District Attorney Believes 18 Subsidized Apts sold for bribes; Locals Laugh

Confirming what was a widely known open secret that subsidized apartments around southern Brooklyn are “sold” in return for bribes to people who should not get them, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced that three women were arrested for bribery related to Luna Park subsidized apartments in Coney Island.

“By paying bribes ranging anywhere between $10,000 and $120,000, this conspiracy allowed at least 18 prospective tenants to bypass the lawful application process, jumping over those on waiting lists and purchasing apartments,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced heroically as most of the locals chuckled at the joke that it was only 18 apartments.

CBS2’s Marcia Kramer ran a report yesterday that the same thing may be happening at other affordable housing developments throughout the city.

The defendants, Anna Treybich, Irina Zeltser and Karina Andriyan were indicted on 78 charges on May 12 and arraigned (officially presented the charges in court) on May 21. All three pleaded not guilty and scheduled to appear in court again on June 12 in front of Judge Danny Chun. Bail in the amount of $50,000 has been set. The top charge is a C felony that carries up to 15 years in prison, but given the lack of past criminal history, they will almost certainly not receive anything close to the maximum and once the media attention dies down will likely receive much more favorable plea bargain offers.

We’ll see if the NYPD and District Attorney’s Offices around New York City will investigate all the other subsidized housing bribery that is commonly known among regular folks.