'Slumlike Conditions' in Foreclosed Slope Building
The Daily News had an article on a group of tenants who live in 294 Fifth Avenue in the Slope and say conditions in the rent-controlled building have deteriorated since the property went into foreclosure a couple years ago and a receiver was appointed to take care of it. The building’s boiler, for example, didn’t…
The Daily News had an article on a group of tenants who live in 294 Fifth Avenue in the Slope and say conditions in the rent-controlled building have deteriorated since the property went into foreclosure a couple years ago and a receiver was appointed to take care of it. The building’s boiler, for example, didn’t work for three weeks this winter, and the front-door lock is broken. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio held a news conference yesterday to support the tenants in seeking a court order that would force the receiver to make repairs. According to the article: “The slumlike conditions at 294 Fifth Ave. spotlight a growing concern: smaller apartment buildings that fall into disrepair in part because the building is overleveraged. ‘We think this is a growing problem around the city that the banks and lenders are not taking responsibility for,’ said de Blasio.”
Park Slope Tenants, de Blasio Team Up to Force Building Repairs [NY Daily News]
Mortgage info on the property traded hands
CENTRAL FED SVGS/FSB>>>.BANKERS TRUST COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA N A>>>
LIBERTY SAVINGS BANKFSB>>>>TISSA FUNDING CORP.>>>294 5TH AVE REALTY
CORP.>>>294 5TH AVENUE ASSOCIATES, LLC>>>>>>
Yeah, Blame the old sick lady. Fix the boiler, front door lock and change the light bulbs in the hall for Pete’s sake.
Interesting, The building only has two complaints on record. Sounds like the residents understand their “situation” and don’t usually make a stink.
They are two separate issues, dh.
“they largley all have a sense of entitlement and won’t pay for anything, unlike the way people in normal renting situations behave, where they take care of their apartments and make certain improvements themselves.”
what does that have to do with how the landlord is treating his tenants? treating people decently shouldn’t be based on how much money you get can get from them.
They should bring back public flogging.
With all the money from city, state and federal agencies available to make improvements to old city dwellings like these, you would think the morons who run the building would pay someone $50 bucks to fill out the paperwork for a roofing upgrade or a painting/plastering or a new boiler.
I was commenting on the 9:54 post about changing a door lock.
There was a story last week about a tenant paying $400 or so for a place and letting a mold situation get way out of hand. At first sign, commen sense would say to attack it. But no. The strategy was just to complain and complain and complain.
quote:
unlike the way people in normal renting situations behave, where they take care of their apartments
what makes you think they dont take care of their apartments?
*rob*
OK bfarwell – then why did they burn down?
Something here does not smell right at all.
On the 1 side, it is virtually impossible to have 149 rent. Even under RC if you do the proper filings, you will be able to get the rent higher than that.
-Only thing I can imagine is original LL had a relationship of some sort and agreed not to file rent increases and new LL had no idea how RC laws work.
On the other side – regardless of this womens rent; both buildings in question have relatively recent commercial tenants, whose rent should conceivably cover most of the expenses of operating this building PLUS neither could effectively operate without water, heat etc…..
Finally, I pass these buildings on daily basis and while many things are not visible from the outside (such as heat, hot water, leaks, etc….) general maintenance is obvious (garbage, masonry, lighting) and from my observation, the “slum like conditions” being described are likely pure hyperbole. I am not saying that it isnt a lousy place to live, but if this the worst housing conditions that NYC public advocate Diblasi could find, this city is a paradise
Who wrote this article, Bill DeBlasio’s PR staff? Get a load of their “reporting” in the first paragraph:
“When the boiler broke down in January and wasn’t fixed for three weeks, Marta Rivera, 71, curled up under a quilt and never got out of bed.”
Did they have a videocam monitoring the situation so that they could verify this fact?