Bronx Tenants and Public Advocate Letitia James Sue Landlord for Violations of Fair Housing Act

September 18, 2014

Residents Claim Goldfarb Properties Is Forcing Them Out of Rent-Stabilized Apartments

September 18, 2014, New York, NY—Public Advocate Letitia James and four individuals represented by Legal Services NYC-Bronx have filed a federal lawsuit alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, and New York State and City anti-discrimination laws in connection with planned elevator outages in four buildings owned by Goldfarb Properties in the Bronx.

 


Press Coverage: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/disabled-bronx-tenants-landlord-article-1.1943288#Qapo2GMbwxVH41wp.97″ 


The individual Plaintiffs are Pasquale Picaro, who suffers from severe respiratory problems that developed after working at the site of the World Trade Center; Prudencio Valle, a retired firefighter who suffers from dementia and mobility impairments; Judith Bratnick, who suffers from myotonic muscular dystrophy;  and S.C. (baby son of Sandy Cause), currently undergoing chemotherapy due to bilateralretinoblastoma, or cancer of the eye.

Picaro and Valle are residents of 1135 Pelham Parkway North, where elevators were scheduled to go out of service this past Monday. They sought and obtained a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to prevent the outage until appropriate accommodations could be made. Bratnick, a resident of 2160 Matthews, and S.C., resident of 1130 Pelham Parkway South, seek damages resulting from elevator outages in their building during the past spring and summer, as well as the landlord’s failure to grant their requests for accommodations.

As a result of the TRO hearing last Friday, the elevators have not yet been taken out of service. The tenants are seeking to remain in their apartments during the elevator work, with the landlord making accomodations for porter service and reimbursement for once-weekly paratransit/transport services. Under the FHA, such a request is reasonable, and is not an undue burden on the landlord.

“I think some landlords don’t understand the Fair Housing Act. They must, by law, provide tenants with disabilities accommodations that are suited to their needs. Cases like this are all too common in our city and we cannot allow disabled tenants to be mistreated,” said New York City Public Advocate Letitia James.

“The way that Goldfarb Properties has treated elderly and disabled individuals violates not only the law, but also common standards of decency,” said Legal Services NYC-Bronx Staff Attorney Natasia de Silva. “While Goldfarb’s actions represent some of the most shocking forms of tenant harassment and intimidation, today’s lawsuit demonstrates that these tenants are ready and willing to fight for their right to safe and accessible housing.”

“We look forward to continuing to defend the rights of these tenants,” said Legal Services NYC-Bronx Deputy Housing Director Ian Davie.

“From the beginning, I have been working tirelessly to help my constituents fight against a landlord who believed he could get away with harassment and intimidation against his tenants. His latest inaction is unacceptable and it is my hope that this lawsuit will bring justice to the most vulnerable tenants who have suffered for far too long,” said New York State Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester). 

The case will be heard today in the Southern District, Thurgood Marshall United State Court, located at 40 Foley Square in Manhattan in Room 706 at 3:30 p.m.

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