Downtown Tenants Claim Shoddy Treatment by HPD
Some residents who live in the rent-stabilized buildings at 402-406 Albee Square, which are supposed to eventually be demolished to make way for the Willoughby Square Park project, say the city is neglecting needed repairs in their apartments and isn’t being helpful about relocating them to other affordable rentals, according to a Local article. Tenants…
Some residents who live in the rent-stabilized buildings at 402-406 Albee Square, which are supposed to eventually be demolished to make way for the Willoughby Square Park project, say the city is neglecting needed repairs in their apartments and isn’t being helpful about relocating them to other affordable rentals, according to a Local article. Tenants say the buildings are in “deplorable” shape, with one claiming that HPD, which owns the properties, has failed to repair things like holes in the roof. Meanwhile, some say HPD hasn’t been helpful in terms of offering relocation assistance in advance of the buildings’ eventual demolition: “Nurul Islam, 26, who lives with his elderly Bangladeshi father at 402 Albee Square, said that HPD insisted he accept whatever housing was available, even if the housing was substantially more expensive than the average $772 rent the remaining tenants are paying, or in an undesirable neighborhood. ‘They want to put us in Brownsville,’ said Mr. Islam. ‘Who wants to live in Brownsville? There’s too much crime out there.'” Funding for Willoughby Square Park, which will have an underground parking garage, will come, in part, from developers such as City Point’s Acadia Realty Trust and Avalon Bay. Lucas Shapiro, a tenant advocate from Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, says the plight of the Albee Square residents “speaks to the lopsided nature of Downtown Brooklyn development. …Especially considering the billions of dollars of investments in the neighborhood.”
Albee Square West Residents Endure Deplorable Conditions [The Local] GMAP
Willoughby Square Park Plans Resuscitated? [Brownstoner]
The tenants should hire a lawyer immediately to sue the city if they haven’t already, make a movie to publicize their plight, and reach out to O4O, Make the Road, and Tish James.
The tenants should hire a lawyer immediately to sue the city if they haven’t already, make a movie to publicize their plight, and reach out to O4O, Make the Road, and Tish James.
This is outrageous. They are entitled to an equally nice apartment in the same neighborhood and at the same price. HPD can pay the difference the rest of their lives, or offer them a cash buyout that will enable them to buy a place. This is no different from the government having to pay full price to take an owner’s building under eminent domain. And this is exactly what the City of New York offered to Bill Cunningham and other elderly white people who were displaced from their rent controlled apartments in Carnegie Hall. His new place is a large one bedroom with fireplace and a view of Central Park. It is nowhere near Brownsville.
This is outrageous. They are entitled to an equally nice apartment in the same neighborhood and at the same price. HPD can pay the difference the rest of their lives, or offer them a cash buyout that will enable them to buy a place. This is no different from the government having to pay full price to take an owner’s building under eminent domain. And this is exactly what the City of New York offered to Bill Cunningham and other elderly white people who were displaced from their rent controlled apartments in Carnegie Hall. His new place is a large one bedroom with fireplace and a view of Central Park. It is nowhere near Brownsville.
i wonder if these tenants also urinate in their hallways and make holes in the walls.
Get out and pay rent like the rest of the world.
Get out and pay rent like the rest of the world.
Dave, my dear, it’s moparbrownstoner at gmail. I’ll email you.