More than two dozen tenants of a partially collapsed Bronx apartment building are suing their landlord to complete needed repairs and put an end to what they call a long-standing pattern of harassment.
The residents of 1915 Billingsley Terrace in Morris Heights say owner David Kleiner and his associates are using construction, coercion and deplorable conditions to drive them out of their units by making the environment unbearable. The residents also say the owner is pressuring them to sign forms waiving their rights to sue, renouncing rent reductions and falsely swearing to apartment improvements — a practice first reported by Gothamist last month.
Ivan Schoop, 32, grew up in the building and said he and other members of the newly formed tenant association are demanding their right to a safe environment following the collapse in December that displaced dozens of tenants.
“If people are not held accountable, who’s to say this won’t happen again?” said Schoop, whose seventh-floor apartment was destroyed in the collapse and ensuing clean-up. “We’re just there doing what we need to do and paying our rent.”
The lawsuit comes days after the first floor of a home under construction collapsed, killing a 33-year-old construction worker in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Building officials said the work at the home was being done without permits.
At least 26 other tenants in the Bronx complex are signing onto the lawsuit describing rat and roach infestations, broken windows, crumbling ceilings and leaking pipes in their units and building common areas. They’re also accusing the landlord of violating rent-stabilization laws by locking out tenants, as well as a superintendent of “profiteering” by collecting large payments in exchange for letting tenants move in.
Schoop said the problems were mounting for years before the December collapse.
“It wasn’t like everything was dandy and perfect and then the building came down,” Schoop said. “There were definite signs…
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