Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Kushner Companies Accused Of Exposing Kids To Cancer-Causing Toxins

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 [email protected] or follow her on Twitter, @julianamkaplan

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.