A New York City councilwoman vying for a Congressional seat is reportedly facing a $25,000 debt in unpaid rent after allegedly occupying a luxury apartment without proper authorization for five months. This claim comes from both her former landlord and court documents.
Councilwoman Julie Won, a Democrat from Queens, along with her family, recently left their one-bedroom residence at the upscale Skyline Towers, situated on Long Island City’s waterfront. Their departure occurred just days after receiving eviction notices from the condo’s owner, Justin Chae, a prominent political consultant in NYC and a former friend of the family.
The 67-story, glass-clad skyscraper boasts an array of high-end facilities, including a fitness center complete with a swimming pool, spa and sauna, yoga studio, and an array of other luxury offerings.
Won, however, has contested these allegations, telling The Post that neither she nor her husband, political strategist Eugene Noh, ever signed a lease for the posh apartment. She accuses Chae of fabricating her signature on a false lease agreement.
Chae, who owns the unit valued at nearly $1 million, claims he had agreed to let the couple and their two children live there rent-free starting November 2024, under a one-year lease agreement, which he reportedly shared with The Post.
He offered the free rent as a bonus to Noh, a fellow Korean-American, for agreeing to work as vice president of campaigns at Chae’s company, Legion Outreach Consultants. Their families have known each other since the 1980s, Chae said.
The business relationship never worked out, and Noh’s employment was terminated on June 26, according to the petition Chae filed in Queens Housing Court.
Chae told The Post he agreed to let the family reside there rent-free until the end of 2025 and then charge $5,000 monthly rent if they wanted to stay.
However, the couple never paid a cent and started “ghosting” Chae in April by ignoring calls and other messages, the landlord claims.
Chae said he plans to file additional court papers seeking $25,000 owed in rent for the first five months of the year. There’s a hearing on the case scheduled for June 30.
“Chae can’t believe his friends would take advantage of him this way,” said his spokesman, longtime Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf.
Won, however, accused Chae of “politically extorting her” while she’s running for higher office and predicted the lease agreement he provided to The Post will never hold up in court. She also threatened to countersue him over a “clearly political smear job.”
“This is a gross misrepresentation of reality but unfortunately thousands of families face the same kind of intimidation and abuse by landlords across the city,” she said. “I look forward to setting the record straight in court especially since there’s no executed lease — nor has there been a service of a predicate notice as required by law.”
However, Won failed to address an Oct. 17, 2024 email exchange between Chae and Noh provided to The Post that shows her husband saying he “signed” the lease — and whether it’s possible he also signed her name, too. The couple also didn’t address allegations that they never paid rent.
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 (covering parts of Queens and Brooklyn), claimed in a May 26 interview published by The New York Editorial Board that she and her husband currently pay “over $4,000” monthly for rent.
She didn’t mention her ongoing landlord-tenant dispute but said she moved to LIC “where it’s extremely expensive” because “Council security” suggested she enroll her “children in a school where there’s more Asian children, so that they can blend in more.”
Won — who represents LIC, Sunnyside and other parts of Western Queens — earns $148,500 annually.
Noh reportedly planned to buy out parts of Chae’s consulting business last year, but Chae said they never agreed to a deal.
Noh now operates his own political consulting business similar in name to Chae’s — called Legion Consulting. It’s earned $268,696 in city, state and federal campaign work since August, according to records.
Noh’s biggest client since breaking off from Chae is ex-Mayor Eric Adams. He racked up $104,735 in payments working as Adams’ contracted campaign manager during the Democratic ex-mayor’s failed 2025 re-election bid as an independent.
Won, a member of the Council’s Progressive Caucus, endorsed now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani in last year’s Democratic primary.
The couple claimed to QNS.com in July that they were unfairly targeted by “sexist” and “misogynistic” media scrutiny of their relationship because they backed different mayoral candidates.
Velázquez has endorsed Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to succeed her, while Mamdani is backing fellow socialist and state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez (D-Queens).