Kushner Companies, Michael Cohen Accused of Falsifying Construction Permits

Two real-estate tycoons faced scrutiny Monday for allegedly falsifying permit documents in an attempt to push rent-controlled tenants out of their buildings, according to a Monday report from The New York Times. Kushner Companies, run by Jared Kushner’s father, Charles, was fined $210,000 Monday by New York City’s Department of Buildings for 42 alleged instances of lying on construction permits. On the same day, a tenant-activist group accused Michael Cohen of similarly falsifying documents in three of his Manhattan properties. The Times notes that landlords are required to disclose the number of rent-regulated tenants occupying their buildings before they obtain construction permits, so that they cannot unlawfully push those tenants out with noise and debris from construction. The reports allege that Kushner Companies and Cohen both failed to do so. The Times notes that there has been a “steep decline” in rent-controlled tenants in apartments owned by Kushner Companies and Cohen in recent years, although it’s possible that the tenants were bought out in cash.