The mortgages were massive—$36 million here, $32 million there, $19 million a couple years later. But the buildings remained in dismal shape, plagued by lead paint, rats and crime.
A Housing Court judge ordered repairs to the electrical system at the building on DeKalb Avenue. A year later, the work undone, an eight-year-old resident died in an electrical fire.
One Bronx real estate operator had an interest in more than 100 buildings, most of them severely troubled. But when regulators or tenant advocates tried to push for improvements, they…
Tenants may for the first time experience a code enforcement system that rewards their organizing efforts with lasting improvements in their buildings and their lives.
“It doesn’t feel good to see your own brother featured in the news as the year’s worst landlord. It would feel even worse to be doing nothing about it.”
The unregulated rooming houses often feature crowded, unsafe conditions. But even some critics point out that they play an important role in keeping people off the street.
At some dormitories for homeless people, lawyers allege, landlords forced tenants to attend particular drug programs and failed to provide safe housing. But operators say they were trying to do…
Three-quarter homes give people who are homeless, leaving prison or seeking substance-abuse treatment a place to stay. But critics say the houses are unregulated and sometimes unsafe.
A new report finds black families are seven times more likely than whites to end up in the shelter system. For a minority group that’s faced official and informal housing…
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