Tenants living in Greenpoint’s affordable housing lottery building at 23 West Street/40 Oak Street have something special to celebrate this Thanksgiving.
Plagued for months by issues such as brown water and broken elevators, the building’s Tenants’ Association recently applied for a rent reduction, a request that the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development officially granted on November 13. All the better, the rent reduction will be retroactively applied to August 1, 2024.
“The rent reduction will apply to all 214 affordable housing units in the two buildings and will remain in effect until Halcyon Management fulfills its obligations and makes the required improvements to the building’s services,” the Tenants’ Association shared in a press release.
Greenpointers first reported on the squalid living conditions in the building, which shares two addresses as part of the luxury West Wharf complex. Tenants shared that the elevator constantly breaks down, infrequent trash pick-ups often attract vermin, and promised amenities, such as a rec room, were never delivered.
The issues alone would be one thing, but tenants say Halcyon largely ignored maintenance requests, adding insult to injury (you can see Halcyon’s response to our previous reporting here).
“The 40 Oak/23 West Tenants’ Association embodies what it means to build collective power,” said the Association’s legal counsel, Daisy Fernandez at Communities Resist, (CoRe). “This win is just one of many to come as they continue to fight together for their rights to safe and affordable housing.”
Both Assembly Member Emily Gallagher and City Council Member Lincoln Restler, whose offices have been working with the tenants, also welcomed the news on social media.
I live in a building that is severely neglected. Whenever we file a complaint with 311, the landlord gets fined, but then we’re harassed for making the complaint in the first place. Despite the fines, no real action is taken, nothing is ever really addressed. Leaks are poorly patched, and after the next rainstorm, the roof starts leaking again.
On top of the lack of housing in this neighborhood we are faced with high rents and neglected buildings.
Greenpointers, would it be possible for you to conduct an in-depth investigation into some of the neighborhood’s most problematic buildings and landlords? There’s a much larger story here that goes beyond just this one property. It is time to name names or nothing will ever change.
Hi Lisa, thanks for this comment. It’s probably beyond the scope of our resources to do a story about multiple landlords and buildings, but we’re always interested in hearing more about housing issues. You can always reach out to me at [email protected] if there’s something you’d like to share.