Illegal dumping of trash from 144 East 1st Street in front of 108 East 1st Street

Rat mite infestation is on five floors!

Even though the rat infestation has gone on for years and the rat mite infestation has been the issue in the building for months now, the landlord, Robert Spitalnick still has not notified all tenants about the rat mite and bed bug problem and have not presented us with a comprehensive treatment for the entire building. Five floors are now affected, mostly on the North side of the building. Random exterminations of several apartments make the situation worse as the insects move into the walls and then to other units. No entry point sealing has been done! As a result several tenants have packed their belongings and left the building. This ongoing cover-up and unprofessional approach is harmful to all us still staying in the building!

and more discarded furniture on the ground floor

and this is trash from our building on the sidewalk in front of 108 East 1st Street today.

vacating 114 e 1st (#13)

We will be ending our time at 114 e 1st by the end of the month (#13). The main issue in the recent months has been the severe rodent infestation in the building. Last weekend there was a rat that was discovered underneath our sink, chewing a hole so that it could enter the apartment. I called and emailed both the property company and super agency. I was not responded to and no one showed up to help with the issue until over 24hrs later. The rodent issue was not genuinely addressed, and they only patched the hole the rat was chewing. We can still hear them digging in the ceiling. It is an unacceptable living situation for our family and we do not intend to stay any longer than we have to.

GOING TO HELL

I have been a tenant at 114 East First Street for well over 20 years. I feel that I can safely say with great certainty that the building/tenants are on a descent to HELL!!

The apartment building has been infested with rats for years - getting worse with all of the construction going on around us. The rats are so brazen that they are out and waiting to greet you at the garbage bins. The designated garbage area is severly neglected, filthy, and dangerous. It is not maintained and the garbage accumulates for days.

Debris, garbage, unwrapped mattresses are left under the stairwell for months. Not only is this a fire hazard - it is also a very large contributor to the RAT MITE and BED BUG infestation in the building. I wake up (as do other tenants) everday covered in bites and there is no end in sight. The landlord is unresponsive, threatening, and unwilling to deal with the situation in a professional or legal manner. 

.We do not have an on premise superintendent

.We have no porter - the hallways have not been swept or washed in years

.Repairs are not made in the open areas and outside of the building - broken steps, broken windows, front door lock, etc. 

. The contractor's that do the repair work in the building - are they licensed - are they insured?

.The exterminating company -  are they licensed - are they insured? The tenants have no idea what chemicals are being used.

.We have lead paint and there are children living in the building

THERE IS POWER IN NUMBERS! 

PLEASE EMAIL/CONTACT THE AGENCIES LISTED BELOW:

To address your service issues, you may file a complaint with DHCR.  RA-81, Application For A Rent Reduction Based Upon Decreased Service(s) - Individual Apartment found at the link below:

http://www.nyshcr.org/Forms/Rent/ra81.pdf

And/or RA-84, Application For A Rent Reduction Based Upon Decreased Building-Wide Service(s):

http://www.nyshcr.org/Forms/Rent/ra84.pdf

To file the RA-84 jointly with other tenants, complete RA-84.1 and include it with your filing:

http://www.nyshcr.org/Forms/Rent/ra841.pdf

To address emergency and individual apartment service issues, you may file a complaint with DHCR online. The link below will direct you to this online complaint form:

https://www1.dhcr.state.ny.us/ServicesIntake/buildingselect.aspx

Please review the “Application Instructions” before filing.

DHCR has the authority to issue an order that: 1) directs the owner to make repairs; 2) may reduce the rent by a guidelines adjustment and; 3) bars an owner from collecting additional rent increases until such owner files for, and is issued, a rent restoration order by DHCR.

If there are emergency repairs required, you may bring an action in Landlord/Tenant court to compel the owner to meet his obligations.  The action is called a Housing Part Action (a/k/a and "HP Action").  You can find out more by calling the NY City Civil Court Information Line at 212-791-6000.  Furthermore, you may also contact the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) by dialing "311" to lodge a complaint.

