Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Zara Vile

 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FodgmWqXEA4OXku?format=jpg&name=large

 QNS

During one of the hottest days in New York City on Thursday, July 27, Imran Patel, a Flushing resident at 140-60 Beech Ave. claimed that he and his family are facing eviction by Jamaica-based real estate company Zara Realty for putting an air conditioner in their apartment. 

“We’re in the middle of a heatwave here in NYC and they’re threatening to kick us out of our home because we want to be able to live in this heat,” Patel said. “They claim that we’re violating the lease, but nothing in the lease says that we can’t have an AC in the window. They gave us no warning — the super had even told me two years ago that it was fine, but two weeks ago we were given a notice that Zara wanted to evict us.” 

A spokesman for Zara Realty said Patel’s claims for not being able to have air conditioning in his apartment is false and is a safety concern. According to the company, the building has air conditioner sleeves and the tenant refused to install the air conditioner where it is supposed to be.

“Putting the air conditioner in the window is a significant risk to health and human safety as it could fall out of the window onto someone below causing serious injury or death,” the spokesman said. “The air conditioner sleeve is the appropriate, safest, and approved place for the air conditioner unit, not the window.”

Patel, who has been living at the apartment for 20 years, was joined by rent-stabilized tenants from two other buildings owned by Zara Realty (140-30 Ash Ave. and 140-50 Ash Ave.) at the July 27 press conference in calling out the company for alleged harassment of immigrant tenants, including asking for birth and marriage certifies, excessive fees for keys, and increasing rents by nearly $300 per month. 

“Zara has been continuously harassing us since they bought the building in 2019—there is no peace,” Patel said. “When Zara changed the locks, they only gave us one key for our family of five. We still only have one key. We have leaks and mold in our bathroom; the electrical outlets are loose and often don’t work.” 

“And I’m not the only one,” Patel continued. “They’ve started eviction cases against a few other families in the building for the same reason. I’ll fight back and I know I will win, but I also know that for every tenant like me, there’s another who would move out of fear because an eviction record can destroy your chance at finding a home.”

After two years, Maria Jenny Lopez, a tenant of 140-30 Ash Ave., was able to get a key for her brother who lives with her. Lopez claims she suffered harassment, including Zara employees on the fire escape taking pictures through her window. 

“Other tenants are still waiting for a key and are forced to pay up to $100. It’s outrageous for such a simple yet important thing. They are also asking us for marriage or birth certificates. This isn’t right. That is abuse. That is harassment,” Lopez said. 

Doug Ostling, a tenant organizer and resident of 140-50 Ash Ave., said he’s “sick and tired of Zara’s harassment tactics and attempts” to raise their rents. 

“This is our home. This is our community. We pay our rent just like everyone else, but Zara continues to harass us and treat us like pawns in their money-making schemes,” Ostling said. “They don’t make basic repairs and then try to raise our rent? Enough is enough. We just want to live peacefully and in safe and livable homes!” 

The tenants claim Zara is trying to unlawfully raise rents by filing Major Capital Improvement (MCI) applications with the NYS Department of Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR), the state agency that oversees rent-stabilized buildings in New York. 

They’re calling on DHCR to deny Zara’s applications due to building disrepairs and apply the letter of the law which prohibits MCIs while certain violations exist. 

The tenants allege that there is a lack of heat and hot water, roaches and mice infestation in the hallway and basement, leaking roofs, broken garage chutes, and security cameras they can’t access. According to the tenants, Zara’s repairs include “patchwork jobs” that quickly fall back into disrepair.

 

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is all due to climate change. If we had transitioned off gas powered cars, then there would have been no need for the ac. Focus people addressing climate change solves all.

Anonymous said...

Housing is the only industry I know of in New York State where we are forced to continually give someone a product by law without being paid for it and having no means to take back our property.

Anonymous said...

Maybe that tenant is doing other things as well that are causing quality-of-life issues for the other tenants that are paying rent.

Anonymous said...

"Immigrant tenants" We are all immigrants. 1492....

Anonymous said...

This would have unraveled long ago had the Press the slightest interest in actually reporting truth to power as they are supposed to do, without political ideology.

