Wednesday, August 27, 2008

wednesday, august 27th




where's the door knob?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

New Super?

When you come in the front door look up immediately. Is that sign new? Is this really the right place to post the supers info? Is it where it should be legally?

Sunday, August 10, 2008

please proceed

For those who are new or relatively new to the building, ask anyone who has lived here 10 or more years and they will tell you that the building has never been dirtier or been more poorly maintained since Galron Realty began to manage it. For example:

#1: The halls are never adequately cleaned and haven't been painted properly in years. The result is chipping and mold that present health hazards to us all -- the poor and sometimes unhealthy air quality is exacerbated by the construction in three apartments on the 3rd and 6th floors.

#2: The garbage room is also a dreadful mess. Over the summer a rat infestation took hold.

#3: There is no super for the building. Has anyone seen any official announcement since Angel left the position? There was a new guy briefly, but I've been told he's now gone.

#4: The water pressure is hit or miss. In winter there is usually one or two days a week where there is no hot water.

#5 The tiling and grouting around the floor and fixtures in almost all apartments should have been replaced long ago because they breed mold and damage that only make it worse over time the longer it is untreated.

The attitude and behavior of the management company is outrageous, and may be illegal.
If you're like me you're busy with a zillion other aspects of life and dealing with a negligent landlord is not at the top of the list of things-to-do, but we have crossed a line in the past few months where this is no longer becoming just a nuisance, the conditions have become hazardous.

There is easily 1/3 of the building willing to attest to problems.
Whoever knows the legalities, please proceed.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Everyone should report the absence of superintendent to 311

We need this fact documented with the city. I know that it is tedious to make these calls but it is absolutely necessary!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Banding together

This is from http://nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/housing/pdfs/tenantsguide.pdf, "A TENANT’S GUIDE TO THE NEW YORK CITY HOUSING COURT", pages 19 and 20. Is this somethiong we should do? The chapter it is in, Chapter 6, "HOW TO HANDLE HOUSING REPAIR PROBLEMS" also seems helpful in general:

"7A Proceeding: If your building has serious problems, such as frequent lack of heat and hot water or lack of basic maintenance or services, and not just problems in one apartment, or if your landlord is harassing you, you should consider getting together with other tenants and bringing a 7A Proceeding. In a 7A Proceeding, the tenants in a building ask the court to remove the landlord as active manager of the building and appoint an administrator who is supervised by the Court and who will collect the rent monies and use them to make repairs and to put the building back in shape. The landlord keeps legal ownership, but no longer has the power to operate the building. If the 7A administrator succeeds in repairing the building, the court can give control of the building back to the landlord.

At least one-third of all the tenants in the building must agree to bring a 7A Proceeding. Often, a tenants' association can help in getting enough tenants together to bring a 7A Proceeding. You and the other tenants in your building may be able to get information from the Resource Center in Housing Court, the HPD Tenant Assistance Unit or other organizations listed in Section 7B, “Where Can I Go for Help” (p. 20)."

Sunday, August 3, 2008

208 East 7th Street has the same management but...

208 East 7th Street has the same Vanderleigh Properties management but under a yet different name; Chondro Realty LLC at 66 Marbledale Road, Tuckahoe NY 10707. Their name for 413/415 E 70th Street is Borg Realty. At 507 East 73rd Street they call themselves Praxis Realty. Their tenants are experiencing a host of similar issues.  We will try to be in touch with them.

As for our building today the trash is blocking the back door basement entrance. Serious fire hazard again! Water bugs litter the hallway. The front door handle is broken again. The lock is jammed so everyone can enter the building. We got used to this!

story of #7

The new tenants moved to apartment #7.  They were not aware why two consecutive previous occupants moved out.  How would they? The tenants before the last left the apartment because they were burglarized (their computers were stolen) and they were not feeling safe in the apartment. It is very easy to enter this apartment through the windows, both from the fire escape and from the roof of the wooden shack built as an extension to the apartment below #7.  There are no gates on the windows and their window locks are broken.  The last tenants of #7 just could not stand hearing the rats in the walls.  According to the new tenant their rent is $2,750! Welcome to 114 East 1st Street!