Queens Crap: Building blast victims still have no gas

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Building blast victims still have no gas

More than 20 residents of Fairmont Hall in Flushing, still reeling from an explosion that tore through the building in July, have hired a lawyer to explore legal action against the building's owners in the coming weeks after spending nearly three months without gas service.

Flushing blast tenants take woes to law firm

More than two dozen residents of 147-25 Sanford Ave. crowded into a classroom at JHS 189 in Flushing Monday night to get an update on the nearly three-month span many of the building's residents have gone without gas service — a situation that climaxed on July 25 when an explosion seriously injured several tenants and demolished more than a half dozen apartments.

"We still know zero about things in the building. All of us have been through a lot," said Fairmont Hall Tenant Association President Bellanira Sanchez. "Now we are going to face our problems with a lawyer."

Several residents of Fairmont Hall have not had gas service since June 18, when a separate kitchen fire damaged one of the lines in the building. Several tenants of the building's 90 apartments have stopped paying rent and retained the services of a law firm, Bernstein & Bernstein, to potentially seek damages for the building's poor living conditions.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hey, the longer this situation
goes on, the more photo ops the Liu/Stavisky team can grab for themselves at the expense of the poor tenants they've done nothing concrete for since June!

Grandstanding is always a hell of a lot easier than hard work!

Ask their old partner
Brian Mc Laughlin who was always issuing statements in lieu of action (a tried and true Stavisky camp technique).; Sunday, September 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: True!

When a lawyer has to be hired
that means the pols haven't done shit!

Did Toby S. ask for "a chronology" of events before they'd look into the matter?

Leonard Stavisky's office always did.

Sending complaining constituents
on wild goose chases were big with them.; Sunday, September 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: Lawyers don't mean the tenants will get anything but a big bill to pay.

the tenants could put in complaints to the DHCR for reduction in services to individual apartments and the entire building themselves, save the money that they would throw away on a cheese bag Queens lawyer. No gas equals rent reduction. An interruption in an essential service is a constructive eviction which in my book means withhold the rent. If all the tenants withheld their rent until services were fully restored, do you know how fast the landlord/management company would run to get that gas back on?

There are no pro tenant lawyers in Queens County Housing Court, they have all been bought off or fired. You have only zombie drones of landlords practicing their own brand of law by the bag in Queens Housing Court. The more money in the bag for the judge the better the lawyers legal skills are, but only in that jurisdiction.Brooklyn or Manhattan will cost you more.

the tenants could go to Housing Court, put in for an Housing Preservation action, harassment action and get a restraining order on the landlord. There is no need to pay an attorney, unless of course you are a slumlord who would rather go to court than fix anything.

the local politicians are too busy praising the diversity and multi cultural make up of the neighborhood to worry about any explosion or building full of working people who can't cook at home any more.

are there any elected officials in Queens County who do anything for tenants about housing, tenants rights, landlord harassment of tenants or housing preservation?

Sometimes I think they are trying hard to kill us off by apathy.

They are all so full of crap that's why they should all get the Crapola Award; Sunday, September 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: I agree.

That doesn't mean that a lawyer will get them what they need.

But they're sure to get a hefty bill from him.

It sounds to me that the owner wants to clear his building
of a certain class of tenants
and maybe convert it into "luxury" digs....h-m-m-m ?; Monday, September 15, 2008
Anonymous said...: Connect all the the building's stoves
to Toby's ass (or mouth) and you can start cooking with gas immediately!; Monday, September 15, 2008
Anonymous said...: Of course the lawyers of these tenants who survived the gas explosion will convince them NOT to put in claims to the DHCR or HPD. no money in it for the attorneys.

They will tell the tenants that they will take care of everything, including tipping off the landlord's attorney what they plan to do and what they will ask for in court.
the tenants will kept out of the loop and in the dark.

the deal will be made in the hallway and both sides lawyers will make money, the tenants will get a fraction of the money that they are entitled to. and have to pay the lawyers for ever because he/she will not bother to ask the judge for legal fees, why should they? the tenants will pay them. Unless of course they a have educated themselves in the process, which is rather rare. With both sides lawyers trying to shut them up and shake them down, they will not know which end is up. Their lawyers will create confusion and diversion in the ranks on purpose, set tenants against each other.

and we have not even gone into the slumlord's pet, the tenant who will run to the authority figure, the beloved slumlord. You know the one who is so friendly and helpful, wants to know all about you? The one who talks alot and does nothing, that's usually the mole.

does it say who the lawyers are?

which cheese bag law firm do they work for?

hmm, let's hope I'm wrong that I'm too old and cynical having taken in the Queens air for these many years.; Monday, September 15, 2008
Anonymous said...: you're all fuckin morons; Saturday, September 20, 2008