For more information, click the links below to review DHCR Fact Sheets #14 and #37, which discuss Rent Reductions for Decreased Services and “De-Minimis Conditions” respectively.

http://www.nyshcr.org/Rent/FactSheets/orafac14.pdf

http://www.nyshcr.org/Rent/FactSheets/orafac37.pdf

Leaving 114 East 1st Street (#7)

We had to vacate our apartment this past Friday, as the pests made it uninhabitable. We had garbage-bagged all of our belongings, set multiple bed bug traps (including two simple CO2 passive monitors), spread diatomaceous earth around the perimeter of the bedroom and in plastic cups under each bed leg, called 311, etc. to no avail. I have literally over 100 insect bites all over my body that are extremely itchy and uncomfortable. We have found many rodent mites crawling all over our bodies after sitting on the couch or lying on the bed for just a few minutes - thankfully, there has been no sign of bed bugs yet. Needless to say, I am no longer comfortable staying in the apartment.

On Friday, an exterminator sprayed our apartment with an unspecified chemical - but did not address the underlying issue of the ongoing rodent infestation. After enduring four sleepless nights (and consequently having much reduced productivity during the day), we decided that we had had enough and have left 114 E. 1st St.

More trash in the hallway underneath the stairs and the fire egress is blocked by the rotting garbage. The stench is insufferable!

Several tenants have decided to leave the building.

Deepening crisis at 114 East 1st Street

Today random extermination of several apartments have been performed in the building without addressing the infestation building-wide. No entry point for the insects have been sealed in the apartments before. The exterminator refused to give us any information on what pesticide will be used and for which insect they are treating the selective apartments. I've been threatened with denial of services for asking questions. Separately, we've been told by independently consulted professionals that entry points need to be sealed before spraying pesticides and that randomly spraying individual apartments is going to push the bugs to other units and make the problem significantly worse.

Here is some information about rat mites: http://citybugs.tamu.edu/factsheets/biting-stinging/others/ent-3009/

The infestation is building-wide!

We have both: bed bug and rat mite infestations in the building. The landlord still claims that it is an isolated problem related to a single apartment. So far we have identified 9 apartments where tenants developed severe rashes. In one case a rat mite was caught in another a bed bug. We are still waiting for more inspections. Unless the entire building is treated the problem will persist. Unless we take an unified action insuring that we have a licensed, certified and insured exterminator, our apartments will become unlivable and our all our belongings will be contaminated. As far as we understand the issue the infestation may have spread throughout the building as a result of a perpetual concealment of the problem and an irresponsible extermination in a single apartment. Do not be bullied by the super asking you not to call 311 or talk to other tenants. This is our only guarantee that we will receive adequate help. Send an email to 114eastfirst@gmail.com to receive additional information about the tenant action.

More trash in hallways, the building is filthy and it reeks of decay

The rotten bed frame and the filthy mattress are still here as well. The rat colony is thriving. No sign of the management.

Ignored by the landlord the infestation continues. Memorial Day Weekend at 114 East 1st Street.

The decaying bed and filthy mattress are still in the hallway. Rats are feasting on garbage. Memorial Weekend at 114 East 1st Street in New York.

continuing biohazard contamination at 114 East 1st Street

This filthy, decaying bed and the mattress have been put out on the ground floor hallway of our building yesterday. Today it is still here. Rats still rummage through the trash. Tenants are afraid of entering the hallway not to mention the rat ridden trash platform. A tenant from the second floor has shown us a live rat mite he has caught onto a sticky tape in his apartment.

The debris from the hallway have been moved to apartment #2 spreading and further continuing the possible contamination

Ongoing contamination. The debris from #4 are still on the ground floor.

The trash from the bins have been removed today but the debris from apt. 4 are still on the ground floor. What could be the reason for this?

Important information!

According to the  http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/bedbugs/html/info/owners_tenants.shtml :

"Notice of Bed Bug Infestation History: New York City Administrative Code § 27-2018.1, which the Governor signed into law on August 31, 2010, mandates that new residential tenants in New York City be given a one-year bed bug infestation history. All State supervised rental and mutual housing companies in New York City are required to provide new residential tenants with a completed copy of this notice, which is also available on the agency's website. Learn more by visiting the Metropolitan Council on Housing page on Bed Bugs.

