Chris Johnson's brother-in-law says legislator pretended to live in illegally rented condo

Elon Molina found out he wasn't supposed to be renting his apartment the same way everyone else did — from a news story.

Molina has been renting a Yonkers condo from his brother-in-law, Westchester County Legislator Chris Johnson, that Johnson was not supposed to rent out because he bought it under an affordable housing program. Molina found himself caught in the crossfire starting in May when a lohud Tax Watch investigation revealed that Johnson and his wife Tai had moved to a new house outside of the district he represents. Tai is Molina's sister.

"Had I known all of these things, I would have just stayed where I was," Molina said in an interview last week.

Molina described Johnson's actions that suggest he wanted people to believe he still lived in the North Broadway condo, in the 16th District, after news broke he had moved to the 15th District.

After that first story posted in May, "they started making phone calls to me saying 'Hey, Chris needs to be there between 3 and 5 p.m. You know, the primary is coming up on June 27 and he needs to be seen over there,' " Molina said.

Molina told them it would be disruptive, but reluctantly agreed. Johnson came over a few times, but then, "the demands increased," Molina said.

Tai said Johnson would have to spend the night there, Molina said. Johnson said he could even sleep on the kitchen floor and leave early in the morning so he would barely be noticed. But with two young sons who get up frequently during the night, Molina said no.

Johnson also started picking up his mail from the condo every day, Molina said.

Caught in the middle

Until the news stories and subsequent Inspector General's report, Molina didn't know the condo was an affordable unit and therefore couldn't be used as a rental property. Nor did he know Johnson had to live in the district he represents and that his new house wasn't in that district. He found all that out as details emerged in more news stories.

But after the articles came out, Molina understood a condition Johnson set in renting the condo to him. The condition was that if anyone asked for Johnson, Molina and his girlfriend had to tell them he wasn't home. Molina initially thought this was just for privacy.

Earlier this month, the county Board of Legislators stripped Johnson's title of Majority Leader because of the revelations regarding his change of address. Johnson earlier lost his Democratic primary to Yonkers City Councilwoman Shanae Williams.

More: Westchester legislators to name outside investigator to probe Chris Johnson's residency

Yonkers' Director of Communications Christina Gilmartin said the city's Corporation Counsel sent a letter last week to Johnson demanding he sell the condo unit at the affordable price.

Johnson said in a text message he had no comment regarding Molina's points. Johnson's attorney, Mayo Bartlett, didn't respond to a request to address them. Nor did Tai Johnson.

'I didn't need an apartment'

Molina also doesn't like how his sister and brother-in-law have portrayed him and how he wound up renting their condo.

He said the Johnsons made it sound like he needed help after being incarcerated. Molina was released from prison in March 2020 after serving 15 years for armed robbery.

Johnson previously defended his decision to let Molina and his family rent the apartment in a Facebook Live video. "If I've done anything wrong, it's working for you," he said, addressing his constituents. "It's fighting for affordable housing, it's loving my family. And guess what? If that's wrong, I'm going to keep doing it."

"If you want to talk about my family, you stop now!" he said.

But Molina said he didn't need help. The 46-year-old went to live with his mom in Queens after he was released. He was living with his girlfriend in the Bronx when Johnson suggested he could match the $1,500 they were paying in rent. So Molina, his girlfriend and their two kids moved to Yonkers in July last year. A copy of the lease shows it began August 1, 2022, and runs until the end of this month.

Molina works as an HR analyst and also works part-time facilitating a fitness and mentorship program at Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx. While in prison, he got an associate's and then a bachelor's degree through the Bard Prison Initiative. He also has a Master of Professional Studies degree from the New York Theological Seminary.

"I didn't need an apartment," Molina said. But he was in search of a better parking situation, which Johnson's condo had.

Tai had told a reporter: "People who have money don’t understand when it's important to help. He is my only living brother, he got out of jail in the pandemic and we are helping him out."

Packing up

Now, Molina and his girlfriend are packing up their belongings and searching for a new home for their family.

"It hurts that part of what they jeopardized, it wasn't just their political careers," he said. "It wasn't just a condominium. It was also myself and my family."

The situation has also fractured Molina's relationship with the Johnsons and other family members, who have pressured him to try to fix the situation since his girlfriend told a reporter Johnson didn't live there.

Molina said he's looking forward to putting this all behind him. One lesson he's learned? "To never rent from family."

David McKay Wilson contributed to this report.

Contact Diana Dombrowski at ddombrowski@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @domdomdiana.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester legislator Chris Johnson faked living in Yonkers condo