More than two dozen tenants of a partially collapsed Bronx apartment building are suing their landlord to complete needed repairs and put an end to what they call a long-standing pattern of harassment.
The residents of 1915 Billingsley Terrace in Morris Heights say owner David Kleiner and his associates are using construction, coercion and deplorable conditions to drive them out of their units by making the environment unbearable, according to a lawsuit filed in Bronx Housing Court Monday. The residents also say the owner is pressuring them to sign forms waiving their rights to sue, renouncing rent reductions and falsely swearing to apartment improvements — a practice first reported by Gothamist last month.
Ivan Schoop, 32, grew up in the building and said he and other members of the newly formed tenant association are demanding their right to a safe environment following the collapse in December that displaced dozens of tenants.
“If people are not held accountable, who’s to say this won’t happen again?” said Schoop, whose seventh-floor apartment was destroyed in the collapse and ensuing clean-up. “We’re just there doing what we need to do and paying our rent.”