NYC Councilwoman fails to disclose free rent on luxe Queens pad, records show: ‘Suggests conflict of interest issues’
A NYC councilwoman running for Congress may have violated the city’s conflict-of-interest laws by failing to disclose that a political consultant offered her free, long-term housing at a swanky condo complex, government watchdogs told The Post.
Councilwoman Julie Won (D-Queens), her political strategist husband Eugene Noh and their two children are moving into a one-bedroom condo at Skyline Towers on Long Island City’s waterfront in November 2024, according to a copy of their lease shared by the unit’s owner, Justin Chae.
The Democratic consultant said he agreed to waive the $5,000 monthly rent on the luxury apartment during the one-year lease as a bonus for Noh, who agreed to serve as vice president of campaigns at Chae’s company, Legion Outreach Consultants.
However, Won failed to list the benefits in his 2024 annual disclosure forms filed with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board.
The form asks candidates to receive “any gift or gifts of a value of $1,000” or more, the completed update showed.
If Won and her husband had to pay rent, her share for the last two months of 2024 would be $5,000.
The COIB has yet to release its claims for 2025, so it is unclear whether Won neglected to report free accommodation for that year.
Although Chae does not do business with the city, critics say Won should have disclosed the freebie — even if it came from a previous arrangement Chae had with her husband.
“Getting free housing from someone with a political interest who can work with your official duties is a plan [that] it raises a conflict of interest,” said Ben Weinberg, director of public policy at Citizens Union.
“Elected officials in that situation should get official guidance from COIB and present it as a gift.”
Rachael Fauss, senior policy advisor at Reinvent Albany, also said she believes Won should have disclosed the profit.
“It might look like a gift, so it’s on the forms somewhere,” she said.
Carolyn Miller, COIB’s executive director, said she could not “give a definitive answer” about whether Won broke any laws without speaking to the council and getting “all the relevant facts.”
“Receiving something of value may be considered a gift under the annual disclosure rule, and may be compensation in connection with a person’s employment,” she said. Also, for a married couple, there is often a question about who received the item of value for reporting purposes, the filer or their spouse.
Won and her family moved out of the condo on June 1, three days after being slapped with eviction papers by Chae, a top NYC political consultant and former family friend, The Post previously reported.
Chae filed for eviction on June 8 because the couple left her $1 million condo, the court filing said. But he told The Post that he plans to sue them to recover $25,000 in rent that he alleges they owe for the first five months of this year. Noh’s employment with Chae’s company was terminated in June last year, Chae said.
Won, who is running in a crowded field in the June 23 Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th Congressional District (which includes parts of Queens and Brooklyn), insisted that she and her husband never signed any lease on the luxury property, saying Chae put her name on the fake lease.
The couple has refused to respond to allegations that they have never paid rent and refused to claim free rent on their tax returns.
The fair market value of employer-provided housing is generally considered taxable income that must be reported as income, and those who receive that amount are generally required to pay federal and state taxes on it.
Won threatened to sue Chae for going public with their tenant dispute, saying it was “an obvious political exercise.”
He did not respond to requests for comment.
