NYC Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez

Press Release from today’s Event

Speaker Quinn, Council Member Rodriguez, HPD, Tenants and Elected Officials Demand Bad Actor Landlord Sell Neglected Properties

Washington Heights, NY-Today, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, New York State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Assembly Woman Gabriela Rosa and representatives from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Goddard Riverside SRO Law Project joined tenants of 7 dilapidated buildings in Washington Heights to demand the landlord immediately repair hazardous conditions or sell the properties to a responsible new owner.

Residents of 560 and 562 West 183^rd St. went 11 days without heat, hot water and electricity in their home, while tenants of 558 West 183^rd Street have been without electricity since February 12^th. While HPD has stepped in to ensure the services are back in place for two of the three buildings, residents are looking for a long term solution.

Residents have continued to face lapses in services, even though tenants in the buildings have paid their rent in full and on time. The landlord of the buildings has numerous outstanding violations on the buildings, including several class C violations, signifying immediate danger.

“The negligent and dirty tactics used by Mr. Juarez have no place in Washington Heights, nor anywhere else in New York City,” said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. “Yet too often we see them used to kick vulnerable residents out of their buildings. We are here today to put an end to this ill treatment and hold Mr. Juarez accountable for his negligence. These tenants deserve a landlord who follows the law and is respectful of their legal rights. Mr. Juarez’s long record of preying on immigrants must be stopped.”

“We are here today to call on this bad actor landlord to step up and take responsibility for his buildings or to sell them to someone who can,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “Every time these tenants go without heat, hot water or electricity, New Yorkers suffer at the hands of negligence.  I thank Council Member Rodriguez, HPD and my colleagues in government for coming together to help tenants find a long-term solution that will permanently improve conditions in these buildings.”

“Law-abiding tenants are shivering in the dark because their landlord won’t pay his bills," said State Senator Adriano Espaillat. "Edward Juarez’s negligence has placed his tenants’ lives in jeopardy and racked up over $100,000 in unpaid taxes, fines, and health and safety violations. If he has any sense of decency, Juarez needs to give his tenants their lives back or sell these buildings to someone that will.”

“Why must innocent rent-paying tenants suffer for the gross negligence of their landlord and why does this continue happening in Washington Heights, where residents already face a severe shortage of affordable housing and well-maintained buildings,” said Assembly Member Gabriela Rosa. “I am outraged that this living situation is allowed to continue for these unfortunate tenants–it is time for the harassment to stop. This landlord must either pay his bills immediately or sell these buildings so they can be taken on by an owner that will treat these tenants with the dignity, fairness, and respect they deserve.”

“This owner has allowed the buildings to fall into disrepair and accumulated 191 HPD and DOB violations,” said Daniel Parcerisas of the Goddard Riverside SRO Law Project. “His latest attempt to force out tenants has been to leave them without electricity for weeks in the hopes they would eventually give up and move out. This was a grave miscalculation. The tenants in these buildings were not scared into leaving their homes and instead got together, organized and sought assistance. Their determination and courage should serve as inspiration to us all as we continue in our fight to preserve affordable housing for all New Yorkers.”

“The tenants association would like to thank all city and state officials who have helped to re-establish vital services in our buildings,” said Miriam Ribera, President of the 560-562 Tenant’s Association. “But the fight is not over, we will not put our arms down; we will continue fighting the negligence of Eduardo Juarez until the quality of life we deserve is restored.

"It is always a landlord’s responsibility to keep their buildings in good repair and to ensure that their tenants have safe, clean, decent apartments,” said HPD Deputy Commissioner Vito Mustaciuolo. “By putting these buildings into the Proactive Preservation Initiative we are sending a clear message to this owner and to anybody who feels they can let their tenants live in deplorable conditions. HPD, our elected officials, and the community will use all of the enforcement tools at our disposal to ensure that the tenants get the relief and help they deserve. I thank Speaker Quinn, Councilman Rodriguez, the SRO Law Project and our partners for helping to preserve the City’s housing stock and protect our tenants.”

HPD has been active in the buildings and has been working with Council Member Rodriguez and SRO Law Project to hold the landlord accountable and to respond to the needs and concerns of the tenants. 558, 560, and 562 West 183rd Street have only 27 units in all three buildings. HPD’s division of Code Enforcement has issued a combined 157 open violations for an average of nearly 6 violations per unit. The agency has also spent more than $15,728 to perform emergency repairs at all three buildings to correct hazardous conditions, which includes recently opening accounts with Con Edison and paying to keep the power on until the tenants can establish their own accounts. HPD’s has also been active in bringing litigation against the owner in housing court, as well as supporting individual cases the tenants have filed.

HPD has placed all three buildings into its Proactive Preservation Initiative (PPI), and began initial roof-to-cellar inspections earlier this week with additional inspections scheduled. Announced in 2011 by Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, and HPD; PPI is the City’s comprehensive approach to identify buildings in deteriorating physical condition and to hold their owners accountable for bringing the properties back into good repair before their condition endangers the health and safety of residents.

Additionally, Mr. Juarez was the subject of an investigation by former Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The investigation involved a non-profit organization for immigrant legal services operated by Juarez, which was believed to be defrauding immigrants by overcharging them for services. These immigrants would pay up to $18,000 in some cases but the services paid for would have little to no effect on their status, even leading to some being deported.

2010 Article on AG investigation http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/nyregion/15immig.html