Mayor Mamdani, HPD Announce Largest-Ever Penalty Against Negligent Bronx Landlords

Court judgements include $31 million in penalties, appointment of Chief Restructuring Officer to ensure repairs are made .

NEW YORK — Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Dina Levy announced the City has secured a record $31 million in penalties against the owners of Robert Fulton Terrace and Fordham Towers in the Bronx – the largest penalty ever obtained by HPD.

The City also secured the appointment of an independent Chief Restructuring Officer as part of the court judgements, froze over $900,000 from the owners’ bank accounts, and negotiated to release those funds to the Chief Restructuring Officer to make sure critical repairs are completed for residents across nearly 500 apartments.

The Mamdani administration is also calling on the Federal National Mortgage Association, Fannie Mae, which has initiated foreclosure proceedings on the buildings, to work with HPD and tenants to identify a preservation buyer who will serve as a responsible, long-term steward of these homes. Originally built as stable, middle-income housing, the buildings have fallen into neglect.

Tenants in these buildings have reported years of neglect, including persistent elevator outages, lack of heat and hot water, vermin infestation, and hundreds of unresolved violations. The owners, Karan Singh and Rajmattie Persaud, have been included on the Public Advocate’s Worst Landlords List.

The litigation, first filed in 2024, was brought by the Anti-Harassment Unit within HPD’s Housing Litigation Division.

May 6, 2026