{"id":991960,"date":"2026-08-09T23:20:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T23:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/991960\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T23:20:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T23:20:33","slug":"east-harlem-tenants-organize-push-for-improvements-in-foreclosed-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/991960\/","title":{"rendered":"East Harlem tenants organize, push for improvements in foreclosed building"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tenants, neighbors and housing activists rallied on Aug. 7 in front of 1569 Lexington Ave. in East Harlem<\/a>, part of the 38 building former Emerald Equity Group portfolio, shouting \u201cBuyer Beware,\u201d pushing for a new owner willing to invest and not simply focus on income.<\/p>\n

Tenants<\/a> at five Emerald buildings launched a 16-month rent strike, leading to a $500,000 settlement, for rent credits and repairs, amid Emerald\u2019s bankruptcy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the Emerald portfolio foreclosed and in receivership, residents are working to bring in a landlord who will improve conditions.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are organized,\u201d Victoria Washington, a tenant at a former Emerald Equity building on East 103rd St. and co-founder of the East Harlem Tenant Association, said. \u201cWe are prepared and we are united.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those at the rally, including many who belong to tenant associations, said they want to make sure whoever buys the buildings, possibly the entire portfolio, realizes tenants expect better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese buildings have been passed down from one slumlord to another,\u201d said Sergio Sorza, of organizing group Community Voices Heard, in what he described as a \u201ccall for accountability.\u201d \u201cIt is shameful that tenants have to live in these conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"personComplaints and violations.Photo by Claude Solnik<\/p>\n

Washington at the rally, near a banner saying \u201cBack off our Block,\u201d said various buildings in the portfolio have a long history of problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conditions are poor. We have rotting infrastructure, old boilers, malfunctioning boilers, old pipes that need to be replaced,\u201d Washington said. \u201cThey went from speculative landlord to speculative landlord, hoping to make a profit off rent-stabilized buildings and hoping the rent stabilization laws would change. And they didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents raise issues<\/p>\n

Tenants include rent-controlled, with the lowest rents, rent-stabilized, with rents frozen, and market-rate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A resident of 1569 Lexington Avenue for two years said \u201cAs long as I\u2019ve been here, there have been issues.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived here. It\u2019s downright inhumane living conditions,\u201d that tenant said. \u201cWe demand better conditions.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

A five-year tenant, who identified herself as Reg, said a pipe in that former Emerald building at 1569 Lexington, burst on the top floor, sending brown water crashing through units.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ceiling didn\u2019t collapse, but it was distended and full of water pouring over all of my belongings,\u201d Reg, who lives in a rent-stabilized apartment, said. \u201cIt immediately became unlivable. I could not stay there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana, a tenant at 1575 Lexington for three years, said there have been repeated issues with cockroaches, adding there were mice, but she was able to use concrete to seal a hole.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said last year she spent two months without gas, time without hot water, and electricity went down.\u00a0 \u201cThe apartment wasn\u2019t inhabitable,\u201d Ana said. \u201cWe were still paying rent in full.\u201d<\/p>\n

People at the rally showed videos of water pouring into the hallway of 328 East 103th Street.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Fighting for future<\/p>\n

Washington said she was \u201cstanding with my neighbors\u201d near a \u201cBack off our Block\u201d banner beside photographs of an abandoned, unoccupied apartment in the building.<\/p>\n

\"GroupTenants, neighbors and housing activists rallied on Aug. 7 in front of 1569 Lexington Ave. in East Harlem.Photo by Claude Solnik<\/p>\n

Sorza said different landlords keep the same staff so tenants see no changes, even as they change hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve seen it go from one company to another company, yet at the same time they keep the same staff,\u201d Sorza said of superintendents and managers. \u201cTo them, it\u2019s kind of all the same thing. To them, it\u2019s the same company. Nothing changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others said problems persist as they wait, in hopes that someone will take over the buildings and improve conditions.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2018m tired of keeping track of entities,\u201d said Ana, a tenant in 1575 Lexington. \u201cSince I moved here, there were three or four entities. Every time, I speak to the same person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pigeon cemetery<\/p>\n

Washington talked about a \u201cperfectly livable apartment\u201d turned into a \u201cbio hazard,\u201d referring to an abandoned apartment, which she called \u201cabhorrent and unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said they found it while canvassing, seeing apartment 25 had been turned into a wreck with holes in crumbling walls and ceilings. A look at that apartment showed gaping holes in walls, a bathtub piled with rubble and no signs of occupancy.<\/p>\n

Roy, a tenant at a former Emerald Equities building on East 106th Street, said pigeon carcasses had been removed from the abandoned apartment, which others referred to as a pigeon graveyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s shocking to see the condition of the apartment. There are holes in the wall,\u201d Roy, a tenant, said outside. \u201cI\u2019m proud to be joining this movement, so we have safe and dignified housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tenants unite<\/p>\n

Sorza said they organized some tenants and are working on the rest of the buildings, seeking to empower tenants.<\/p>\n

Mayor Mamdani in March visited a former Emerald building on East 103rd St., where tenants organized.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mamdani administration has been very supportive of our efforts to organize,\u201d Washington said, noting Mamdani passed out papers about legality of tenant organizing\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cea Weaver, executive director of the Mayor\u2019s Office to Protect Tenants<\/a>, City Limits reported, said, \u201cBuildings like these can come together to put their building on a path to stable and different ownership. And the city is proud to stand with you all today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington said they do not want \u201cother speculative landlords\u201d to buy the buildings and seek to turn a profit by taking rent without renovations.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever chooses to buy this building will continuously be held to a higher standard,\u201d the two year tenant said. \u201cThis building is organized and so are the surrounding buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington said many hope the buildings will be bought by Spatial Equity Co., a community development organization whose website says they \u201cdevelop affordable housing\u201d and other properties in \u201cunderserved neighborhoods throughout New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a proven track record of making sure buildings are up to code and stewarding buildings responsibly,\u201d Washington said.\n<\/p>\n

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