Glendale landlord hoards tenants' trash

From CBS 2:

For tenants in one Queens building, it’s a living nightmare.

They claim their landlord hoards their trash and that the smell has caused a cascade of problems, CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez reported Sunday night.

Kathleen Midlaw is literally bugging out inside her Glendale apartment. It’s infested with gnats.

When she invited CBS2 to the building, Sanchez sensed the root of the problem — a horrible stench coming from the basement

Garbage, huge bags of it, were stacked up, wall to wall in the basement of the building on 65th Place. Midlaw and her neighbors blame their landlord, Maria Hlawaty. Tenants say she has been hoarding their garbage for years.

School cafeterias are kinda dirty

From PIX11:

Nearly half of New York City public school cafeterias have been slapped with serious health code violations, including rodents and insects, according to a new report.

More than 1,100 critical violations were found at nearly 700 cafeteria in 2017, NYCity News Service — a CUNY Graduate School of Journalism student news service — reported. About 20 percent of those citations were considered critical, which means they're more likely to contribute to food-borne illnesses.

There were mice, rats, roaches and flies.

City sends Sandy victims to unsafe housing

From CBS 2:

Victims of Superstorm Sandy who are staying in temporary housing aren’t expecting room service, but some say that they are living in shocking conditions.

“We’re victims of Sandy but we shouldn’t have to be punished because of that,” a man who identified himself as Monroe, told CBS 2′s Steve Langford.

Residents of these temporary lodgings have complained of a lack of heat and problems with infestation.

“The roaches, and a lot of it has to do with, the mice,” said one man.

Some Sandy victims have been lucky enough to be put up in hotels like the Holiday Inn and the Double Tree, but more than two dozen former residents of the Rockaways are living in a pair of run down rooming houses in the Longwood section of the Bronx.

Those two buildings have reportedly received dozens of housing code violations and have numerous fire safety problems. When CBS 2 stopped by, a smoke alarm appeared to be running on a low battery; the building’s super said that he would replace it.

And the rapid home repairs aren't what they're cracked up to be.

Woman's apartment overrun with mice

From WPIX:

While she wipes away tears, Jenny Borrero of Richmond Hill tells of the horror of having mice take over home.

“There are traps behind the stove; there is bait behind the stove; there are traps for mice everywhere in my bedroom everywhere,” Borrero said.

Mice droppings can be found in her living room. The critters are even scampering through her food.

It’s “a tribe of mice I am catching, five or six a day,” she said. “I have bins of food … in my kitchen. You keep them in bins so the mice don’t get in there. I threw out $500 worth of food,” she said.

The superintendent of the building at 87-57 108th Street had no words of comfort for Borrero.

“I don’t know what to say, the exterminator comes,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Whatever I am supposed to do I do,” he said.

The owner of the building said Borerro is the only person complaining in the entire building. He says the building is well kept and that he’s doing everything he can to combat the rodent problem.

Lots of bad landlords in the city

From NY1:

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio released on Tuesday his latest list of what he says are the worst landlords and buildings in the city.

Some 358 buildings are on the list, owned by 317 landlords.

At the top of the list of worst landlords is 1071 Home Corp, with 753 hazardous violations and five buildings on de Blasio's watchlist.

Three of the top five landlords have buildings in the Bronx, and two have buildings in Brooklyn.

Violations include lack of heat or hot water, lead paint, toxic mold or broken plumbing.

De Blasio launched the watchlist last year to publicly shame repeat offenders whose buildings don't meet city regulations.

Outing these owners, according to de Blasio, adds public pressure to have them make much-needed changes.

This year's worst building, 245 Sullivan Place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, has 654 code violations.

Residents say the problems have gone on for years, from black mold to leaking ceilings and infestations of rats, mice and cockroaches.

