1059 Union St- Ground Zero for Landlord/Tenant battles?
This discussion was created from comments split from: Changes on Franklin between Eastern Parkway and Carroll.
Comments
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the building on the NE corner of Franklin and Union is seeing lots of action.
1059 Union,
Edited to add: 829 Franklin, 831 Franklin, 833 Franklin, 835 Franklin
Tenant advocates believe that the landlord should not experience increases above the rate set by the Rent Stabilization Board, while the LL clearly believes that s/he should be able to exercise their "property rights" in a way that results in higher rents.
To my knowledge, the tenant advocates have not been able to prove the LL has done anything illegal. If they do have evidence of illegal behavior, they don't seem to have yet been able to get the city to do anything powerful in response to it.
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Perhaps needless to say, this brings up the issue of "affordable housing", and the degree to which NYC (now under DeBlasio's leadership) is willing and able to protect it.
"Is the city willing to forgo the benefits of having comparatively wealthy people, in exchange for the benefits of having comparatively poor ones?"
This isn't simple matter of "more people want x than y, so lets choose x";
Laws constrain the ability of the Mayor and others to implement their wishes.
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This is interesting but not sure what it has to do with Maiman's Pharmacy anymore. Do you want some of these posts split off into a new thread that's more topical?
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Sure. We have basically been talking about the efforts by tenant advocates to improve the conditions in this building for long term residents.
That could be a good title. Have fun sorting the various posts. Thanks -
Total non-sequitur, but that apartment building on the corner of Franklin and Union is actually where Bobby Fisher grew up. He later moved to an apartment on the southwest corner of Franklin and Lincoln Place.
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@mcpoet great aside. I went looking for more info on the apartment on Franklin and Union, but could only find a brief reference on Wikipedia saying it was "inexpensive." I guess there's not much more to it than that!
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Yeah, I only found out about it while watching a documentary on Fisher that came out in the last couple years. It mentioned that he was living on Lincoln Place, so I googled it and realized that it was right on the corner of Franklin and Lincoln Place. It was only after some digging that I found out that the original apartment was on Union, which was even crazier, as I could see that building right out the window from where I was sitting on my couch. Here's an article that mentions the apartments. He was born when they were living in 1059 Union and then later moved to 560 Lincoln Place (Apt. Q). The documentary was excellent, detailing both his rise to grandmaster, and his subsequent alienation, exile, and bizarre, conspiracy filled (generally anti-Semitic) interviews (which were all the more bizarre given that he was of Jewish descent).
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/fischer.htm
Here's the imdb page for the documentary: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1777551/ -
Here's some more info about the present fate of the residents of 1059 Union St., and the demonstration that was hosted last week:
http://www.bkbureau.org/2014/03/03/tenants-form-union-to-fight-gentrification/
Making room for new people with new money isn't a pretty process.... -
By the way, I wanted to point out (in case no one else has done so already) that recently this entrance at the Franklin Avenue station has been closed for renovations. Interesting.New:
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FYI--Over the last several days scaffolding has gone up around 1059 Union.
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Uh, oh - this is getting ugly.Do the tenants have to take a buyout?
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They don't have to, but life often becomes unpleasant if they don't.
The deck is stacked against the tenants and their advocates.
This isn't a case where "majority" rules.
The LL takes the perspective of "we tried to be nice, you didn't respond". -
This site lists all of the complaints against 1059 Union, and gives readers a sense of how bad that building was:Now, I believe the building has been sold and is under a new owner. They are investing lots of $ into clearing up the violations, repointing the exterior, etc.....soon most of the units in the building will be renovated and freed from rent stabilization.A few (very durable) tenants might resist taking the payouts and be able to endure the construction. My guess is 20%.Needless to say, their "durability" will merely result in them living in an apartment that has not been upgraded in decades.....only the vacated units are renovated, because only they result in more rent.
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These violations sound like they are for stuff that can be repaired without having to do a complete renovation. There is a line between repairing something that is broken or worn down due to wear and tear and repainting it in such a way that would qualify for an MCI. How difficult should it be to repair wornout floor tiles?
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The prior LL let the building decline.The new owners are:Repointing the building.Upgrading the electrical.Redoing all of the hallways.Putting in new fixtures in the bathrooms.Upgrading all of the appliances.The goal is not to make the present tenants stop complaining to DOB via 311; the goal is to escape rent stabilization to get the "full value" of the apartments, as defined by the intersection of supply and demand.It is legal.
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I understand it is legal.The tenants also want to their habitability issues addressed as they should be by law.A middle ground would be nice.
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As a result of having no market power (i.e. the LL is not interested in their continued business), an ineffective DOB, AND a housing court that has far more pressing issues to deal with, I don't have much advice for them.Those that plan on exercising their rights to stay might want to hire a handy man or take home repair classes at the Community College.These rights are tough to enforce:
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Tenants who live in the building are being offered buyouts, but are realizing that -even though it may be more money than they have ever had- it is not in their long term interests to take it.
http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2014/05/tenants-in-bed-stuy-crown-heights-refuse-buyout-offers/
I am all for people fully asserting their rights.
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Tenants who live in the building are being offered buyouts, but are realizing that -even though it may be more money than they have ever had- it is not in their long term interests to take it.
The long-time resident in the apartment next to mine supposedly turned down $30K. Probably a smart move... she'd blow through most of that quickly on drugs and alcohol alone.
http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2014/05/tenants-in-bed-stuy-crown-heights-refuse-buyout-offers/
I am all for people fully asserting their rights. -
If she ever changes her mind, I hope the buyout is still available.
I'd hate for her to turn down a buy out only to be evicted a few months from now because she got behind on rent.
