Bushwick man fed up with housing conditions organizes with tenants, creates Starr Street Association
Hunter Boone says his current apartment in Bushwick has a series of issues, including a rat infestation.
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A Bushwick man is taking action to improve his bad housing conditions - and is inspiring his neighbors to do the same.
Hunter Boone says his current apartment in Bushwick has a series of issues, including a rat infestation.
News 12 found 24 open city violations for the building, per city data. The landlord didn't respond to a request for an interview with News 12.
“I woke up to rats here this morning,” Boone said.
Two weeks ago, dozens of rats were spotted near his apartment building.
Boone, who has lived in several Brooklyn apartments, said they all had similar problems. This time, he decided to unionize his building.
“I felt like I had the skills to do what I did at the last apartment but with a better outcome,” Boone said.
Several of Boone’s neighbors have joined the effort, including tenants dealing with a hole in their apartment ceiling that went unrepaired for nearly a month. Those tenants say it was repaired Monday.
Boone is expanding his efforts to the wider neighborhood, encouraging residents to learn their rights and organize.
“Just do your research, knock on your neighbor’s door and try,” Boone said. “It’s an arena you can fight in, thanks to the resources available and the number of people dealing with the same issues. It ’s an incubator for organizing."
Boone has named the association Starr Street Association.
