A New York City council member launched an investigation Monday into the Kushner Cos.' routine filing of paperwork falsely claiming zero rent-regulated tenants in its buildings, saying that the deception should have been uncovered long ago because the documents are online for all to see.

Councilman Ritchie Torres said the city's buildings department should have spotted the falsified numbers because they were contradicted by tax documents filed with another city agency.

“The scandal is not only the deception of Kushner Cos., the scandal is the dysfunction of the city bureaucracy,” said Torres, chair of the city council's investigations committee. “The right hand of city government didn't know what the left hand was doing.”