Now that there are "better" tenants waiting to replace her, the LLs won't hesitate to pursue eviction. -
So shady.
Pressured to Move, Low-Income Tenants Resist Buyouts
Crown Heights is one of several once-modest Brooklyn neighborhoods that have suddenly become attractive to real-estate investors and the high-dollar tenants they hope to attract.Advocates say it’s becoming more common for landlords hoping to increase rent rolls to off four- and five-figure buyouts to tenants.By: Ian Marsh
Marcia McLean is a hard-working health-care professional who lives with her extended family in the same Crown Heights apartment that she’s occupied for nearly 30 years. Her landlord had been trying to convince her to accept a cash buyout and relocate to another apartment the landlord would find for her in a less desirable neighborhood.
She refused the offer last year, but agreed to move out temporarily while her apartment was renovated. When she tried to move back in last October, the landlord had changed the lock, saying the repairs were yet to be done, she says.
read the rest here:
http://www.bkbureau.org/2014/05/27/pressured-to-move-low-income-tenants-resist-buyouts/
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Choice quotes (in case you're too busy to read the article above)"Complaints have become so pervasive that the Department of Housing Preservation and Development has placed 1059 Union Street. in its Alternate Enforcement Program. Only 200 buildings with the most pervasive violations are entered into the program each year. Under the program, landlords are told to make necessary repairs within a few month time. If they refuse, HPD will hire a contractor to do the work and then bill the landlord. According to HPD, the building at 1059 Union Street has 77 open violations, including everything from leaking pipes to missing carbon monoxide detectors.
BCB Realty, which only bought the building in 2013, is offering buyouts to long-term tenants while at the same time failing to adequately maintain the apartments of long term residents, according to Weaver.
Betty Rice, a tenant at 1059 Union St., complained of the condition of her apartment and the building in general. She says workers had done shoddy repairs on her apartment, there were problems with heat and hot water, and bells in her building didn't work. Even the new tenants who paid higher rent came to tenant association meetings and complained, according to Rice. BCB offered her a buyout, but she did not even consider negotiating a price, as she would not be able to stay in the neighborhood with even a five-figure buyout, she says."
http://www.bkbureau.org/2014/05/27/pressured-to-move-low-income-tenants-resist-buyouts/
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In the late 1990s, I worked closely with a tenant advocacy organization that was active on the Lower East Side during "this same stage" of gentrification.
We provided them lots of education re: their rights, and how to evaluate whether they should take a buyout.
The issues were the same. Long term tenants struggled to understand why the city did not force the new landlords of "distressed buildings" to repair the apartments of the long term tenants who did not take the buyouts.
After seeing all of the new appliances and cabinets being delivered to their neighbors and looking in the doors at the completed units, It was as if they someday expected the contractors to get to their unit.
Needless to say, they never arrived.
As I walk around gentrified neighborhoods, I sometimes pause to look for holdout units. From the outside, they can often be spotted by:
-ancient single pane wooden windows, vs two pane aluminum ones.
-1940 era light fixtures vs track lights.
-faded white curtains vs blinds.
-layers of dingy off white paint on plaster vs a fresh coat on new drywall.
Five years after the "big wave" hits the holdouts seem to have dwindled to about 10% of a buildings total units. -
If she ever changes her mind, I hope the buyout is still available.
Trust me, the quotation marks definitely aren't needed there.
I'd hate for her to turn down a buy out only to be evicted a months from now because she got behind on rent.
Now that there are "better" tenants waiting to replace her, the LLs won't hesitate to pursue eviction.She's been there for many years, always the sad wreck she is now. All the long-time residents in the building know her... and from speaking to some about her, it's clear there would be no tears shed at her departure.I'm not going to be actively pursuing her eviction... I recognize the larger societal injustices that helped foster such behavior... so I will bear the repercussions of what our culture and predecessors helped create in her, to a point beyond what I would accept in other situations. That said, people like her make the work of tenant advocacy groups much more difficult. -
I predict others will pursue her eviction.
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I predict others will pursue her eviction.
I'm one of the only new (i.e. white) people in the building. Most of the rest of the building tenants have been here for many years, and they just put up with her. Mine is the only apartment that shares walls with hers anyway, so people only have to deal with her mess when her fights with her girlfriend spill into the hallways or out in front of the building. For instance, last night when she cut her girlfriend above the eye in a wild fight around 2:30am. The cops came shortly thereafter.
Many residents of my building sit around smoking pot on the steps and in the halls all day anyway. Ours is basically the neighborhood hangout. There was a big drug bust of the house across the street this afternoon; 7-8 dudes carted off. I think it's ridiculous pot is illegal (though I have no interest in it) so I couldn't care less about all the pot smoking (and dealing) in our lobby. But I mention it to say no one in our building really cares about actively trying to chase off our crazy neighbor.
It might not be a year or two from now, but Union Street in 2014 is still what it is. -
Blocks with large, old rental buildings are often the last to change.
For a long time, St. Johns Place between Underhill and Washington matched your description.
Gradually, the landlords stopped accepting Section 8, and began investing in evicting people for Lease violations.
Now, it no longer meets your description.
As a result, my sense is that the landlord goes after the worst tenants in the beginning. Then, as the process accelerates, the new and old tenants help the landlord in documenting reasons why their neighbors should be evicted.
...at some point, an invisible new flag flies over the building. -
The tenant advocates will be out this weekend:
Those who live along the route might get to hear some singing and chanting.As one might expect, those most active in trying to prevent the rent increases and get the apartments repaired tend to be:- long time, female, middle age, Caribbean-American, employed residents.- young idealist, white, recent graduates who feel an obligation to save the above.
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