If a landlord fails to disclose bed bug history: Tenants can use the form
DBB-N Tenant’s Complaint of Owner’s Failure to Disclose Bed Bug Infestation History/Notice and Order:
Tenants have to call 1-866-275-3427 or call/visit one of the borough offices to request a copy of the form; the form will be mailed to the tenant’s address.

- See more at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/bedbugs/html/info/owners_tenants.shtml#sthash.lwZ4q88e.dpuf "

What we have been told is that the infestation in #4 went on for a very long time and another apartment on the main floor had this problem since they moved in 8 months ago. Birchwood Properties LLC not only does not provide new tenents with bed bug history but is actively concealing it.

Rats rule at 114 East 1st Street

This is the fire egress/trash storage zone tonight:

Where is Robert Spitalnick?

Broken windows, broken doors, cracked walls, pealing paint, hallways covered by layers of decomposing linoleum covered with coagulated filth, rats, stench of decay, overworked maintenance crew, and now the bed bug infestation that the management company is trying to hide from the tenants not yet affected.

In order to rent both store fronts the landlord moved the garbage area from the front of the building to the fire egress platform leading to the basement. This produces a garbage accumulation on the fire egress often blocking the way to the basement and inviting all sort of vermin. It also produces a major strain on the maintenance people who have to haul the trash to the front of the building for collection. Often the trash gets spilled in the process and the hallway reeks with decaying refuse. Not to mention the garbage from emptied apartments dangerously stored, in contempt of fire regulations, underneath the ground level staircase.

The management is trying to divide us claiming it's an isolated issue. It is not. So far, seven apartments, on three floors have reported being bitten. They try intimidating those who want to have this public by calling them troublemakers or rumor spreaders. Unless we come together there will be isolated attempts at extermination and cover up.

The Birchwood Properties LLC owner Robert Spitalnick is not available to address any of this.

Ever wondered why do we have bed bugs in the building?

This is the ground floor area. All the trash thrown out of the infested apartment has been sitting here for weeks. No surprise that the bugs spread.

WE HAVE A SEVERE BED BUG INFESTATION IN THE BUILDING.

SEVERAL APARTMENTS HAVE BEEN RECENTLY AFFECTED. WE ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE SANITARY CONDITIONS AT THE BUILDING.

UNLESS WE COME TOGETHER AND PERFORM THOROUGH EXTERMINATIONS OF THE ENTIRE BUILDING THE BUGS WILL TRAVEL FROM ONE APARTMENT TO ANOTHER.

*PLEASE NOTIFY THE CITY at 311 ASAP SO WE CAN GET A CANNINE INSPECTION.

*ALSO, IF YOU NOTICED THAT YOU ARE BEING BITTEN PLEASE LIST IT HERE:

http://114eastfirst.blogspot.com

THANK YOU!

Report to 311! Or join our googledoc of complaints

Hello -  I've recently begun reporting each and every incident of no hot water to 311, and I encourage others to do the same.

In addition, we've been keeping track of our apartment's heating/hot water issues on this googledoc (publicly viewable - see below link) and sending it frequently to the landlord.  If anyone else would like to join the googledoc so we can log issues together, please let me know.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AktE6sWZb5A6dE1wd3BCOU0wbzVhMmltQmsyS3lVR2c


koenig.shannon@gmail.com

further decline of the building at 114 East 1st Street, New York, NY 10009

Our hopes that the building transfer may improve our conditions have been dashed. Since Birchwood Properties LLC, owned by Robert Spitalnick took over the building in the summer of 2011 we've observed further decline in building maintenance and basic services. The walls are crumbling. The building is filthy. The water pressure (both hot and cold) is rarely sufficient to take a shower or wash the dishes. This is a chronic problem that the management has failed to address. The heat level is erratic. Recently the landlord installed several high-tech security cameras on the ground floor even though the front door of the building is broken (it does not lock). Some tenants driven to despair by freezing in their apartments resorted to writing directly on the walls. While this strategy is problematic the landlord's neglect of this property is the greatest crime committed against the building and its tenants at this time.

Individual repairs are not being performed without legal pressure and even then performed to a lowest standard possible. Welcome to a slum!