Landlord Let NJ Apartments 'Deteriorate' To Chase Out Tenants: Lawsuit

EAST ORANGE, NJ — If you ask the tenants’ association at 75 Prospect Street in East Orange to catalog their complaints about the property, there isn’t a shortage of people willing to speak.

Erica Coleman, who moved to the 44-unit apartment complex known as “The Castle” in 2017, said that she has complained to building management about a persistent leak in her unit for years. Recently, Coleman says she was hurt when a water-damaged ceiling in her apartment collapsed, hitting her on the head and sending her to the hospital with a concussion.

Meanwhile, Carla Evans’ quadriplegic son has been living outside the unit for years. His doctors have told Evans that they couldn’t recommend that he return home because of the mold in their apartment, she says.

“I asked the landlord to get rid of the mold,” Evans said. “I have offered to move to another floor. They won’t do anything. They just want us gone.”

Coleman and Evans’ experiences at the apartment building aren’t the only problems that tenants are trying to shine a light on, according to the Rutgers Law School Housing Justice and Tenant Solidarity Clinic.

The clinic is representing the 75 Prospect Street Tenant Association – a group of 22 families who live at the building – in two lawsuits recently filed against the landlord and property managers.

According to the Rutgers Law School clinic, the historic building has a “well-documented history of neglect,” such as building-wide leaks, mold and dysfunctional elevators:

“The elevators in this eleven-story building constantly break. In July 2022, reporters visited the building after the only working elevator in the south wing had been out of service for over a month. Senior and disabled tenants with units in the South wing of the building had to use the only operable elevator at the other side of the property, then walk across the roof and down several flights of steps just to access their units. Tenants like Denise Wright, who is a senior and uses a cane, wound up essentially homebound during the two months it took to repair the elevator.”

Tenants at the building have spoken on camera in the past about living conditions, as seen in a series of videos on YouTube channel InJusticeBrickCity.

“Unacceptable,” an onlooker declares in a video titled “75 Prospect made unlivable to chase out tenants.”

THE LAWSUITS

The lawsuits announced last week accuse the property owner of allowing the building to “deteriorate as part of a plan to empty the building of tenants, who are protected by the city’s robust rent control ordinance.”

The first lawsuit asks the court to appoint a receiver to take over management of the property, collect rents, and dedicate them to repairs after “years of mismanagement.” The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) is also named in the suit as a lender for the property, Rutgers said.

The second lawsuit seeks damages for the “horrendous” conditions with which the tenants have lived, discrimination against tenants with disabilities, and for violations of East Orange’s rent control ordinance, Rutgers said.

“These East Orange families and seniors are fighting hard to defend their homes,” said professor Greg Baltz, co-director of the Housing Justice and Tenant Solidarity Clinic.

“The City of East Orange has done a tremendous job documenting the code violations at 75 Prospect and we look forward to their support in establishing the existence of these conditions before the court,” Baltz said.

“As a government-sponsored enterprise with a substantial financial stake in 75 Prospect, we also hope that the Federal National Mortgage Association will exercise their influence in the receivership lawsuit to ensure the prompt appointment of a responsible manager to make repairs,” Baltz added.

According to the Rutgers Law School Housing Justice and Tenant Solidarity Clinic, the lawsuits were filed against companies owned or managed by Ron Kutas, a co-founder of real estate company OneWall Communities.

However, OneWall Communities released a statement to ABC 7 News, denying the connection:

“OneWall Communities and its owners, including Ron Kutas and any affiliates, do not own or manage 75 Prospect in East Orange, NJ. In fact, the company, its owners and affiliates, have fully divested from East Orange and have had no business interests in East Orange since at least April 2022.”

A news release from the CBRE Group Inc. in May 2022 announced that OneWall Communities sold 75 Prospect Street to an unnamed buyer who “thoroughly recognized the uniqueness of 75 Prospect and acted quickly and aggressively to secure the deal.”

OneWall Communities sold a five-building, 301-unit portfolio in East Orange to an “undisclosed buyer” for $53 million in January 2020, Real Estate NJ previously reported.

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