Shuttered Fresh Pond store bringing down the nabe

From the Times Newsweekly:

Rachel’s Garden, which was located at the corner of Fresh Pond Road and Woodbine Street in Ridgewood, closed its doors only 18 months after opening. Before the fruitstand, a medical office was briefly located there. For many years, the location was a large and successful funeral parlor—Wasmund’s, then Wasmund’s and Sorice.

Problems were touched off between the establishment and block residents when the store took the garage, located at the rear on Woodbine Street, and turned it into an additional storage room for the fruits and vegetables, when the rooms below the store became filled with too much produce.

Others in the area noted that Rachel’s Garden management also used the converted garage to store garbage, which included rotting fruits and vegetables, kept right alongside the fresh produce which they sold.

This was evidenced by the stench emanating from it which one nearby property owner described as “unbearable.”

Since being shuttered, the store has taken on a dilapidated appearance, according to area residents. The entryways to the shop have been boarded up with plywood. Some of the wooden shelves once lined with produce have been dismantled, with the pieces left lying on the sidewalk adjacent to the storefront.

Neighbors also claimed that they have seen an assortment of pests—including roaches, mice and rats— scurrying into and out of the garage and shuttered store. Complaints have been filed with various city agencies via the 311 hotline demanding action to compel the landlord and/or the defunct shop’s owner to clean up the mess.

Who's in charge here?

From the Daily News:

Neighbors of an unsightly Queens house whose overgrown yard attracts mice and insects are blasting the city for not cleaning up the eyesore.

Neither the city Health nor Sanitation departments are taking charge at 65-44 79th Place in Middle Village, the angry residents allege.

They contend the weeds tower as high as 20 feet in the front and backyard, where passersby leave garbage that attracts bees, mice, raccoons and skunks.

The Health Department said it issued a fine to the homeowner after confirming the weed problem during a July 22 inspection. The agency said it didn't see mice or much garbage during that visit.

But the Health Department also said it passed along the problem to Sanitation officials since they "have equipment to handle weeds at this site."

Sanitation Department spokesman Keith Mellis, however, called it "a Health Department issue."

"We have to wait for Health to finish their investigation and ascertain if Sanitation needs to get involved," Mellis said.

Fed up with Jackson Heights slobs

From the Queens Chronicle:

After years of watching their block’s quality of life deteriorate, in an area one resident called “one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Jackson Heights,” shareholders at Sheila Terrace, a co-op at 37-30 73 St., have had enough.

Beginning in the 1980s, Joe Galindo, who has lived at the address since 1967, started seeing tell-tale signs of change. Over the past four years, he has lodged multiple complaints with various city agencies and elected officials to try to correct the many issues plaguing the block.

Last Friday night, the residents, who, according to Galindo, paid up to $330,000 for their apartments, met in the building’s lobby to take a united stance in combating the situation and to plan a course of action.

Surrounded by grocery stores, restaurants, travel agencies, a discount household center and street peddlers, the building has become something of a mecca for the homeless, who, according to Debbie Singh, vice president of the building’s board of directors, sleep in front of the property.

“The street has gotten disgusting,” Singh said. “Because of the street vendors, people throw food and garbage on the ground. They hang out 24/7. There are squabbles. The noise is unbearable.”

She indicated that the building is getting infested with mice, a problem she called “overwhelming,” and also complained of the constant parade of cars that are double- parked in front.

“There is no peace anymore,” Singh said. “The value of the property is going down. We would like the elected officials to do something.”

Sorry, you've been there too long. They want you replaced with more vibrant, diverse residents.

Mice thrive at LaGuardia Airport

From Fox 5:

Jeffrey Stewart had just flown to New York from Atlanta last Wednesday night at about 9 p.m. He had to wait for a friend to come pick him up so he decided to go down to the airport's food court below the central terminal.

He says he purchased some food and had just sat down to eat when something caught his eye. It was several mice scurrying around the seating area.

Stewart says he noticed at least six to 10 mice running rampant through the tables. He says they were not afraid of the people in the area as they went about their search for food.

Stewart says the mice were pouring in and out of the radiators in nearly 50 year old building.