Tenants of Rutland Plaza in Brownsville marched to Brooklyn Supreme Court on Thursday to protest imposed rent hikes despite worsening housing conditions.
Residents at Rutland Plaza, a five-building housing complex, described a pattern of mismanagement and neglect by their landlord, Robyn Lucas-Cora, and her affiliates, 93rd St Associates L.P. and The Amistad Management Corp. Despite receiving government funding for repairs in 2016, the residents say their landlord failed to address critical issues, including dealing with raw sewage floods in apartments, as well as mold, smoke and rodent infestations, according to a press release.
The tenants, represented by Legal Services NYC’s Tenants Rights Coalition, have filed suit against the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) for approving rent increases of up to $1,000 per month while allowing their landlord to continue neglecting essential repairs.
“It’s egregious the rent increases they’re putting on us while we live in disrepair,” said Larissa Assogba, a tenant. “The condition of the building is horrible. It was developed as a Mitchell-Lama rental which means it was supposed to provide quality, affordable housing for folks in Brownsville. But DHCR has failed to hold our landlord accountable and the building has fallen into disrepair. We demand an explanation for why they would allow this.”
Kyla Raskin, an attorney with Legal Services NYC, said the group is challenging DHCR’s abandonment of its own rent determination regulations, which she described as a black-box process that allows landlords of Mitchell-Lama and subsidized housing properties to exploit tenants while pocketing public funds.
“We are not just arguing that the rent increase makes this ‘affordable’ housing unaffordable—which it does—nor are we just arguing that it’s outrageous to force tenants to pay $700-$1000 a month more while they endure black mold and standing raw sewage, although of course it is,” she said. "Our clients are taking a stand to demand safe, livable housing and to hold DHCR accountable for its failure to protect low-income tenants.”
