unreturned deposit

Has anyone else had the experience of upon moving out, the landlord refuses to give back your deposit? This happened to us at 183 Broadway. We paid our last month rent. We left the apartment in perfect condition and took a video to show this So my husband called Mr. Safdi to ask about the return of the deposit, he replied "I do not know if it will be returned!" and then he hung up. We have emailed the building manager and have received no response. Now we have to go to court and can not get a court date until December 9, 2012. Mr. Safdi now is claiming he does not know us and never rented to us. He is dishonest and unreasonable. Neighbors have stated he has done this to former tenants as well and told them not to talk to us. What can we do?