Housing panel chair Williams tried to boot his own tenants

Jumaane Williams
Jumaane Williams

Brooklyn Democrat Jumaane Williams, the newly anointed chair of the City Council Housing Committee, once tried to toss out two of his own tenants from his property in Canarsie.

In October 2010, Williams started eviction proceeds against a couple renting a two-story residence he owns at 1392 East 98th Street. At the time, the couple owed about $1,500 in unpaid rent. In December of that year, Williams filed suit in Brooklyn Housing Court seeking “final judgment of eviction,” after the couple apparently failed to make the required payments under a November settlement agreement.

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The case was eventually settled in February 2011, according to the New York Post, with the tenants agreeing to dish out $4,575. Williams, who has previously served as executive director of tenant advocacy group New York State Tenants & Neighbors, defended his actions to the newspaper, saying that he made the move as a last resort and that he would “never try to evict a tenant off of one month’s rent.” [NYP]  – Hiten Samtani