Going back to housing court this Wednesday. Here is an e-mail I sent to Joel Charleston, the attorney for 545 W 146th St. Corp. in response to his request for information. Mr. Charleston is actually a very nice guy and I am feeling pretty hopeful about getting repairs and services in the near future. Then, maybe some roommates. Now I see a few typos. Please forgive those:

Mr. Charlston,

I am looking forward to our meeting at 111 Center Street RM 830 at 9AM on the 26th.

I received in the mail a request for some information which I will try to provide here now:

Overcharge Complaint--I arrived in NYC in August of 2003 having rented a room off Craigslist at this address
(545 W 146th Street Apt 47) sight unseen. A check had been sent to a man by the name of Cheik Tall in the amount of $1,000 US for first and last month's rent. When I arrived there were 3 other people living here (Vy Chum, Irene, a pedicab driver from Florida whose name I am hard pressed to recall) occupying the three bedrooms of Apt. 47. I was offered the choice of the dining room ($500) or the walled off living room ($600). Mr. Tall offered a $100 per month discount in exchange for borrowing my car. The next month an AmeriCorps friend of mine, Juliana Schwartz also moved in and rented the dining room so there were five people living in the apartment.

All together, I estimate that well over $2, 000 dollars US was collected for the apartment each month. In November of 2003, Irene moved out and Bernardo Masoko Moved in. I had been advised by neighbors (also renting from Cheik Tall) to check with DHCR and see what the rent history for the apartment was. I went to DHCR, acquired a rent history, and was advised to get a lease*. The 2003 rent history (which has disappeared) showed no leases recorded for years. If memory serves, the last and only lease recorded was for someone named Melody in 2001 at a rent of around $1, 000 per month. Using this as a guide, my neighbors, roommates and I estimated that the legal rent should be somewhere around $1,100-$1,200.

I know that Mr. Nabavi was aware of Check Tall and the four apartments he controlled in this building. I don't know how much Cheik Tall paid to 545 W 146th Street Corp. or if that payment was recorded. I do know that when I moved here in 2003 there were people living here and paying rent. However, None of them were named TAUE and their presence was not reported to DHCR when I checked the rent history in 2003 and 2004. In 2006, Judge FInklestein, looked at our case and found that the 2002 and 2003 rent report looked very suspicious since 545 had waited until November 2006 (right before our court date) to report any activity since 2001 to DHCR. Furthermore, when we returned to court in the summer of 2007, a different Judge, Judge Wendt again found that 545 had mis-reported to DHCR by reporting a second Masoko lease in 2006. Both Masoko and the attorney for 545 denied in court any knowledge of the second lease. In, light of this dubious reporting on the part of 545 W 146th Street Corp., I ask that the court return to the 2001 record of P Simon Daniella Daniel as the last recorded lease and also, that they not assume (or take 545's word as fact) that the apartment was ever vacant.


*In the winter of 2003-2004 Bernardo Masoko, and I asserted our right to a lease, (Vy Chum and Juliana Schwartz did not want to be named on a lease, but were still living in the apartment and paying rent.) Cheik Tall after some stressful negotiation said he did not mind if we had the lease and advised us not to accept Mr. Nabavi's first offer of $1,800 US per month. Mr. Nabavi agreed to offer us a lease of $1, 600 per month. Which we (or at least, I) believed to be an overcharge, but I had been advised to get a lease before filing a complaint with DHCR. Bernardo Masoko collected the rents every month and wrote checks for the whole amount to the Hempstead, Long Island address of 545 W 146th Street Corp.. In Fall of 2004 (I believe), I filed a complaint with DHCR about the conditions in the building and the overcharge. Much later, my letter was returned to me with a note from DHCR in Jamaica, saying that the complaint could not be recorded without receipts showing payment. Busy with work, unaware of a time limit and not on good terms with Bernardo, who had the receipts, I did not follow up until after our bathroom ceiling fell in in May of 2006. In December of 2006 DHCR sent notice that they had received the complaint along with 545's rebuttal which flatly denied any wrong doing. Unaware that I was supposed to respond, I waited for DHCR to decide whose version was a accurate reflection of reality. Since I did not respond, DHCR decided in favor of 545. I ask that the court review this decision. Furthermore, I would like to ask for the court's help in reviewing the rent history of all the apartments in the building as I believe many of my neighbors may be overcharged as well. I believe DHCR records will show a pattern on the part of 545 to ignore and circumvent state rent regulation laws in addition to ignoring building codes.




Off the top of my head...here is a list of Repairs Still Needed:

Floor surrounding radiator in living room repaired.

