We were already on our way out of town on Wednesday when we received this disturbing email from a Fort Greene resident:

I am a tenant of a brownstone at 370 Adelphi Street between Lafayette and Greene. For the last few weeks the hallway has smelt toxic. After investigating where it was coming from we found 6 inches of raw sewage piling up in the basement from a leak in the pipes. The landlords never pick up the calls we make to them and refuse to hire professionals to fix anything. So the tenants arranged for a professional to come take care of this problem. The landlords came over and put a stop to it, because they knew we would submit the bill in lieu of our rent. Instead, the landlords spread tons of bleach over all the sewage and let it sit overnight. The next day, today, at around 3pm – 5pm, the landlords were somehow pumping the toxic-smelling waste out DIRECTLY onto the street. There were many witnesses to this incident – various residents of the block came over and expressed their concern to my landlord who shoo’ed them away. The waste is now on the sidewalk and the curblane. In fact there is a large pile of waste at the drain at the end of the block, at Greene Avenue. The block, which is residential and full of families, smells toxic. Our apartment still smells toxic as well. I am nervous for anyone who lives on the block, as well as all the school children who come through in waves to get to and from school.

We heard again from the tenant over the weekend, who says that the EPA showed up and fined the landlords, despite their denying having dumped the waste. And as of this morning, the waste was still in the gutter, though the street cleaners come today at 11:30 a.m.