For 20 years, Wanda Martinez said she watched her rent-stabilized Jackson Heights apartment deteriorate as her landlord refused to address the worsening conditions.
Martinez and her neighbors said their building regularly had mold, broken windows and broken elevators, which often trapped senior tenants inside the building.
But in 2022, the nonprofit Catholic Migration Services approached Martinez and asked her to be a leader of a tenant association for her building and help bring a lawsuit against their landlord. Martinez and CMS organized her neighbors and compelled their landlord in court to start repairs. Within the year, Martinez said, repairs began…