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This is unacceptable, and I am very proud of Attorney General Letitia James for her work to hold Chestnut Holdings accountable., Many of my Bronx constituents have been exposed to dangerously high levels of lead paint in their homes, putting young children at risk, said State Assemblymember Kenny Burgos. NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. See some of the wonderful letters we have received from our tenants over the years expressing appreciation for various matters. Lead paint has been found in approximately 43 percent of all of New York dwellings. 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.. The following day, a tester from the NYC Human Rights Commission inquired about the same apartment that the plaintiff has. Harvey Lindo, 68, is another plaintiff in the case against Chestnut. She's passionate about the future of work and helping Latin American freelancers achieve time, location, and financial freedom. )D The Office of Attorney General does not make any promises, assurances, or guarantees as to the accuracy of the translations provided. However, the "Google Translate" option may assist you in reading it in other languages. Recently, a lawsuit on behalf of eight housing voucher recipients was filed against Chestnut Holdings in the Manhattan Supreme Court. Chestnut also works to make a positive impact on surrounding neighborhoods by providing cleaner, safer housing options and reliable service to tenants at reasonable rental rates. The lawsuit, filed in October 2021, alleged that Kiggins and Endzone endangered the health of its tenants, primarily children, by repeatedly violating lead paint CHESTNUT HOLDINGS INC.; 1425 U LLC; and JONATHAN WIENER, Defendants. And we greatly appreciate the attorney generals willingness to pay attention to the call for action from local stakeholders, including Families for Lead Freedom Now, and to pursue a bright line against childhood lead poisoning in Syracuse.. Lead paint exposure is a dangerous scourge on New Yorks communities that disproportionately impacts our Black and brown children, said Attorney General James. WebNew York, commenced this action on February 27, 2020 against defendant Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc. (Chestnut) pursuant to New York Executive Law 63(12) I applaud Attorney General James for taking swift action to hold landlords and management companies accountable that put their tenants at risk. quoteRotator.delay=5;quoteRotator.fadeDuration=1;quoteRotator.fadeoutDuration=2;quoteRotator.quotesInit(); At Chestnut Holdings, we value our relationships with our tenants and are dedicated to building and preserving our tenant communities. There is no excuse for landlords failing to abide by the law and protect the health of their tenants.. We must build on the attorney generals work to make sure everyone is safe from this avoidable neurotoxin., It is great justice that Chestnut Holdings is being held accountable for their actions, that primarily affected families in the Bronx, said New York CityCouncil Member Eric Dinowitz. Veritas $450M loan default: A sign of things to come? Any landlord or group that fails to address properties that contain these dangerous levels of lead need to be held accountable, and I commend the Attorney General for taking action., I have seen the impact of lead poisoning on members of my own family, and one of my proudest moments as a legislator was the creation of a pilot program to expand educational intervention services for children who suffer from lead poisoning, said Erie County Legislature Chair April N. M. Baskin. Topics you care about, straight to your inbox. New York State has the highest percentage of buildings built before 1950 in the nation. All rights reserved. This is the second time the property management company is being sued for housing discrimination. Understanding Recent Changes to New Yorks Gun Laws, Endzone Properties Barred from Owning or Managing RentalProperties in New York, Must Pay $215,0000, Landlord Failed to Maintain Lead-Safe Conditions in Rental Properties,Resulting in At Least 18 Children Poisoned With Lead. Our children deserve to live in safe and healthy homes, not dangerous and poisonous ones. This is incredibly pervasive in New York City. We are fortunate to have Letitia James in our corner as Attorney General. 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. The State of New York, its officers, employees, and/or agents shall not be liable for damages or losses of any kind arising out of, or in connection with, the use or performance of such information, including but not limited to, damages or losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy of any such information, or damages incurred from the viewing, distributing, or copying of such materials. The landlords frequently allowed paint on their properties to deteriorate to the point of being a lead hazard instead of preventing deterioration of paint, as required by local and state building codes, and only addressed the lead hazard after a lead-poisoned child was discovered. Some of the worst landlords in our city put the health and safety of New Yorkers at risk to protect their own profits, and Chestnut Holdings is near the top of my office's list, said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Endangering a child in the place they are supposed to feel most secure is the worst form of exploitation., We have been working hard to protect families from lead paint poisoning in Erie County and I thank the Attorney General for bringing this lawsuit against scofflaw landlords who refuse to do their part in the fight, said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. Lead paint in residential housing has been a pervasive problem for decades, particularly in New York. WebOn 06/13/2020 KOU, SHIN MING filed a Small Claim - Other Small Claim lawsuit against CHESTNUT HOLDINGS OF NEW YORK INC.This case was filed in Queens County Courts, Queens County Civil Court located in Washington, New York. 