Rats removed from apartment

Bathroom light

Bathroom ceiling

Debris between ceiling of apartment 47 and floor of Apartment 57 removed.

Living room light fixture.

Hall light fixture

Kitchen light fixture

Dining room light fixture

Missing rain pipe replaced 

Door buzzer

Services lacking:

Heat

Hot water

Elevator

Trash can lids

Recycling Container 

Hall, stairs, and lobby should be cleaned regularly 

Often, quiet enjoyment is made impossible by parties in apt #1.


Thank you for you help in resolving these matters. I am hopefully we can come to agreement in the near future.

Today was my housing court date with 545 W 146th ST. CORP. The new attorney for 545 W 146th Street Corp (Joel Charlston) turns out to be fairly nice and reasonable. We scheduled a time (Friday noonish) for him to come by and photograph 545 W 146th Street in all its glory as he had not yet seen the building. We agreed to adjourn the case (73150) until August 25th, 2010. I feel pretty good about this.

Back from Ohio earlier than planned due to LL starting housing court action the moment I left. Hearing was re-scheduled for the 28th of July, 2010. Erin Dunner, Bernardo and I went through this in the spring of 2009. I remember several days of sitting in and around 111 Center Street until a judge finally agreed that a "Holdover" action is not the proper action to file as this is a "Non-Payment" case. In any case, the bathroom ceiling is still in dis-repair. The bathroom floor was a botched job. We still have to deal with many problems such as lack of hot water, an elevator that is frequently out of service, broken doors and windows, lack of heat on cold winter days, and harassment when attempting to organize tenant meetings.

Today, Erin and I and Juan Santana from Mirabal Sisters sat in Housing Court for (four hours?) or so before we learned that the LL had asked for an ajournment. The new court date is March 19.

Last week the bathroom of apt 47 saw some action. Things have been grouted and patched. For reasons unknown the perfectly good toilet was repaced with a less good toilet. This one is new, but much lower and lacks a seat.

For a few days we had to pour water from the tub to make it flush but now there is a tank that flushes (usually).

Also the floor in the kitchen was worked on. For some reason it was left overnight with a smelly, sticky goo that Erin (new roommate) stepped in as if she were a mouse and the floor a glue trap. Call me paranoid, but I can't help thinking that things like the glue trap floor and missing toilet seat are more subtle (or not so subtle) form of messing with us (aka harassment).

I have to admit that it is nice not to have the gross gaping hole dropping (rat?) bones and (sewage?)liquid on us as we shower. Does this mean that everything will be up to code soon? That would be good.

Here (above) are a couple of pictures I took around the building this spring. The horrible mess is at the top of the stairs. The cuties in the other picture are My neighbors Nancy and Gustavo.

Apt 47 has been experiencing ongoing problems with our bathroom ceiling. The leaky ceiling is the main reason we stopped paying rent. For the past few months the leak has been stinkier (sp?) than usual. Often, it smells so bad that the hallway out side the bathroom smells like sewage. the smell hits one upon entering the apartment.

This week I will hand deliver a letter to Jose Gonzoles since calls to the super and long island office don't seem to do anything.

There has been an on going fiasco with the mail service.

Many months ago, Bernardo changed the lock on the mail box
and refused to give me a key. I went to the post office and they were not able to help although they did give me the number for the postal inspector. I guess I never called thinking that I had no way to prove he was not giving me my mail.

I just hoped that Bernardo would do the right thing and give me my mail. When I would ask him for a key, he would get belligerent. The last time I asked to make a copy of his key he said that he would think about it. That was over four months ago.

Now it is 2008 and Bernardo has been out of town for about a month.

I thought his friend Kate, who has coming to feed the cat, was getting the mail.

When I asked her about it she said, "No." She had no idea about the mail. She would ask Bernardo the next time she talked to him.

So...last Wednesday, I spent the better part of the day trying to sort the problem out with the post office. The first person gave me the line that there was nothing they could do. It was between me and the landlord. After protesting in the politest way possible, she sent me to another window where I received the same response. I really had to argue my case, saying that the LL also had no key and I needed the letter carrier to open the box so I could get my mail and change the lock. She checked to see that the mail wasn't being held and said I could talk to the letter carrier.

Someone gave me a number to call to find out when the letter carrier would be there. I called and they said he would be at the post office between 3:00 and 3:30...at 2:45 I was at the post office waiting, and waiting and waiting. At 3:35 I got in line and explained again the situation. again getting an unhelpful response.

At some point I called 311 and asked to speak to the postal inspector. They transferred me to the postal inspector's office (I think) where, after explaining the situation I was told to move. I explained that I did not feel I should have to move to another apartment in order to receive mail and was transfered to another person who WAS very helpful and took a report.

The next day I called the number again and arranged to meet the mailman at 11:00. While I was waiting I spoke to to E. Ponce, the super. I said I was having trouble getting mail. He knew. He confirmed what he had told me before, that he did not have a key. He said, "Bernardo changed the lock right?" He explained that it would be easy to change the lock when the mailman arrived we could remove the lock that was there. finally met up with the letter carrier at the boxes in the lobby of 545. He gave me the piles and piles of mail. He was helpful and understanding. We called E. Ponce, the super.

Then for some reason E. Ponce did not want to change the lock. He said he did not want Bernardo to get mad. I don't know why it was fine fifteen minutes before and now he was worried. I explained that he was obligated by law to provide me access to my mail. The mailman seemed to agree. I said that Bernardo has not been around for weeks. I pointed to the month's worth of mail piled up. He called Bernardo and got no answer. Finally he agreed to change the lock.

I got the lock from the local hardware store and gave it to him. He said he would change it and give me the key when he finished. I was happy...I finally got my bank card. I would be able to get my driver's license. I thought the problem was (finally) resolved. What a relief.

Since then I have not seen the super. I have called and called with not response.

Hopefully, he will get back to me with the key soon.

For a few months now, I've been talking to people at Hermanas Mirabal and tenants at 545 W 146th Street about the need for a tenant association with (some) encouraging results. Fortunado, Yolanda, Vincente, Leonore, Nancy, Harmony, Tammy, Roberto, Maria, Leo, Paola, and others are open to the idea, Even if they don't always want to get together.

In apt 47, Some repairs have been made. We have a new sink for example. The problems is that the repairs are not done well and the bathroom ceiling always seems to leak again. I am really concerned about the existing mold. Again and again the ceiling gets painted over but the mold on the unpainted side continues to grow.

Someone recommended going ahead with the HP action. A few weeks ago I was down on Centre St. to support Ben with his civil disobedience case, so I stopped in at the housing court and got the papers. I was a little nervous about starting another court proceeding and left the papers in my room when I went to visit my Grandmother. When I got back the papers were gone. I'm not sure what to think about that.

We have had no heat and no hot water. After talking to E. Ponce, I called 311 to make a complaint.

hpd complaint# 3954574

http://www.mirabalcenter.org/who_we_are.htm

Yea! After three months with no sink, we have a clean shiny new one!

This AND the giant gaping hole over the tub finally being covered with dry wall. This is a bigger relief than you might expect. It feels so luxurious to be able to wash hands right there in the bathroom. It's delightful.

And to not have to clean debris+roaches out of the tub daily or cringe as each drip drip drip of mysterious brown water hits my head from the gaping hole in the ceiling is really quite a relief.

AND the electricity is back on! Life is beautiful!

There are still some relatively minor problems like mold, rats, and missing tiles and broken intercoms to contend with but quality of life has taken a great leap forward.

E. Ponce finally came back to work on the bathroom after three months of leaving us with ungrouted tiles, no sink and cement on the floor. Since July we have had another HUGE, dripping hole in ceiling over the bathtub. He installed the sink, patched the hole but left us with two big spots of black mold and no hot water. I don't know if this was an improvement or not. I haven't had a shower in three days.

The electricity is back on.

HPD complaint #3875660: We still have no bathroom sink and the bathroom ceiling has collapsed again. This in addition to all the persistant problems like no intercom and filthy common areas.

Today I am here at Harmony's using here computer and watching Sam and Jake while Harmony goes to get a haircut. No one but Mr. Morgan and I showed up for the tenant meeting last Saturday. Perhaps because, as Mr. Morrgan pointed out. There was not sufficient notice. I plan to talk with Marta and her daughters about what to do next. Maybe we can plan another meeting that people will come to.

No work has been done in Apt 47 since the Judge dismissed the LL petition for non-payment. We haven't had a bathroom sink for weeks.

Work on the bathroom has stopped again.

Monday morning I was getting over a bout of food poisoning and didn't call Jose Gonzales or E. Ponce as I had for the past two weeks. At nine am I was resting and texting my friend Lisa in San Antonio, so I know the phone did not ring and no one rang the bell or knocked on the door. When I got up to go to the bathroom, I found E. Ponce there. I was alarmed. I told him, loudly that he could not come in with out knocking. He said he has spoken to Bernardo. I said I did not care. I still had a right to be informed that someone was in the apartment. He could have should have knocked. He said he had a key to the apartment. I said he still had to knock. he said, "Ok then. I will take everything.", gesturing in a way that seemed to say he would remove the tiles from the floor. There wasn't much else to take. We still had no sink.

Last Thursday I spoke to Marta (apt7) and Maria (Apt 5) about having a tenant meeting this coming Saturday. Harmony(apt46), Vincente(apt41), Mr. Morgan(Apt 31), and I(Apt47) met in Harmony's apartment a talked briefly about the need for a tenants association. Mr. Morgan advised that Marta lead the meeting since she did a good job last time.

On Friday Bernard, Adi and I went to housing court (again). The Judge dismissed our case because the DHCR report did not match the records the LL's attorney presented to the court. According to the DHCR report Bernardo had re-newed the lease without me. Bernardo denied knowledge of the lease re-newal. The LL's attorney said It was a mistake.

???mejor que antes????


These are not the cobalt blue one inch circles I had dreamed of, hoped for and requested. However, admittedly, the floor will be easier to clean than it was before.

**disclaimer***

I do NOT recommend or endorse this tile choice. Although relatively inexpensive...it causes a weird optical effect that is more than a little nauseating. Not something you would want to see when nauseous, but unfortunately the place you have to be when nauseous.

big changes are happening in Apartment 47...The bathroom floor has been jackhammered and pulled up. I'm not exactly sure what is happening now. E. Ponce says that Wonderboard is the preferable material to use but for some reason (It's too thick?)He wants to use concrete instead. Anyway I'm happy they pulled up the old marble floor instead of covering it with concrete. Maybe we can re-new/re-use the chunks in the apartment or in the Garden. Little chunks of 545 History.

E. Ponce, the (super?) of the building and Louis B. who lives in the basement have been working in the apartment all last week and yesterday. The leak in the bathroom has ceased. Louis B. scraped (without a mask) and painted the hallways kitchen and plastered many of the holes.

We are having a disagreement regarding the broken floor in the bathroom. Should we:

A) Rip out the entire 100 year old floor, basket weave marble tile and all, repair the water soaked and sagging boards and beams underneath, then retile the floor with the tile (of the tenant's choosing?) (E. Ponce's choosing?).

B)Pour cement directly on top of the 100 year old floor, basketweave marble tiles, sagging beams, waterdamaged boards and all...then tile over the cement with the ceramic tile of (the tenant's choosing?) (E. Ponce's choosing?)

C)Replace and repair the cracked parts of the floor using a new tile (of tenant's choosing?)as has been done in the past,leaving the sagging boards and beams and basket weave tile as they are.

I vote for either A or C. E. Ponce votes for B. Mr. Nabavi came by and did little to clarify or resolve the dispute...so...work has stopped there for now.

Our Bathroom ceiling continues to drip. It was dripping conveniently near the tub. Now the drip is stronger and has moved to a spot over the toilet. This is very annoying. I placed a bucket on the back of the toilet. That seems to keep it from splashing so much. Apparently the water has shorted out the light again, so we(I) have been using candles at night for about a week now.

Tomorrow is our (Apartment 47's) big day in court. I am making a three part list of reasons why we have not paid rent for the past year.

A)We(I) dispute the amount "owed" prior to July 2006.

As far as I can figure the LL is saying we owe for July 2005, February 2006 and perhaps one other month prior to July 2007. My records show that we had paid for February 2006 (at least I paid Bernardo.) The LL told me in December 2005 that the rent withheld in July 2005 in order to get action on our bathroom ceiling problem would be waved. He may deny saying that now but I remember the conversation clearly and believe we are owed at least that for what we endured. If there is another month in question I don't know what it is.

B)I believe we have been overcharged for this rent stabilized apartment. Prior to November 2006, the LL had not registered leases with DHCR for many years. I believe the LL was not registering in order to evade taxes and/or allow an unlawful increase in rent. The LL gave written testimony to DHCR indicating that the have been no major repairs. (This is also evident by looking at the apartment.)

I also have a question about the lease being renewed in Bernardo's name only. I was under the impression that as a rent stabilized tenant I am entitled to a lease renewal which I was not offered.

