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ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a $417,697 settlement on Tuesday for renters who lived in poor conditions at an apartment complex in Newburgh. The agreement has the property owners repairing code violations, refunding $409,697 in rent, and paying $8,000 to the state for costs and fees.
“The owners of The Kenney Apartments neglected their tenants for years, forcing vulnerable New Yorkers to endure cold winters without heat and other horrendous conditions,” James said in a press release announcing the settlement.
Rents increased by 15% across the Hudson Valley counties of Orange, Dutchess, and Ulster Counties since 2020, according to U.S. Congressmember Pat Ryan of New York, and a statewide housing affordability crisis dominating local elections is still underway. To protect tenants—and enforce such protections, at least in this Orange County example—James filed suit against the landlords in February.
According to the lawsuit, residents of the unmaintained Kenney Apartments reported raw sewage leaks, pest infestations, and lacking heat and hot water during winters. New York law guarantees functional heat from October 1 through May 31 for all residential tenants, requiring that landlords maintain indoor temperatures of at least 62 degrees at all times, and at least 68 degrees if it’s under 55 degrees outside during the day. Property owners also have to supply on-demand access to 120-degree water at all times.
Under the July 21 settlement consent order, Bourne & Kenney Redevelopment Company has to credit tenants and fix all outstanding code violations—which include mold and leaks—by August 20. The rental refund is 50% of what was paid for January and February 2024; January, February, and December of 2025; and January and February 2026.
The money must be credited directly to tenants’ accounts within three business days by July 24, either wiping out arrears or lowering future bills. The landlords have two weeks to send checks directly to affected tenants who already moved or are leaving the apartment complex, or if the complex is sold—which the current owners anticipate in August.
After reviewing the property owners’ tax returns, the AG also suspended a $100,000 civil penalty owed to the state. They will still be on the hook for that money in the future should the AG’s office determine that they’ve violated any of the settlement terms.
The property owners also have until the 25th of each month to submit reports to the state on tenant complaints, repairs, and code violations. They have to formally certify when repairs finish, which will trigger a 20-day window for Newburgh officials to inspect units and challenge any incomplete repair work.
The property owners agreed to the settlement to avoid expensive court costs, resolving the case without any official ruling on the facts of the matter or the laws in question. That means they didn’t admit to—nor were they found guilty of—the claims from the aggrieved tenants.
But Ryan—representing New York’s Congressional District 18, which includes the complex in question—attested to the conditions. “When AG James and I visited the Kenney apartments, we saw the absolutely unacceptable conditions—raw sewage seeping from toilets, chronic roof leakage, no heat, and mouse infestations—firsthand,” he said in a press release lauding the settlement.
In March, the attorney general said landlord and tenant disputes were the No. 5 most common consumer complaints statewide. And indeed, the Newburgh settlement represents one part of a broader enforcement strategy. On July 15, James and Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens sued the owners of Nob Hill Apartments following a deadly February fire. That complex had accumulated over 400 code violations since 2019.
In June, James collected a combined $90,000 from Deutsche Bank and U.S. Bank for not registering 12 foreclosed units in Brooklyn under rent stabilization laws, which was part of a bigger project that prevented 26 illegal evictions, according to her office. The AG also shut down a predatory law firm targeting New York City residents facing eviction in May and intervened last year to protect Rochester tenants from losing affordable housing during a redevelopment project.
Take a look at the settlement agreement below:
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