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. Anyone relying on information obtained from Google Translate does so at his or her own risk. As we have seen with the tragedy in Flint, Michigan, lead can pose a serious safety issue with devastating effects on our most vulnerable populations. Please click on the link below to access our payment processing portal- provided through ClickPay http://login.clickpay.com/chestnutholdings Additionally, Chestnut Holdings repeatedly certified, in new leases, that it had complied with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Acts turnover requirements, even though it had not done so. In October 2000, partnerships comprising Lenfest and several other individuals involved in the Philadelphia real estate scene, along with a related entity This action by Attorney General James holds those who have repeatedly violated housing codes accountable and protects the health and safety of our children., Lead exposure continues to be a very real problem across New York state, and our children are suffering long-term as a result, said StateSenator Tim Kennedy. 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. This seems to be the case with Chestnut Holdings. It produced thousands of pages of documents and information, and continued to offer more evidence of compliance. On February 6, 2018, Plaintiff Huggins filed a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court Southern District of New York against CHESTNUT HOLDINGS OF NEW 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. The New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act requires owners of apartments and houses built before 1960 to take critical safety measures to prevent lead poisoning in children tenants. Back in 2018, a woman sued Chestnut Holdings for failing to accept her Section 8 housing voucher. The OAG has been active in holding landlords and property managers accountable for violating childhood lead poisoning prevention laws in New York. The art will continue to hang in the building lobby for all residents to enjoy. Since 2017, OAG hasfound that the group violated the law in other ways, such as: The poisoning of children from lead paint in aging rental housing is an ongoing national public health crisis, but is of particular concern within New York, and especially the Buffalo region. Back in The refusal to accept the voucher came at a troubling time for Morrison, who had recently been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This seems to be the case with Chestnut Holdings. Exposure to lead paint in our aging housing stock puts children in grave jeopardy and our future at risk. This matter is being handled by the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York Attorney Generals Office and is led by Assistant Attorneys General Matthew Eisenson and Patrick Omilian, Special Assistant Attorney General Marissa Lieberman-Klein, Environmental Scientist Jennifer Nalbone, Science Interns Meredith Seibold and Serena Labrecque, and GIS Intern Gregory Welter. Select a Language Below/Seleccione el Idioma Abajo. This group of landlords and property managers put low-income Buffalo communities at extreme risk, and today we are holding them accountable. Attorney General James thanks Erie County and the city of Buffalo for their partnership and for providing critical information for this complaint. We see it in landlords big and small., Mallery Morrison, 39, is one of the plaintiffs in the case. Her commitment to investigating and identifying these individuals demonstrates her dedication and commitment to defending the most vulnerable members of our society., The fact that the city of Buffalo will be joining in this lawsuit as a co-plaintiff in this case is major, said Buffalo Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski. 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. Since 2012, 87 percent of all lead poisoned children in Onondaga County were from Syracuse. I look forward to continuing to work with the attorney general and our colleagues at all levels of government, to prevent these types of abuses going forward., Access to safe housing is a human right. A separate federal investigation of lead levels in private apartments that receive Section 8 benefits is ongoing. Follow her on Linkedin to learn more. James says at this point, there is no evidence of children being sick. Lead paint has been found in approximately 43 percent of all of New York dwellings. These include annual inspections and ensuring that an apartment is code compliant when a tenant moves into their new home. According to a 2018 study, the city of Buffalo suffers from some of the highest rates of childhood lead exposure in the nation from poor housing conditions in old homes with lead paint. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that in 2017, 715 children in Erie County under six years of age tested with blood lead levels between 5 and 9 g/dL, and 415 children tested with blood lead levels of 10 g/dL or higher. In the state of New York, its illegal for landlords to deny housing to voucher recipients. Understanding Recent Changes to New Yorks Gun Laws, AG James Takes Action to Protect Tenants from Lead Poisoning, Files Lawsuit Against Bronx-based Property Management Corp for Violations of NYC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. A group of eight New Yorkers is suing a Bronx real estate company for allegedly refusing to accept housing vouchers as rent payment. aZQYN{2}hh@HK!6hvy%o);QnTy8+O'hNiMV\oyr%*;eZ=qW*^t:%PnOLi).d: 4{9UYQdOEix.4a:lEL&J?|HWR(zNLy94oMeu5KiEpyGVO4,W %7,K (5ioR#X ~Pl ql+zO] 9 00X=f[Pz@?