Exclusive: Park Slope landlord says tenant owes over $200K in back rent over 10 years

Tom Diana tells News 12 his tenant owes more than $200,000 in back rent.

Daniella Rodriguez

Jun 20, 2025, 11:41 AM

Updated 9 hr ago

Share:

A Park Slope landlord says he’s losing tens of thousands of dollars every year because one of his tenants hasn’t paid rent in full for nearly a decade - and won’t move out.
Tom Diana tells News 12 his tenant owes more than $200,000 in back rent.
He says he initially rented the apartment to an elderly woman and her roommate, but when the woman died in 2016, the remaining tenant stayed without taking over the full rent.
Diana says she hasn’t made any rent payments since January 2019.
“Every year I’m losing about $40,000 or $50,000,” Diana said.
Court documents show the tenant agreed in 2022 to pay her share of the rent, just over $830 a month, retroactive to 2019.
But according to those same documents, that never happened.
“I can’t afford to pay for my kids’ college because this has been going on for so many years,” Diana said. “This is not fair.”
News 12 attempted to contact the tenant several times.
Legal Services NYC, the tenant’s attorney, tells News 12 the unit was unlawfully removed from rent stabilization, and the rent dispute is still pending in court.