The residents from 216 E. Fifth St. and 236 E. Fifth St. were joined by the Cooper Square Committee and Lead Dust Free NYC Coalition as well as a handful of local elected officials.
In a statement from the Cooper Square Committee:
Public records show that the Sabet Group purchased No. 236 in early 2019.
Residents of both (pre-1960) buildings have reported work performed outside of the parameters of Local Law 1 of 2004, with disregard for tenant safety. Tenant complaints include work performed by contractors without proper EPA certification, without air scrubbers running or zip covers installed on doors, nor were other measures taken to control the dispersion of construction dust from units where demolition took place.
A member of the 236 E. 5th St. Tenants Association said that the landlord "has been engaged in ongoing demolition and renovation of over 15 units, without complying with the lead dust regulations of the Tenant Protection Plan (TPP) ... thereby exposing tenants to dangerous levels of lead."
Meanwhile, No. 216 changed hands in a sale recorded last August, public records show. Tenants identified the landlord as NYU student Caspar Moll-von der Wettern.
Members of the tenants association "recounted clouds of dust and debris circulating throughout the buildings, neglected repairs, unlawful solicitation of buy-out offers and unresponsive management." (There are numerous recent complaints on file with the DOB here.)
"These two buildings on East Fifth Street, just a stone's throw from one another, tell a story which will resonate for many tenants around this city: a continuous battle for their safety and security in the face of hazardous building renovations," Yonatan Tadele, a housing organizer at the Cooper Square Committee, said in a statement.
The Lead Dust Free NYC Coalition released video highlights from the rally on June 30...
