A resident shared the following with us ... about the situation for longtime residents at 438 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue...
Rent-stabilized tenants in the building have had their electricity limited thanks to landlord Stone Street Properties. We don’t have the same wattage/volts as other apartments since November.
For example, one tenant has to turn off all his lights to microwave food. Another tenant’s lights kept going out when the fuses blew out on Thanksgiving. The solution? We must call or text our super to go down to the basement to reset the circuit breaker. The poor guy has to do this several times a day. One tenant has fainting spells and had her chin cut open a few weeks ago (from fainting in her bedroom), so having to walk around in a dark home has caused her anxiety. The same tenant can't use a space heater when it's cold out because the fuse blows.
Jared Kushner's Kushner Companies recently purchased the address here as part of a 16-building/$131.5 million portfolio.
Per the resident: "We're worried that this electricity issue won't be resolved until new management takes over. It has been tough to live with limited electricity."
Of course, the Kushner Companies have not been too popular around the East Village with the allegations and subsequent media reports of tenant harassment and quality-of-life issues brought on by gut renovations in their buildings.
Previously on EV Grieve:
2 East Village buildings part of $73 million deal
Life at 438 E. 13th St.
What? No mention of somebody's new dishwasher that has what might be a 6-hour wash cycle and shakes the building? Or their AC unit that has cycled on regularly ALL WINTER? Someone's reno'ed apartment has it good. Not jealous, just saying. I think everyone in the building received an apology letter when they moved in, threw a rager on the roof, and tossed beer bottles into the light well. Yay, NYU.
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the ranting screeds about how awful rent regulation is for the poor landlords, and how the reason they have to cut the electric to these apartments is because they are losing SO MUCH MONEY by not being able to charge market-rate rents. Which Anonymous wants to be the first to step up to the plate and deliver for the obviously-financially-hurting Kushner team?
ReplyDeleteThey should call one of the channel news teams and get them out there. They love this kind of stuff. Maybe it will embarass DOB enough to get them to kick some butt.
ReplyDeleteJared Kushner is a "landlord" like George W. Bush was a "president": family stooge figurehead
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a serious fire issue. More economic terrorism against us.
ReplyDeleteI would stop by the local fire station and ask them if this could represent a fire hazard. It sounds like it to me. If so, maybe they can do something about it.
ReplyDeleteThey should contact GOLES or Brandon at Cooper Square and get help with an HP action if they haven't done so already. Take the landlord to court and make them address the issue. just calling 311 will do nothing as if they fine the landlord they will just not pay or pay and not fix the problem. There are tons of violations on tons of buildings in the hood that never get fixed because the landlords know what a joke DOB enforcement is.
ReplyDeleteContact Brandon at Cooper Square https://coopersquare.org/
ReplyDeleteFuses?? I thought everything went to circuit breakers years ago... for shafety
ReplyDeletethis happened in my building too. the bldgs overall allotment of power wasn't enough to feed all the new circuit breakers needed for the newly reno'd apts so they reduced power to the old apts. prob was they *still* didn't have enough so the new tenants' washer and dryer wouldn't work but the landlord refused to reduce the rent! eventually they had to upgrade the power to the bldg... a year later.
ReplyDeleteThe one good thing about Westminster is they are easy to contact, and publicly, with their storefront. If I were these tenants (and I have been there) I would storm their offices daily and loudly , demanding repairs, especially when they have renters signing leases in there. Make a fuss, make demands. It's at 504 E 12th St. My experience is that these aren't the most evil landlords I have ever had, but they are neglectful and slow. I believe they will fix it, but it will take time and relentless nagging. The tenants should immediately get the building inspectors in and issue the report confirming the problems, and then get down to housing court and file their action.
ReplyDeleteAre fuses not safe? I have a fuse box in my bedroom. If I use two of the outlets on one wall of my kitchen at the same time, I blow a fuse and have to flick the switches to reset the fuse.
ReplyDeleteI know very little and could be wrong but I think there is a confusion here between fuses and circuit breakers.
ReplyDeleteA fuse is a little round and colorful thingamajig, which burns out when there is an overload and needs to be replaced with a new one -- they live in a fuse box. A circuit breaker performs the same function, but instead of a fuse there is a switch that turns off the power when it is overloaded, and to return the power you flick the switch back, no purchase necessary.