Syracuse Landlord Evicted from Rental Market by Judge
A judge took the dramatic step of banning a landlord from a local market after years of neglect across his portfolio.
State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Lamendola ruled that Mendy Kletzky, a Brooklyn resident, must sell his 18 properties in Syracuse in the next 90 days, Syracuse.com reported. The decision is the result of a lawsuit filed by the city against the landlord, who frequently ran afoul of the code and tax authorities.
As part of the ruling, Kletzky and his limited liability companies must sell to city-approved buyers and stop owning residential and mixed-use properties in Syracuse. He is also being fined $6.6 million for code violations and more than $450,000 for taxes and utility bills.
Kletzky cannot collect rent at his 12 occupied properties in the city, either. Most of his properties are either one- or two-unit homes, though he also has a collection of vacant homes and empty lots, the latter a result of demolitions due to court orders.
The city sued Kletzky last March, demanding the landlord’s eviction from the city. Kletzky didn’t respond to the lawsuit, but filed for bankruptcy protection, putting a pause on the city’s lawsuit. Kletzky didn’t participate in the bankruptcy case, either, leading to its dismissal last month.
Kletzky could not be reached by the publication for comment.
Kletzky has long been in the crosshairs of the city, a market he’s operated in for nearly two decades. In 2018, he pleaded guilty a year after the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office charged him for failing to remediate lead paint problems.
In 2024, he faced more legal proceedings and a call from the then-mayor to get Kletzky out of the rental market, a result celebrated by his successor, Sharon Owens.
“This is a clear message that the City of Syracuse will not tolerate owners who disregard the law and endanger tenants,” Owens said in a statement.
Landlord bans are a rare, drastic decision taken by municipalities to root out problematic actors. Those to face temporary bans in New York City include Raphael Toledano and Steve Croman.
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