Kushner Companies Accused Of Exposing Kids To Cancer-Causing Toxins

Jared Kushner outside Trump Tower. Image by Getty

By Juliana Kaplan July 16, 2018

The real estate firm formerly led by presidential son-in-law/advisor Jared Kushner exposed children to cancer-causing substances in an attempt to push out rent-stabilized tenants, a new lawsuit alleges.

Kushner Cos., the real estate company that Kushner until joining the White House in 2017, allegedly attempted to convert the majority of the apartments at 18 Kent Ave. from rent-stabilized to luxury units. In doing so, tenants allege, the company “harassed” occupants with “major construction all over the building,” the New York Daily News reported Sunday, citing the lawsuit.

Kushner Cos.’ repair of the building’s facade last March allegedly released “lead, crystalline silicates, gypsum and other poisonous and carcinogenic substances” into the air, the lawsuit claims.

“The intentional and negligent actions of (Kushner Cos.) have caused plaintiffs, and young children, to be exposed to a constant cloud of toxic smoke and dust, illegal noise, unsafe conditions, unregulated and unsupervised workmen performing construction activity,” the suit continued.

The suit also claimed that construction led to “chronic rodent infestation, illegal noise, sporadic flooding, loss of hot water, broken windows, holes in the walls, lack of security (and) accumulation of mold.”

Kushner Cos. spokeswoman Chris Taylor denied any tenants were harassed at the building. “No major construction has occurred in the building since December 2017,” she told the Daily News, adding that all work was done with “tremendous care” to protect tenants from dust.

Juliana Kaplan is a news intern at The Forward. Email her at kaplan@forward.com or follow her on Twitter, @julianamkaplan

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