Crown Heights tenant pushed to the brink after years of leaks and violations
58-year-old Ansel Pitcairn says water has been leaking inside his Sterling Place apartment for two years.
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A Crown Heights tenant says he has reached his breaking point after years of severe apartment conditions and repairs that never last and he’s now turning to News 12 for help.
“When I first heard it, I thought it was raining outside until I realized that it was inside the apartment,” said tenant, Ansel Pitcairn.
58-year-old Ansel Pitcairn says water has been leaking inside his Sterling Place apartment for two years.
“Right now, I have a plastic bag taped up over the hole,” Pitcairn said.
Pitcairn says the building’s superintendent patched the bathroom ceiling with drywall in January, but water has since poured through the same hole twice.
“Every time something is plastered over, it just leaks and eventually starts coming down again,” the Crown Heights man said.
He says he’s had to miss work waiting for his super or HPD to show up. He also says basic daily routines have become difficult including showering.
“I pour several buckets of water, fill them up and take turns with the buckets.”
He has filed dozens of complaints with 311 and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
When News 12 visited the apartment, another ceiling hole was seen dripping into a bucket in a spare bedroom.
“I am at my wit’s end in wondering just why, after such a long period of time with such obvious issues in your face, what’s holding them back from fixing it?”
According to city records, the building has 23 Department of Buildings violations and 435 open HPD violations.
Property records show the building is owned by Zohov Realty. Pitcairn says he pays rent to a P.O. box connected to the company, but there is no direct contact information online and News 12’s attempts to reach anyone associated with the owner were unsuccessful.
“I literally feeling like I’m paying to be tortured,” Pitcairn said.
The Department of Housing Preservation and Development says it is aware of the issues.
They sent News 12 the following statement, “Every New Yorker deserves a safe place to call home and HPD’s enforcement team takes that responsibility very seriously. HPD is aware of the issues in this building, and we have issued multiple violations. We are addressing emergency conditions through our Emergency Repair Program (ERP) which allows us to hire contractors to conduct repair work and bill the property owner. Our immediate priority is ensuring that the tenants have a safe place to live.”
The building is also part of the city’s Alternative Enforcement Program for serious, repeated violations. HPD says inspectors plan to visit the apartment this week.
