NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. The OAG also found that Kiggins and Endzone engaged in repeated illegal and fraudulent acts by either not providing federally required lead disclosures or providing materially false and deceptive lead disclosures to tenants and purchasers of Endzoneproperties. In addition, since 2013, at least 63 of these houses have been cited by county and city inspectors for housing code violations, either for conditions conducive to lead poisoning, which are prohibited by the Erie County Sanitary Code, or for chipping, peeling, or deteriorating paint, which is prohibited by both the county and city. Select a Language Below/Seleccione el Idioma Abajo. 516- ABOGADO (226-4236) This highly toxic metal causes serious and irreversible harms, and I am committed to ensuring that landlords follow the laws to protect young children from lead poisoning.. WebChestnut Holdings of New York is a family-owned real estate investment and property management firm with a long track record of successful, responsible and reliable Childrens lives and futures are a stake in this ongoing effort, and the actions we take today will help to safeguard our youth and punish those who would harm them., Families living in Buffalos older, distressed properties are disproportionately vulnerable to the serious health consequences of lead poisoning, said U.S. Representative Brian Higgins. Exposure to lead paint in our aging housing stock puts children in grave jeopardy and our future at risk, James said in a statement. Todays announcement is welcome news and communicates a strong message of just how intolerable it is to promise the safety of a place to live only to deliver danger. When the tester revealed they would be paying rent with employment-based income, the broker promptly forwarded the necessary documents to get the rental process started. Im thankful to the Office of the Attorney General for using its power to protect some of the most vulnerable children in our community, and I look forward to continuing to work with all of our partners to address this important issue., We thank Attorney General Letitia James for pursuing this important case, said Paul Ciavarri, community organizer, Legal Services of Central New York. Chestnut workers (from left) Francisca Orduna, Luis Dominguez, Maria Orduna, Teodoro Santos are suing over their April 5 ordeal. We will continue to pursue enforcement through our own litigation and with partners like the attorney general, who utilize the work of our inspectors and lead-based paint enforcement teams to identify and audit buildings where lead-based paint regulations are not followed. I thank Attorney General James for taking on one of the largest slumlords in Buffalo and holding them to account for their negligence., Recognizing that approximately 80 percent of Buffalos children with elevated blood lead levels live in rental singles and doubles, the Buffalo and Erie County Lead Safe Task Force has been linking arms with partners in the city, county and New York state to eradicate lead poisoning in many ways, said Cara Matteliano, senior director, Policy and Strategic Partnerships, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, convener of the Buffalo & Erie County Lead Safe Task Force. We have met with the staff personally to In 2013 Chestnut acquired the Shalom Aleichem Houses, three distressed properties made up of 15 buildings, in Van Cortland Village in the Bronx. In New York City it has been found in 43 percent of all dwellings. A property manager overseeing more than 6,000 apartment units in 134 buildings in New York City has been noncompliant with lead-paint regulations, state One project we have been working on cultivates environmental awareness by designating a specific tree or plant name and installing a custom made hand crafted bronze plaque on the property faade. 216(b). Property owners and managers that knowingly rent substandard units to low-income residents ought to be punished to the full extent of the law. On 08/24/2021 Chestnut Holdings, Inc filed a Contract - Other Contract lawsuit against TH Exploration, LLC.This case was filed in U.S. District Courts, West Virginia Northern District Court. )D Chestnut Holdings will pay $300,000 to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for initiatives to protect children from lead poisoning and ensure that all of its more than 6,000 apartments throughout New York City are in full compliance with the law. Chestnut Holdings has recently come under fire for allegedly turning away tenants with housing vouchers. Hopefully, legal actions like this one will send a message to others who might choose to ignore lead poisoning prevention laws that such behavior will not be tolerated. 