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City issues new violations to landlord in 'The Hole' for mold and sewage, tenants say they now face retaliation
By
Sophia Chang
Published May 22, 2023
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Christian Rodriguez for Gothamist
By
Sophia Chang
Published May 22, 2023
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The city has issued more than 20 new violations against a Brooklyn landlord since his tenants went public with deteriorating conditions they said made their homes uninhabitable.
The residents at the Amber Street property in the East New York neighborhood nicknamed “The Hole” spoke to Gothamist earlier this month about problems of black mushrooms growing from their walls, regular pest issues and a cesspool of leaking raw sewage in and around the building. One tenant said the issues caused her family respiratory and skin issues.
Since Gothamist began inquiring about the state of the three-story building earlier this month, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development has issued the landlord, Frank Sollecito, 22 new violations for the problems at the property.
Sollecito was already facing 32 violations from HPD for issues like mold, roaches, and leaking sewage. And the Department of Buildings previously issued to Sollecito a $12,350 fine for a February violation for a “failure to connect the building sewer system to the public sewer or to a private disposal system.”
Sollecito is in default on the February violation after failing to appear in court on May 3, according to the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.
When reached by text, Sollecito declined to comment, saying he would only discuss the matter on Facebook Live.
The Amber Street tenants said Sollecito has for more than a year refused to fix the mold, sewage and leaks that fill their homes. And on May 16, the residents found letters from Sollecito taped to the building’s front door, informing families in two of the property's three apartments that their leases were being terminated.
The building, on Amber Street, in East New York.
Christian Rodriguez for Gothamist
Christina Lopez, who lives on the third floor with her two sons, said it’s been “very stressful” dealing with the mold and leaky ceiling in her apartment, and now she has to find a new home.
“I don't know what to do,” Lopez said. “It costs a lot of money to move out.”
All the Amber Street residents said they’ve withheld rent since last year because Sollecito’s neglect has made their homes unlivable.
“The Hole” neighborhood borders Brooklyn and Queens and isn’t on the city’s sewer system because it was built on a creek bed. The area’s streets are lower than the rest of the city’s and its buildings rely on septic tanks to dispose of wastewater.
The new violations against Sollecito — who works as a Manhattan court officer — at the property include a failure to address pest infestations, a broken sewage pipe leaking wastewater in the backyard and a defective fire escape ladder.
“All New Yorkers deserve a safe and healthy standard of living,” said HPD spokesperson William Fowler. “For owners who aren’t acting quickly enough to address many of the immediately hazardous issues, we will make the emergency repairs ourselves and bill the owner – just as we did in this building earlier this year.”
The city sent additional DOB and HPD inspectors to the property and issued the new violations after Gothamist reported on the conditions at Amber Street. Sollecito told Gothamist earlier this month that the tenants owe him months of back rent and that he hoped the conditions would prompt at least one tenant to move out.
“I take care of the tenants that pay their rent on time,” he said at the time.
Resident Ashley Saunders said the tenants have hired a lawyer to ask Sollecito to move them all to new homes.
“To repair this entire house is literally to demolish it and build it from the ground up because it's that bad,” Saunders said. “So right now our demands are to have him relocate us.”
Tagged
new york city
housing
brooklyn
sanitation
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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