Twenty immigrant families in Bay Ridge celebrated Wednesday for being back on track to owning their homes after nearly losing millions of dollars to a fraudulent landlord.
At a press conference in front of the Ovington Avenue building where the residents live, the nonprofit Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) said the organization was able to work with city and state officials to purchase the building and will convert the property into a co-op, ending fears of foreclosure.
The residents' nightmare started in 2022, when they discovered that the developer of the building, Xi Hui Steven Wu, had scammed them.
Wu used his reputation as a trusted community member to sell apartments in the building, but he did not have an approved offering plan, according to a statement about the lawsuit filed by the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
As a result, Wu took more than $5 million from the families under the guise of payments for the units, even though he did not have the legal right to sell them as condominiums.
“He cheated these families out of their livelihood and out of their hard-earned savings,” James said at the press conference on Wednesday.
When the scam was uncovered, Wu’s lender initiated foreclosure proceedings, according to AAFE. Then, Wu fled the country and the families were on the verge of eviction.
While the lawsuit against Wu is still ongoing, the residents of the building, AAFE, in partnership with Attorney General James, New York Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) worked together to take the building back.
Thomas Yu, executive director of AAFE, said the organization came in as a “last Hail Mary.”
However, with the tenacity and determination of the tenants, AAFE was “able to really save a semblance of the American dream for these hard working residents.”
Kris Chan, a tenant who grew up in the building as a teenager, explained that her mother originally bought the unit because of the love she had for the neighborhood.
“She has three children, this is a good neighborhood, good schools, a very safe area. And at that time, it was affordable for her,” Chan said.
Chan and her family were “devastated” when they discovered what Wu had done and that they could possibly be evicted.
Yet, through the partnerships of the various agencies, Chan said she received the help she needed.
“As a second-generation immigrant, I really appreciate the legal system, the local government, AAFE, my attorneys. With all the help, I can do this.”
Now that AAFE is transforming the building into a co-op and that the tenants will eventually own their own apartments, Chan said she’s satisfied.
“With everyone's contribution, this day [has] finally come … It’s a happy ending,” she said.