}}^V Fqr'T6$;ry,I|q4\ ]U**ccpX4U]UE~"i$>(0-&YD-i9j_2")O-m rAyR{ Chestnut Holdings is a family-owned real estate investment and management firm of properties throughout New York City. This is the second time the property management company is being sued for housing discrimination. On February 6, 2018, Plaintiff Huggins filed a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court Southern District of New York against CHESTNUT HOLDINGS OF NEW YORK INC.; 1425 U LLC; and JONATHAN WIENER, individually, (collectively, where appropriate, as Defendants), alleging upon knowledge as to himself and his own actions and upon information and belief as to all other matters, as follows: Plaintiff Huggins worked for the Defendants, a family-owned real estate investment and property management firm, as a superintendent from 2009 until Defendants terminated his employment on May 11, 2018 in retaliation for filing this lawsuit in February 2018. In addition, no apartments In February 2020, Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc., a property management corporation, for failing to comply with provisions of New York Citys lead poisoning prevention law. Chestnut Holdings manages more than 6,000 apartments in approximately 134 buildings, most of which are located in the Bronx. Children under the age of 6 are more likely to be exposed to lead than any other age group, as their normal behaviors could result in them chewing lead paint chips; breathing in or swallowing dust from old lead paint that gets on floors, windowsills, and hands; and lead can be found in soil, toys, and other consumer products. Last week, she reached a pre-suit agreement with A&E Holdings to ensure that children living in its NYC apartments are protected from dangerous lead-based paint. Todays complaint alleges that Chestnut Holdings engaged in repeated illegal acts under Executive Law 63(12) violating several provisions of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, including failing to inspect apartments to determine if a child under six 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. Children who have been exposed to even very low levels of lead are at risk for neurological and physical problems during critical stages of early development. NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. From 2018-present, the eight plaintiffs in the case experienced a range of discrimination from brokers and agents employed by Chestnut Holdings. The Bronx rental management company firmly denies the accusations, claiming they have hundreds of tenants currently paying for rent in vouchers. Additionally, in September 2020, Attorney General James 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 accumulate in their rental properties. Chestnut purchased its first building in the Bronx in 1997, and still owns that property today a testament to the firms long-term commitment to enhancing and effectively managing its properties. 2 3-4, Too many suffer from a lifetime of avoidable debilities here in New York City. We have met with the staff personally to The Environmental Protection Bureau is a part of the Division of Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux, and all under the oversight of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy. Lead poisoning in Onondaga County occurs predominantly within Syracuse, and disproportionately harms low-income communities and communities of color. 3136 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<31CF17F26827B64D9D1C3BD947307B0A><1127F07792CB7B4EA4E7A2D6EC3485F1>]/Index[3118 28]/Info 3117 0 R/Length 89/Prev 699633/Root 3119 0 R/Size 3146/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream All rights reserved. Additionally, Chestnut Holdings has repeatedly certified in new leases that it has complied with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Acts turnover requirements, even though it had not done so. This particular plaintiff was forced to remain in a homeless shelter for seven more months after the incident with Chestnut. However, the "Google Translate" option may assist you in reading it in other languages. If any individual is or has previously been an employee of the Defendants named in the lawsuit and/or has information that may be relevant to this case, please contact Borrelli & Associates, P.L.L.C. The residents in Broadway-Fillmore, and throughout the entire city, have been held hostage for decades by slumlords who have left housing stock uninhabitable and detrimental to the health, safety, and sustainability of our neighborhoods. Throughout Plaintiffs employment, Defendants willfully failed to pay Plaintiff the overtime wages lawfully due to him under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL). 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. 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, which requires property owners to take several critical measures to prevent children under six from being exposed to paint with dangerously high levels of lead. Exposure to lead paint in our aging housing stock puts children in grave jeopardy and our future at risk, James said in a statement. Tens of thousands of rental properties in Buffalo that were constructed before 1978 contain lead paint which, if not properly maintained and managed, can cause lead poisoning. The health code thus requires lead paint to be enclosed with a rigid surface, such as drywall. The New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act requires owners of apartments and houses built before 1960 to take critical safety measures such as identifying apartments where children under six live, conducting annual investigations of those apartments for hazards that are conducive to lead poisoning, and remediating those conditions where they occur. This Google translation feature is provided for informational purposes only. 3118 0 obj <> endobj Inspect for and remediate any and all lead paint hazards when tenants vacate apartments. NYC workers forced to strip as boss hunted for stolen cash, lawsuit says. 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.. Morrison said she was devastated and humiliated by the experience. Each plaque displays an artists hand drawing of the tree along with a brief written description that includes related botanical, practical and historical content. Todays agreement, negotiated in partnership with Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse, permanently bans Kiggins and Endzone from managing or owning residential rental properties in the state of New York. Russell Shank, a lawyer for Chestnut Holdings, says they didnt receive applications from seven of the eight people in the lawsuit.