TENANTS CHALLENGE 544 UNION’S RENT‑REGISTRATION PRACTICES
New York’s rent laws are clear: in 421‑a buildings, the initial legal regulated rent must reflect the rent a tenant actually pays. When landlords inflate that number, every future increase climbs from a false foundation. And at 544 Union Avenue in Williamsburg, tenants claim that’s exactly what happened.
THE HEART OF THE DISPUTE
In Small v. 544 Union DE LLC, Newman Ferrara LLP represents tenants who allege that the landlord used “construction concessions” not as temporary, good‑faith discounts, but as a mechanism to lock in artificially high regulated rents.
Under the 421‑a program, landlords of newly constructed apartments must register the initial legal rent based on the rent truly charged and paid. Yet tenants assert that 544 Union registered numbers far above the effective rents created by concessions.
One example: Apartment 2P was advertised at $3,942 per month. With a one‑month free concession, the effective rent should have been lower. Instead, tenants allege the landlord registered an initial rent of roughly $4,300 — a figure that would inflate every subsequent increase.
The core question now before the Court: Were these concessions legitimate temporary discounts, or a strategy to engineer higher regulated rents long after construction had ended?
A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT: CLASS CERTIFICATION GRANTED
After years of litigation and advocacy, the tenants achieved a critical milestone. On June 25, 2026, Justice Ingrid Joseph of the Kings County Supreme Court granted class certification, allowing tenant Small to proceed on behalf of all current and former tenants of 544 Union. The Court also appointed Newman Ferrara LLP as class counsel.
This ruling transforms the case. Instead of dozens of tenants fighting individually, the entire tenant community can now pursue their claims collectively — with unified strength and shared purpose.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR 544 UNION TENANTS
With the class certified, Newman Ferrara LLP will continue pressing the case forward, challenging whether the building’s so‑called construction concessions were used to set unlawfully inflated regulated rents. The tenants seek accountability, transparency, and the rent‑stabilized protections the law guarantees.
The fight continues — and now, the tenants stand together.
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