlement, to participate in the settlement, or to exclude yourself from the settlement. If the case proceeds to judgment absent a settlement and you are a Class Member, you will be bound by the judgment without any further opportunity to exclude yourself or to object.

If you exclude yourself, you will not be bound by the Court’s determination of the Class’s claims—whether positive or negative to the Class—and you will remain free to pursue your own claim for damages independently.

You can obtain more information by contacting Class Counsel (Newman Ferrara LLP) by calling (212) 619-5400 or emailing Roger Sachar at rsachar@nfllp.com.

All communications and discussions with Newman Ferrara LLP, other than requests to opt-out of the lawsuit, are confidential and will not be disclosed without your consent.

Please do not contact the Court with questions involving this lawsuit.

Additional information about the lawsuit is available by calling 1-888-817-1638.