Essex Street Tenants File Suit against Landlord for Hazardous Conditions and Harassment

Wednesday, April 29, 2015, New York, NY— A group of Essex Street tenants represented by Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) has filed a lawsuit against their landlord for taking actions that have made their lives intolerable in an effort to force them into giving up their rent-stabilized apartments (Photo: Manhattan Legal Services Staff Attorney Cynthia Weaver addresses reporters at a press conference with tenants and other advocates.)

Press Coverage: DNAInfo, Gothamist, The Lo-Down, Bowery Boogie, Chinese language: Epoch Times, The China Press, Sing Tao 

The owners of 43 Essex Street have engaged in illegal construction work that has compromised the integrity of the building, causing structural damage to the tenants’ apartments including gaping holes in ceiling walls and cracked floor tiles with sharp protruding edges. One tenant can see through her bedroom floor into the apartment below. During the illegal construction the owners used the building’s air-shaft as a make-shift garbage chute, causing heaps of construction waste and black dust to enter tenants’ apartments through windows and cracks in the walls. In addition, the apartments lack heat and hot water, forcing the tenants to boil water for showers—an indignity compounded by the fact that the building also lacks gas. Tenants must use portable gas stoves and purchase readymade food.

The landlords have also harassed tenants using other tactics. Tenants report that Michel Pimienta of BSD Equities made frequent visits to the building requesting to speak with residents about their apartments. Mr. Pimienta’s “tenant relocating” operation was recently shut down after NYS Attorney General Eric Schneiderman found that he had harassed rent-stabilized tenants and operated illegally in more than 60 rent-regulated buildings.

“Ever since the illegal construction began in my building and dust and waste entered my apartment through the window cracks, my wife and I have had great difficulty breathing in our apartment,” said tenant-petitioner Arnold Acosta. “We felt the shuddering of jack-hammers beneath our apartment and heard falling debris behind the walls. Our landlord has also hired a tenant relocation specialist who has persistently contacted me to talk about my apartment. We should feel peace and warmth in our home but instead, we fear for our health and safety.”

“The owners of 43 Essex are using multiple forms of harassment in an attempt to create intolerable living conditions and displace its tenants,” said Cynthia Weaver, Staff Attorney at LSNYC’s Manhattan program, which filed the group HP action. “These owners are refusing to provide gas, heat, and hot water for the building, gut renovating vacant premises without permits, and approaching tenants with a relocation specialist about the legal status of their apartments. This kind of landlord behavior is unacceptable.  Along with community stakeholders, we will work to ensure that the tenants of 43 Essex can live with dignity in their homes.”

Christopher Kui, Executive Director of Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), which organized the tenants of 43 Essex Street, said, “AAFE has a rich history of preserving affordable housing by standing up for tenants’ rights and fighting back against tenant harassment. AAFE is dedicated to stemming the tide of gentrification brought in by owners using ruthless methods to harass tenants into leaving their long-term, rent protected homes. We are committed to maintaining the diversity of New York City as a place where working families, immigrants and seniors are not unlawfully priced out of their homes.”

“I am committed to supporting the tenants of 43 Essex Street, and my staff and I will continue to work with them to fight for safe living conditions and an end to harassment,” said NYC Council Member Margaret Chin. “Tenants should never have to fear for their safety and their homes just because a landlord may seek to push them out for profit, and we must stand united to protect rent-stabilized housing in every community. I applaud the 43 Essex Street tenants for their courage in organizing for justice, and I thank Legal Services NYC and AAFE for their work on this important issue.”

“Since the new owners, Dean and Paul Galasso, purchased the building earlier this year they have used countless, ruthless tactics to harass us into leaving our homes,” said Chong Kiu Wong, who has lived at 43 Essex since 1983. “More recently, the owner has refused to restore the gas forcing us to live weeks without heat, hot water or any means to cook. This has been my home for the past 32 years. This is where I raised my children and this home and this neighborhood is where I plan to live out my retirement years. This is my New York too. With help from AAFE, Council Member Margaret Chin and Legal Services NYC, we will continue this fight for our homes.”

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Contact: Kate Whalen, 646-442-3654, kwhalen (at) legalservicesnyc.org