NYC Congresswoman Weighs In On Reports That Gentrifying Landlords Throughout City Are Gaming Section 8 System By Purposely Failing To Repair & Maintain Rent-Regulated Apartments In Effort To Intentionally Fail Building inspections, Compelling HUD To Yank Tenants' Housing Subsidies & Effectively Give Them The Boot

In Ridgewood, Queens, the Queens Chronicle reports:

• Two weeks after dozens of Ridgewood residents protested the alleged “predatory” practices of their landlord, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens) is getting involved.
  
  The tenants at 17-08 Summerfield St. have accused Silvershore Properties of purposely failing to maintain the residential units in an effort to fail building inspections and lose the Section 8 subsidy — which covers the difference between how much a tenant can afford to pay toward rent and the rent itself — it receives from the federal government.
  
  Once Washington cuts ties with Silvershore, the lawmaker said the residents would effectively be evicted, as they couldn’t afford to pay the full rent. This would allow the company to remodel the units and sell them at a much higher rate.
  
  In a letter to Silvershore owners Jason Silverstein and David Shorenstein dated March 3, Velazquez called on the men to explain their company’s practices.
  
  “These problems with apartment maintenance, building security and billing inaccuracies, as reported by your tenants, are unacceptable,” Velazquez wrote.

For more, see Velazquez to look into Ridgewood landlord.

See also, Congresswoman reaches out to ‘unscrupulous landlords’ on behalf of Ridgewood tenants:

• “We’ve heard reports throughout the city that some unscrupulous landlords are gaming the system to end Section 8 vouchers and essentially evict low-income New Yorkers from their housing,” Velázquez said. “These allegations must be taken seriously, which is why I am asking Silvershore Properties to explain how they intend to remedy these problems.”