C) Lack of services and Breach of Warranty of Habitability. Because of lack of services I feel we are owed a rent abatement off whatever the judge decides is the legal rent. Here is a list of unsafe, unpleasant conditions we have been living with these past 3 years, 9 months (the last year being particularly horrible):

_defective intercom/buzzer (constant)*
_no sign in lobby w/name address and phone number of super, manager or owner (constant)*
_no sign in lobby informing tenants of smoke and carbon monoxide detection requirements(constant)*
_filthy halls and common areas: litter, urine, beer, feces, vomit, cigarette buts and cartons, used condoms (constant)*
_lack of smoke detectors (repaired in apt 47in 2007)*
_lack of carbon monoxide detectors (repaired in apt 47in 2007)*
_ broken windows in common areas (constant)*
_poor security(constant)*
_rats in front of building around trash(constant)*
_no lids on trash cans(constant)*
_no recycling receptacles (constant)*
_broken stairs in front of building (constant)*
_graffiti on walls and doors(constant)*
_debris falling from holes in ceiling (constant)*
_broken floor in bathroom (constant)*
_water damaged cabinet in bathroom (constant)*
_missing, gaping tiles in bathroom (constant)*
_cracked and peeling ceilings(constant)*

_lack of janitor or responsible person (usually)*

_defective door at street entrance(frequent)
_people having sex in stairs (frequent)*
_broken lights in common hallways (frequent)*
_defective elevator (frequent)
_lack of heat at times required by law(frequent)
_lack of hot water(daily)*
_lack of water(occasionally)
_drunk/homeless people sleeping in stairs and hallways(frequent)*
_very loud music late at night (after 1 am) from business operated out of apt #1 (frequent)*

_no electricity in front bedroom (past two months)*
_moldy leaky bathroom ceiling (past three years to greater or lesser degrees)*
_no electricity in bathroom (recurring and current problem)*
_small hole in kitchen ceiling through which large amount of debris falls onto stove*
_leaky ceiling/mold/gaping hole in lobby ceiling (one year)*
_broken tub faucets(more than one year)*
_mice/bedbugs/roaches(occasionally)

_sexual, verbal, and physical harassment from "Super"(constant, especially when trying to organize tenant association or speak with tenants about tenant rights)*

*These starred items are serious problems that exist today.

Many cell phone minutes, lunch hours and sick days have been spent reporting violations to HPD, writing letters, and waiting in housing court. Often have gone to work not having showered for lack of hot water. This year I have been ill more than I have been well and I suspect that is partly due to the mold that has been growing in my bathroom. Two of the four roommates that were here when we decided to withhold rent have moved out presumably as a result of the horrible conditions. I hope the court will recognize how stressful these conditions are and order 545 W 146th Street, Inc. to make repairs, comply with rent regulation laws and compensate us for the lack of services.

A few days ago, Eric (aka Edy?) Ponce, the unofficial Super of the building told me he would come make repairs between 9 and 10 this morning. Like a fool, I waited as I had done all last week. He did not show up.

I started going through the papers from Apt 47's Housing Court trial Last November to prepare for tomorrow's scheduled trial. Although I have made calls to Jose Gonzales to report the lack of electricity in the front bedroom and worsening leak in the bathroom...I realized that I had not called HPD about the recent loss of electricity in the bathroom. I called Jose Gonzales in order to go through the motion of trying to contact him even though he has not returned several previous calls. To my surprise, he answered!

I told him I needed to give him (again) the list of needed repairs and to my greater surprise, he handed the phone to Mr. Nabavi (sp?)the ostensible other owner/responsible person of 545 W 146th St, Inc...He said he would be right over.

Eric (Edy?) the (Super?)joined us and we walked through the building. I pointed out the many needed repairs, including the lack of electricity and leaky bathroom ceiling.

He said he would happily fix them but has not had access. This was a complete lie. I mention that tis very morning I waited for the (Super?) from 9-10 am and he (as usual) left me waiting.

We scheduled another repair time for Wednesday at 9:30.

While I was sitting in Part F of the NYC Housing Court waiting for Harmony and Ron Ransom, the LL attorney (correction: J. Barrington Jackson, the LL attorney)to finish their mediation session...I made a list of some of the unsafe/unhealthy conditions that we have been living with for the past four years:

_Vermin
_Filth
_Broken Door
_Broken Intercom
_Used Condoms, Human Feces, Urine, Vomit, and Beer in Hallways, Elevator and Stairs
_Broken Steps
_Elevator Out of Service
_Missing Smoke Detectors
_Missing Carbon-Monoxide Detectors
_Peeling Paint
_Cracked, Peeling, and Leaky Ceilings
_Mold
_Unhealthy Air Quality
_Lecherous Super (I'll fix your faucet if you have sex with me.)
_Overcrowding Due to Overcharging
_Harassment when Trying to Organize
_Broken Faucets
_Water Damaged Cabinets, Walls, and Ceilings
_Drunk People Passed Out in Stairwell
_Loud Music All Night Long
_Racist/Violent Messages Scrawled in Hallways
_No Contact Number Posted for Management
_construction debris and litter in front, on the side and behind the building