Bed-Stuy Tenants Sue To Replace Landlord After Years Of Neglect

BED-STUY, N.Y. – Tenants of a Bed-Stuy rent-stabilized building have filed a lawsuit seeking to replace their landlord with a private administrator after they had been “effectively abandoned” and neglected by the current owners, according to court records.

Six of the nine tenants at 201 Pulaski St., who are being represented by the Legal Aid Society, have filed a 7A petition on April 17 to replace non-profit Food First Housing Development Fund Company, Inc as its landlord.

A 7A petition allows the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development or a group of tenants to petition the court to appoint an administrator if the building is being neglected by its landlord.

“Our clients and all tenants at 201 Pulaski have suffered years of dangerous living conditions as a result of Food First completely ignoring their duty as landlord to address the disrepair issues,” said Linda Holmes, staff attorney in the Housing Brooklyn Neighborhood Office at The Legal Aid Society. “Food First has made it clear that, left to their own devices, they will continue to neglect and mismanage this building, so the tenants have been left with no choice but to seek intervention from the court. We look forward to fighting on their behalf.”

The conditions at 201 Pulaski include vermin infestations, persistent roof leaks, inadequate heat, and inadequate janitorial services. Food First has allegedly failed to complete any significant repairs or construction on any of the tenants’ homes, according to the lawsuit.

Food First HDFC INC, the company’s head officer, Alfred Thompson, managing agent Valentina Gojcaj and The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development are named in the lawsuit.

Food First did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

This is the third lawsuit brought by the Pulaski tenants against Food First to get repairs and other issues addressed.

The first lawsuit was filed on April 30, 2019 and sought repairs for several violations issued by the HPD. Food First failed to make those repairs despite a court order to correct the outstanding HPD violations, and was found in contempt of court, according to the Legal Aid Society.

On May 1, 2023, tenants brought the second proceeding seeking repairs. A trial for the case is still ongoing, despite HPD violations increasing from 57 to 166.

Currently, Food First has an outstanding tax bill of $91,580.05 due to the New York City Department of Finance, and outstanding charges of $17,205.75 owed to HPD, according to the Legal Aid Society.