3145 0 obj <>stream Sticker shock: Ranking South Floridas priciest residential rentals, Here are Chicago's top 10 construction permits issued in May. OPINION & ORDER. I commend Attorney General Letitia James for filing suit against landlords who have so flagrantly ignored the laws we have put in place to protect our children. The group also consistently violated federal lead disclosure requirements by providing either no lead disclosure statement to tenants or false disclosures, which stated that the landowner had no reports of lead paint or lead paint hazards, when in fact there were multiple reports of lead paint and lead paint hazards regarding the residences. Determine in which of its apartments children under 6 live; Conduct an annual investigation for lead paint hazards in all of its apartments where children under 6 live; Resolve any and all lead paint hazards identified in these inspections within 90 days of the annual investigation; and. Upon revealing that she would be paying her rent with the voucher, the broker shut down the conversation and said, Oh, were not taking those.. Lead poisoning in New York City is highest among children of color and children living in high-poverty neighborhoods. The CDC recommends that children with blood lead levels higher than 5 g/dL undergo case management to prevent further exposure and to avoid reaching a level that requires medical intervention. The OAGs investigation into Chestnut began in 2018 and determined that the company engaged in repeated violations of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, including failing to inspect apartments to determine if a child under 6 years of age lives there, failing to conduct complete annual investigations of apartments for hazards that are conducive to lead poisoning, and failing to take the necessary measures when an apartment turns over. It is wrong and unacceptable. Morrison said she was devastated and humiliated by the experience. The event brought out close to 100 volunteers who enjoyed a great The event brought out close to100 volunteers who enjoyed a great day of helping to beautify and restore Claremont Park. The building in front of which the attorney general selected to announce the lead lawsuit, 1515 Macombs Road, has exactly zero lead violations. In the state of New York, its illegal for landlords to deny housing to voucher recipients. All New Yorkers deserve to live in a safe and healthy home, and this is a great step in ensuring that our tenants are protected from lead exposure., Lead is a serious public health issue that, if not properly addressed, can lead to life altering medical complications for young children and families living in New York City, said New York CityCouncil Member Vanessa Gibson. Students from P.S. Data also shows that Black children are twice as likely as white children to have elevated blood lead levels almost 23 percent of Black children in Onondaga County tested for lead had dangerous levels of lead in their blood, while less than 11 percent of white children tested had dangerous blood lead levels. We must prevent exposure to lead by taking bold and consistent steps to protect families., We thank New York Attorney General Letitia James for bringing this significant lawsuit," said Sonal Jessel, policy and advocacy coordinator, WE ACT for Environmental Justice. The case status is Pending - This agreement with Endzone Properties is proof of that collaboration, and I thank the attorney general and her team for their partnership in this effort., The message is clear: Landlords who repeatedly put children and families at risk of lead poisoning are not welcome in the City of Syracuse. endstream endobj 3119 0 obj <>/AcroForm 3137 0 R/Lang( E N - U S)/MarkInfo<>/Metadata 219 0 R/OCProperties<>/Outlines 289 0 R/OutputIntents 3115 0 R/PageLayout/OneColumn/Pages 3099 0 R/StructTreeRoot 326 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 3120 0 obj <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 3121 0 obj <>stream Cant Get Into the Infamous Rolfs Christmas Bar? We see it in landlords big and small., Mallery Morrison, 39, is one of the plaintiffs in the case. Every family deserves to live in a home free of lead hazards, and I will work to ensure that happens.. The suit alleges that Chestnut Holdings has put the health of its tenants at risk by repeatedly violating the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, %%EOF Lead poisoning is a serious and immediate problem, particularly in New York. Chestnut is a hands-on owner-manager that acquires, manages and improves multifamily properties throughout New York City. The refusal to accept the voucher came at a troubling time for Morrison, who had recently been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The passage of the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act in 2004 made it possible to systematically and equitably erase lead hazards in housing across the city and promised to end childhood lead poisoning by 2010. The lawsuit, filed in February 2020, alleged that Chestnut Holdings put the health of its tenants, primarily children, at risk by repeatedly violating New York Citys lead poisoning prevention laws, which require landlords to take critical measures to prevent children under 6 years old from being exposed to paint with dangerously high levels of lead. This particular plaintiff was forced to remain in a homeless shelter for seven more months after the incident with Chestnut. Bronze in the Bronx- Visually and culturally enhancing the neighborhood with plaques, Chestnut Holdings and Dream Yard Project team up for Bronx Arts Festival, Chestnut employee featured in international magazine bringing acclaim to company Belong Magazine, Historic