By: Serach Nissim
A New York Times writer who chronicles the hardships of finding a home in NYC has her own problems in real estate.
NY Times contributor Joyce Cohen writes “The Hunt”, a longstanding weekly column that writes about the challenges faced by New Yorkers searching for a home. As reported by the NY Post, last week, a complaint was filed in state Supreme Court by plaintiffs Amit and Jasmine Matta, alleging that Cohen and her husband Benjamin Meltzeowe approximately $35,000 in back rent and costs. The property in question is a sublet rental deal, which the landlord also says is illegal to begin with.
The apartment on the 11th floor of a building near Central Park, was the Matta’s primary residence until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The Matta’s say they temporary moved to another residence they own in Chelsea early on in the pandemic, for the sake of Jasmine, who was recovering from cancer. In November 2020, the Metta’s put out an ad on Craigslist to sublet their uptown unit, as per the court documents.
In late 2020, Cohen and Meltzer replied to the ad saying they needed another place, nearby their rent-stabilized home, which was slated to have noisy construction taking place outside. They struck a deal in which Cohen and Meltzer agreed to pay $2,999 per month plus all utilities for the sublet in the historical Upper West side neighborhood, according to the complaint. They would also be on the hook to continuing paying rent on their primary home, where the construction was taking place.
As per court documents, Cohen and Meltzer were intent to move, because they suffer from a hearing disorder named hyperacusis, in which seemingly ordinary noises, such as from construction, feel intolerably loud. After Cohen and Meltzer moved in, the landlord of the building knocked on the door, noting that the sublet was illegal, and opened a separate lawsuit against the Metta’s and Cohen in December.
The Matta’s then asked Cohen to move out to spare them all of the lawsuit. As per Matta’s suit however, Cohen refused to leave and also said they wouldn’t pay more than $2,558 per month, as that’s what their attorney said was the “legal rent,” the complaint adds. “Thereafter [Cohen and Meltzer] continued to live for free, stopped paying any rent to [the Mattas] and did not make any rent payments to the landlord,” the complaint says.
It adds that Cohen used her “extensive real estate knowledge and real estate connections” thanks to her column. “Defendant’s behavior is rich with irony and hypocrisy since the rent the Defendants refuse to pay is less than the current rental market value of Plaintiff’s Residence,” the plaintiffs say in the complaint.
The attorney representing Cohen and Meltzer told the Post: “After renting this apartment on an emergency basis to escape construction-related noise injuries, Joyce and Ben discovered that the over tenants sublet to them under false pretenses. The landlord stopped accepting rent and [the Mattas] now live in their (Chelsea) condominium,” said lawyer Jeffrey McAdams. McAdams added that Cohen was depositing rental payments on hold into his escrow account on an ongoing basis until they could reach a settlement.