Rent-stabilized tenants sue Naftali for allegedly reneging on rent credits at condo conversion

UPDATED, June 7, 4:34 p.m.: A trio of rent-stabilized tenants at the Naftali Group’s [TRDataCustom] $352 million Shephard condominium conversion in Greenwich Village is suing the developer, claiming Miki Naftali’s firm refuses to pay rent credits he promised them during construction.

The three tenants signed an agreement with Naftali in September that would pay each of them 20 percent of their rents from the time work on the building at 277 West 10th Street started in July 2014, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York State Supreme Court.

A representative for Naftali refuted the claims.

“We have already fulfilled a generous settlement agreement negotiated with the attorneys representing these tenants and we vehemently refute all of their current allegations, and strongly believe the court will agree that this lawsuit has absolutely no merit,” a spokesperson for the developer told The Real Deal.

The agreement was compensation for inconveniences suffered during construction and approval the tenants granted Naftali to replace air conditioners in their apartments, according to the lawsuit.

The tenants claim they each received checks in October ranging from almost $8,000 to more than $12,600, but haven’t received any credits since Naftali sold a condo containing their apartments in late January to an LLC registered in Nevada for $10.35 million.

The tenants are suing for a total of $1.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages.