East Harlem tenants sue landlord over 'unbearable' living conditions
EAST HARLEM - Dozens of tenants of an apartment building in East Harlem say they are fed up with their landlord and are taking him to court.
Tenants in building 118 on East 103rd Street are demanding their landlord start making repairs, or he won't see a dime from them.
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"The landlord has forced us to suffer unbearable conditions, we have rats coming out of the toilet, heat that suffocates us, and doors that don’t even open," said Alex Maison, a tenant, and member of Community Voices Heard.
Building 118 is not the only building owned by landlord Isaac Kassirer and his firm Emerald Equity Group LLC. There are 4 other buildings on this block (112, 122, 124, and 126) that tenants say have serious violations.
Now, tenants are saying they have had enough, and on Thursday morning The Legal Aid Society and Legal Services NYC filed a lawsuit against the landlord on their behalf.
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Lawyers representing the tenants say that when renting an apartment, tenants are exchanging money for a place that meets their basic needs, including safety. They say emerald equity has failed to uphold its end of that deal.
The lawyers also say the landlord has allegedly been aware of the violations for over 6 months.
"They keep fire exits chained shut even after the city has ordered them to correct it," said Matt Latterner, an attorney for Manhattan Legal Services.
Attorneys say the law is on the tenant’s side, therefore they don’t have to pay rent.
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The lawsuit also alleges that the landlord has been stealing tenants’ security deposits.
"We are not going to see behavior change until these buildings are taken from landlords or they are arrested," said public advocate, Jumaane Williams.
Landlord Isaac Kassirer is number 72 on the public advocate's list of worst landlords in New York City.
FOX 5 NY reached out to Kassirer and his firm for comment but received no response.