Fed-Up Flatbush Tenants Want Landlord to Fix Leaks, Mold, Hundreds of Violations

By Gabriele Holtermann, Brooklyn Paper

Flatbush tenants are demanding their landlord and the building’s management company immediately address hazardous housing violations that are negatively impacting their quality of life. They are also calling for compensation for medical expenses due to prolonged exposure to these hazardous conditions.

At a July 25 press conference, residents of 55 East 21st Street — a 60-unit property with mostly rent-stabilized apartments — said they have been dealing with an array of issues, from lead, mold, and collapsed ceilings to no heat or hot water and rodent infestations. Today, many of these issues are affecting their health.

According to New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) records, building owner John Bombson and management company J Wassser Management have been issued 570 violations since 2004, most of them in recent years. In the past two years alone, the building has received 558 complaints.

At one point, the elevator was out for six months, and tenants say they had to carry neighbors with mobility issues down the stairs to attend doctor’s appointments or get groceries.

At least 10 have been on a rent strike for the past year to pressure their landlord to fix the violations. Tenant lawyers have advised them through the process, and the rent money is being held in a savings account.

Most tenants, like rent-striker and building tenant coordinator Walter McQueen, have called 55 East 21st Street home for over 40 years. Holding a stack of HPD violations, McQueen told Brooklyn Paper that the building was pristine when he moved in 1976, and that it all changed when Bombson bought the building in 1982. McQueen said he had mold in his bedroom, affecting his health.

“I went to my primary care doctor two months ago, and she did a blood test and found out I have an allergy,” McQueen said, adding that the landlord often tells HPD that he has made necessary repairs, when he hasn’t.

“HPD is back today to check one of the violations that they’ve checked out at least three times already because the landlord says it’s been fixed,” McQueen told Brooklyn Paper. “So we get this kind of cat-and-mouse game back and forth, back and forth. Meanwhile, nothing gets done.”

Darnell Doreil’s 72-year-old mother has been a tenant for 39 years. Doreil, who grew up in the building, said he feared for his mother’s safety because the floors in her apartment weren’t level, presenting a tripping hazard, and the ceiling fell on her.

“I had to advocate for her to rent strike on her behalf because I’ve watched the population of the tenants of this building get older, my mother as well,” Doreil said.

Doreil pointed out that some tenants have used their money and time to repair issues in their apartments, like Calvin Baldwin, who fixed the kitchen plumbing in his apartment.

“At this point, we’ve all reached a capacity [where] we don’t want to do that anymore,” Doreil said. “It doesn’t make sense to invest in a building where the landlord is not keeping up their end of the bargain.”

Long-term tenant leader Keisha went on a rent strike because she said a lease is a contract, and while she was paying rent, the landlord refused to make necessary repairs.

Keisha’s apartment, where she lives with her kids, has mold and lead. She had her kids tested for lead and will have to continue to have them tested regularly.

Cheryl Goddard has been a resident for 50 years. She said it was a “good building” until the owner changed.

In addition to lead complaints, Goddard has reported a mold odor seeping into her second-floor apartment from the unit below her, which has been vacant for years.

“I called management, no response,” Goddard alleged. “I spoke to the super; he does not want to go [in there] because of health issues.”

Pointing at the peeling paint at the front entrance and the dilapidated railings, Goddard said, “Nothing is being done, but I’m paying my rent. Where is my service? If I don’t pay my rent, he’s taking me to court. I’m truly fed up with them at this point.”

Calvin Baldwin, a tenant since the late ’80s, told Brooklyn Paper that on December 5, 2023, at 5:30 a.m., water was leaking from the bedroom ceiling, the bathroom walls and ceiling, and the outlets. He called the fire department, which turned off the power due to the unsafe situation. The ceiling in the bedroom collapsed, leaving a hole about 6 feet by 4 feet wide. Baldwin said he could have been hit by the debris.

Baldwin said the landlord and the management never responded, and HPD eventually made the necessary repairs.

“We always had rats, roaches, leaks, mold,” Baldwin said. “[Bombson and J Wasser Management] don’t do anything. It gets frustrating, but I usually don’t back down because I understand the court system.”

Baldwin, who was taken to housing court by Bombson over money he supposedly owed — and won the case — stressed the importance of keeping records and documenting hazardous apartment and building conditions.

“You have to keep your receipts, and that’s something tenants need to understand,” Baldwin said. “You have rights. As one of my fellow attendees said, a lease is a contract. I’m holding up my end of the contract. You’re not!”

Shahelle Martinez, community organizer of the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, said there has also been significant tenant harassment.

“I have a couple of tenants who have come to me from the building who are actively organizing, saying they’re being threatened with court action for money they don’t owe,” Martinez said. “The landlord often uses frivolous non-payment cases to intimidate tenants from organizing.”

J Wasser Management did not respond to Brooklyn Paper’s request for comment.

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

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