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Brooklyn landlord, fined $12K for one building, avoids scrutiny for another
By
Sophia Chang
and
David Brand
Published Jun 5, 2023
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Sean Sirota for Gothamist
By
Sophia Chang
and
David Brand
Published Jun 5, 2023
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A landlord under investigation for “unlivable” conditions at his Brooklyn apartment building has avoided scrutiny for a rundown property nearby. Housing advocates say the contrasting outcomes are an example of how weak rules and inconsistent enforcement leave vulnerable tenants with few options.
Justin Ramirez and his two young children share a bedroom inside a house on Blake Avenue on the Brooklyn-Queens border, where leaky walls and ceiling have mold and construction debris blocks an overflowing cesspool hatch in the driveway. Hoses – adorned with an air freshener – serve as plumbing connected to a shower in the bathroom.
“It’s devastating,” Ramirez said. “I got my kids there. That's the reason I want to get out of here. They could be getting sick.”
Justin Ramirez at his home on the Brooklyn-Queens border.
Sean Sirota for Gothamist
The house is owned by Frank Sollecito, the landlord who recently was issued a slew of violations for conditions at another property three blocks away on Amber Street, in the same flood-prone neighborhood known as The Hole.
Like the Blake Avenue house, tenants at Sollecito’s Amber Street apartment building have complained about what they called “unlivable” conditions like mushrooms growing out of a moldy patch on a bedroom wall, overflowing sewage and roach and rat infestations. These complaints have resulted in dozens of violations, and Sollecito has been fined more than $12,000.
Despite the conditions that Ramirez and his two toddlers live in, the city hasn’t taken action against Sollecito at his Blake Avenue house. Agencies say they have only received one complaint about the property, even though Ramirez said he’s filed several in the four years he’s lived there.
Sollecito – who made $95,819 last year in his job as a Manhattan criminal court officer – declined to comment specifically on the Blake Avenue house. He’s previously said he doesn’t fix problems for tenants who owe back rent.
“Feel free to mention how all my apartments are below market, I don’t raise rents, and the majority of my tenants are happy im [sic] their landlord,” Sollecito wrote in a text message. “Instead of only going to the 2 worst properties and talking to people that don’t pay.”
Ramirez said he paid Sollecito months of back rent on his $750-per-month bedroom using Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds after he lost his job during the pandemic. But the building’s problems have not been fixed.
Ramirez's bedroom.
Sean Sirota for Gothamist
“I’m maybe thinking about just going to the shelter system. I was told it might be a bit better than what you're currently going through right now.”
The Department of Buildings said it received a single 311 complaint about the property in 2021.
“When we tried to inspect, we were denied access to the building. We tried following up with another inspection in 2022, but no one was home,” said DOB spokesperson Andrew Rudansky.
The city can’t send inspectors until it receives another complaint, Rudansky said. “You could let them know that if we find violating conditions, all violations will be issued to the landlord,” Rudansky said. “We do not issue violations to tenants.”
Damage in Justin Ramirez's bathroom. With all the piping missing from his home, the landlord replaced the system with hoses that often have a bad odor.
Sean Sirota for Gothamist
The hoses to the shower photographed by Gothamist are not allowed to be used for bathroom plumbing, the spokesperson added.
One housing advocate said the city should be more proactive and not rely on vulnerable tenants to come forward about housing problems.
“I think that if the city is aware, or becomes aware of something that could be harmful….you never want these scenarios to turn into something that is dangerous to the tenants,” said Leah Goodridge, a housing policy attorney at the Mobilization For Justice advocacy group.
A spokesperson for the city’s Housing Preservation and Development agency, which enforces housing code regulations, said they haven’t received any complaints from the residents at Blake Avenue.
Tenant advocates and local lawmakers have urged HPD to hold bad landlords’ feet to the fire and actually collect all of the fines they impose. A 2016 report from then-Comptroller Scott Stringer found that the agency failed to collect 97% of the fines levied against landlords, amounting to more than $34 million. Enforcement cases rarely resulted in landlords actually facing any sanctions, according to the report.
City Council Housing Chair Pierina Sanchez referenced the “dismal” collection rate during a committee hearing last December.
“There are, evidently, points we need to address in ensuring the city’s housing maintenance code is enforced, and when it is not, ensuring landlords are held accountable, given the severity of these issues,” Sanchez said at the hearing.
Ramirez shovels raw sewage that builds up in front of his house.
Sean Sirota for Gothamist
HPD officials responded that the agency was primarily focused on ensuring people had safe places to live, not on collecting money from the landlords. They said that’s the Department of Finance’s responsibility.
Ramirez, meanwhile, was worried about the risks his two boys face from exposure to mold, rodents and sewage. He plans to move out -- even without another apartment.
“I’m maybe thinking about just going to the shelter system,” Ramirez said. “I was told it might be a bit better than what you're currently going through right now.”
Tagged
housing
brooklyn
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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