Anonymous said...

Jeez, this is a new one, "...garage chutes...".

GopGeorge said...

More communist anti-capitalist, anti landlord propaganda.

Anonymous said...

The Shock Troops being sent by Biden need some place for them & their fake family groups - crews- all to live. Illegal immigrants are your replacement - how do you feel now ,New Americans? Am convinced the illegals rent or borrow children and old people to use as anchor babies. While I support the tenants I want to know why the New Americans ( illegals from previous waves of invaders) always make a trash heap of where they live. Maybe the management company wants to find out who lives in the apartment when they're not on the lease and how many room mates they're exploiting. It's not farfetched that a Section 8 or Housing Link Rentals Subsidy tenant rents out rooms to tenants who unknowingly are paying two times the entire rent.The primary tenant then treats the room mates like criminals

Anonymous said...

The whole concept of "corporations" should be illegal.

Anonymous said...

More right-wing corporate thieves.

Anonymous said...

Seems like these landlords and property developers all have the same dishonest tendencies. Greedy, dishonest, ruthless and inhumane.

Anonymous said...

Rightwingers have no problem defrauding the Sheeple and the country!

Anonymous said...

Typical Trumpanzees!

Anonymous said...

Landlord is a fancy name for a thief.
Prove me wrong.

NPC_translator said...

Focus people addressing climate change solves all.

I assume this is satire because nobody could be this stupid. Or is that you, AOC?

"Immigrant tenants" We are all immigrants. 1492....

Another fallacy of our brain-dead education system. The Europeans who first arrived in North America were NOT immigrants. They were explorers, then colonizers, then pioneers. They created a civilization out of a wilderness. Once they did the hard work, THEN the immigrants came. Immigrants come to an already established civilization, indeed often to exploit it as we saw with the gigantic explosion in organized crime from the early 20th century immigrant waves.

Our current wave of ultra low quality immigrants are building nothing, creating nothing, accomplishing nothing. But they are doing a really, REALLY good job of exploiting.

Anonymous said...

Some crooked landlords can’t even run a proper insurrection!
Sad ….

Anonymous said...

The “job creators “ are such wonderful people…

Anonymous said...

This is nothing but cause and effect.
Democrat politicians, essentially made stealing legal. Why pay rent ?

Anonymous said...

Being a traitor can have consequences!

Anonymous said...

Can Zara still be a landlord if they are in Jail ?

Anonymous said...

New York Shitty is only interested in enforcing laws that carry fines so they have more money to spend on illegals and teachers unions.

Anonymous said...

I'm sending all my savings to help our real president fight these charges.

Anonymous said...

Joey said...
Someone Fact check this please: "More right-wing corporate thieves" ?

Anonymous said...

One law for the rich, one for the poor.

Anonymous said...

"The whole concept of "corporations" should be illegal."

Said the stupidest person alive.

FreedomFries Fred said...

Has this site been shut down by the deep state?

Anonymous said...

"More communist anti-capitalist"" More like Left-wing Climate thieves.
Now they're making Mr. Softee illegal? This is the last straw! Wait a minute....... those are illegal too. But Who cares ? You get what you vote for . NYC can eat frozen soy sludge or ice cream with bugs in it for all I care. Bow down to your climate gods.
Tax paying Mr Softee will be replaced by a migrant shaving a big block of ice and pouring food coloring in it.

Anonymous said...

@"Some crooked landlords can’t even run a proper insurrection!
Sad …."
No you Marxist troll are sad, very sad....
Now go back to the bottle !

Anonymous said...

The hate for Trump is way beyond just not liking someone's polices or personality. The look people get when he is just brought up in conversation is pretty crazy.

Anonymous said...

@"Typical Trumpanzees!"
Desperation is a stinky cologne.

Anonymous said...

Psychopathic & machiavellianism traits on display.
It's awkward listening to TDS suffers, trying to portray themselves as morally superior and at the same time display dark humor/empathy, morbid, hate/love ideations. Normal people don't think like that...

Anonymous said...

@"Psychopathic & machiavellianism traits on display."

Go easy on the Trumpanzees please. They know not what they do.