Sholem Aleichem Complex in the press- New York Times, South Bronx- A MAGICAL PLACE says Anthony Bourdain of CNN- New York Post, Volunteers and community cleanup Claremont Park Bronx Times. A group of eight New Yorkers is suing a Bronx real estate company for allegedly refusing to accept housing vouchers as rent payment. The health code thus requires lead paint to be enclosed with a rigid surface, such as drywall. What Is A Loft Apartment and Why Do I Need One? Attorney General James thanks Erie County and the city of Buffalo for their partnership and for providing critical information for this complaint. This is extremely troubling for Black/African American communities because we know from national studiesthat Black children living below the poverty line are twice as likely to suffer from lead poisoning as poor white children. NYC workers forced to strip as boss hunted for stolen cash, lawsuit says. This matter was supervised by Environmental Protection Bureau Chief Lemuel M. Srolovic. Protecting the health and safety of our tenants should always be our number one priority., Attorney General Letitia James deserves high praise for this important victory protecting New Yorkers against lead poisoning, said New York CityCouncil Member Robert Cornegy. Harvey Lindo, 68, is another plaintiff in the case against Chestnut. The Office of Attorney General's website is provided in English. We uncover insider info about living in NYC and keep you updated on everything from tantalizing experiences and eats, to iconic stories and urban legends. Bronx-based Chestnut, which has more than 6,000 units across 134 buildings, mostly in the Bronx, repeatedly failed to conduct annual inspections or remediate apartments where young children lived, even when it was asked to do so, according to court papers. This action is brought to recover unpaid minimum and overtime wages owed to Plaintiff and other similarly situated employees of the Defendants, in addition to damages for Defendants failure to provide required wage notices and statements. Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. This is the second major action that Attorney General James has taken in the past week to hold landlords accountable for failing to comply with New York Citys lead paint laws. During this same period, at least 32 Endzone properties were flagged by the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County for chipping, peeling, deteriorating paint, and other conditions conducive to lead poisoning, which are prohibited by county and city laws. Whether it be our local executive order that withholds rent payments to landlords knowingly exposing their tenants to lead or investing millions of dollars in lead remediation just in 2022, Onondaga County is fully committed truly solving the lead issue plaguing our community, said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon. The OAG will continue to work with them and other dedicated local partners to continue to make progress in combatting childhood lead poisoning in the region. In September 2020, she sued a group of Buffalo individuals and companies for repeated violations of city, county, state, and federal laws by illegally allowing lead paint-related hazards to proliferate in their rental properties. Op. We need the ongoing assistance of every level of government to protect tenants from property owners who arent addressing lead hazards. The suit alleges that Chestnut Holdings has put the health of its tenants at risk by repeatedly violating the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, NEW YORK New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc., a property management sued a group of Buffalo individuals and companies for repeated violations of city, county, state, and federal laws by illegally allowing lead paint-related hazards to proliferate in their rental properties. Last Updated on 12 months by Vivian Tejada, The best of the city, straight to your inbox, 8 New Yorkers Sue Chestnut Holdings for Housing Discrimination. They neglect their properties with no regard for the families who live there, subjecting them to substandard housing and a substandard quality of life. I thank our attorney general for putting our children first and ensuring that a message is sent to all landlords, that neglectful and dangerous behavior will no longer be accepted., Not only is New York Attorney General Letitia James holding criminally negligent landlords accountable for putting the health of our children at risk, but she is also using funds from these fines to protect other children from toxic lead poisoning, said Sonal Jessel, policy director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice. I thank Attorney General James and our partners at Onondaga County for helping us put a stop to the bad practices of John Kiggins and Endzone Properties once and for all, said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. Understanding Recent Changes to New Yorks Gun Laws, Chestnut Holdings Will Pay $300,000 for OAG Programs to Protect Children From Lead Poisoning, Ensure All Apartments Are Fully Compliant With NYC Lead Laws, Second Major Action by AG James in a Week to Protect NYC Children From Lead Paint, Hold Bad Landlords Accountable.