579 61st Street
Tenants Association
Welcome!
It's a fact: Edward Ostad and 57961 Partners LLC are raising rents by 30%
We can not live this way.
We need to unify and fight back against Landlord Greed!
Join your Tenants Association at our next Zoom Meeting,
11 AM on March 25th, Saturday:
579 61st Street Tenants Association
Contact Us to RSVP
Sander Hicks, President
579 61st Street Tenants Association
sander@zenspacemakers.com
Or text 929 285 8602
John O’Hara, General Counsel
UPDATE: March 11, 2023- Sander Hicks is scheduled for a Court Appearance against 57961 Partners LLC - in response to their recent “Notice of Petion Holdover.” The landlord is using eviction to silence a tenant organizer. They are using eviction as a tactic to effect a reprisal against someone who has tried to improve the building for all tenants. In fact, the attorney at NY State HCR, Carl Foster, warned landlord attorney Stephen Sperber, not to use a Holdover (Eviction) Proceeding as a reprisal against Hicks, at the tenant harassment hearing that Hicks attended. We shall see, what happens next! Court Date is 3/23/23 and the Notice is here.
Minutes from the February Meeting with CouncilMember Alexa Aviles’ Staff:
At our last meeting: we were joined by several new people! We learned that more and more people are concerned about their rent stabilization status. We don’t know what the landlords will do when these one and two year leases are up. 30% rent hikes? We just can’t pay that.
But at our last meeting, we were joined by two representatives of City Council Member Alexa Aviles’ office. They promised their present and ongoing support for this struggle. (See Alexa’s letter to us, on the left.)
Alexa’s office offered these tools to help: Legal assistance, Know Your Rights workshops, and open doors to all tenants:
Alexa Aviles Office:
Address: 4417 4th Avenue,
Phone: 718.439.9012
Office hours: Mon 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Tue 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM. Wed 9:30 PM to 7 PM. Thu 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
MORE INFO:
This page is community hub for the 579 61st Street Tenants Association. Our mission is to advocate for tenants rights, for quality tenant services, and to protect rent stabilization, at 579 61st Street and in our neighborhood, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
This page will give you the latest news on what we are doing to advocate for tenant justice in our building, and to protect Rent Stabilization.
HCR Response Jan. 28, 2023
Here is the latest legal decision from NY State HCR, regarding our Complaint regarding the new landlords.
Summary:
It turns out, despite what my lease says, my apartment (unit #1A) is no longer rent-stabilized. This was bad news. The legal justification is “Major Capital Improvements” i.e. the new landlords can take my apartment out of rent stabilization, due to the improvements the previous landlord made.
To date, I have not signed any new lease. The new lease attempts to charge a 30% rent increase, from $1,600 to $2,100 per month. I am exploring other legal options. However, there may be a "Holdover Proceeding" filed against me soon, which is an eviction (but not for non-payment), because I have not signed the new lease. If this happens, I will complain that I am being retaliated against for being a community organizer.
One good thing that came out of this response from NY HCR - NY State HCR says that the new outside lights could constitute a "violation of the warranty of habitability."
PREVIOUS POST:
We have filed a Complaint with the NY State Department of Homes and Community Renewal, and this page will document that complaint. Our hearing was December, 1, 2022.
City Council Member Alexa Aviles Defends 579 Tenants!
Read Her Letter to The New Landlords!
“The residents of rent stabilized buildings have rights outlined under the New York City Rent Stabilization code of 1987. Our office stands committed to working with all tenants.”
Interesting Documents
This is the Profit and Loss Statement for the building.
This is a record of the building’s many health violations with city agencies, such as HPD. Personally, I live on the ground floor, close to the “heating oil” tank, which has had three leaks. Did you know? “Heating Oil” is actually diesel fuel, with a dye in it.
According to EcoSpill.com, “Diesel spills become a serious fire hazard if not responded to efficiently. As diesel and other petroleum are made up of toxic chemicals, they create health risks if they come into contact with groundwater.”
Here’s a recent Notice of Seizure, when National Grid wanted to repo some meters for nonpayment. Here’s the same thing recently from Con Ed.
You Are Rent-Stabilized? Are you Sure?
Is your apartment rent-stabilized? Yeah I thought I was too. I still do. The landlord and his lawyers are making some pretty crazy claims about this.
You could be next, to have the landlord’s lawyer suddenly declaring that you are not rent-stabilized.
Check to see if your apartment is rent-stabilized by calling NY HCR phone at (718) 739-6400 or by email at rentinfo@nyshcr.org.