Queens councilmember accused of hosting illegal rentals

The Queens home of a New York City councilmember — known for her own confrontations with those seemingly operating out of bounds of the city’s rental laws — has been the center of years of illegal rental accusations.

The Department of Buildings has fielded dozens of complaints since 2005 regarding illegal apartment conversions and tenants renting out space illicitly at Vickie Paladino’s Whitestone home, Gothamist reported. Inspectors have never fully investigated the claim because they have either been barred from entering or arrived when nobody was home; the most recent investigation attempt came this week.

At least once, according to a DOB report, a man came out of the home and threatened violence against the inspector. A woman, who claimed to be the owner, also responded to inspectors on numerous occasions.

Paladino’s son, a spokesperson for his mother, acknowledged that the second floor is being rented to three tenants. The rental is not on Paladino’s financial disclosures, the son said, because the home is in her husband’s name.

The rental may violate rules regarding the number of households permitted on a plot of land. At least two neighbors voiced concerns about the activity of renters at the property, according to Gothamist, and Paladino’s son blamed a disgruntled neighbor for the complaints. 

Paladino is running for reelection in District 19, sporting a far-right platform that calls for stricter policing and more ardent support for landlords. The Rent Stabilization Association’s PAC has donated to Paladino’s campaign. The Republican was kicked off a City Council committee this year due to her anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

She has railed against short-term rentals. In a video she posted to Facebook last September, Paladino vowed to get the DOB involved at a Bayside home “if the property owner is engaged or starts to be reengaged in what he used to do, in short-term rentals.”

Paladino has also gone viral twice for confrontations with tenants outside of their homes. In her campaigning, she has called for a crackdown on tenants who fail to pay rent or violate the law.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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