Bronx tenants sue slumlord

From the Daily News:

Urine in the stairwells. Moldy walls. Leaky pipes. Vermin infestation. Broken elevators.

Tenants at 1380 University Ave. in Highbridge said these are just some of the living conditions they've had to endure for years - and they've had enough.

Together with attorneys from the Urban Justice Center, 47 tenants earlier this week filed suit against their landlord in Bronx Housing Court.

"This landlord is violating tenants' rights on multiple fronts," charged tenants' attorney, Marie Tatro. "These residents live in unsafe conditions without the services they pay for."

The lawsuit alleges landlord University Residence LLC failed to address repeated complaints of broken windows, doors and cracked walls, leaking ceilings, inadequate heat and vermin infestations.

The lawsuit also alleges that after opting out of the city Housing Preservation and Development-run Mitchell Lama program in 1997, the landlord continued receiving millions in tax breaks, charged market rates for apartments that should be rent stabilized, and has illegally converted apartments.