City Sues Washington Heights Landlord For 'Dangerous' Conditions

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Lead-based paint, missing doors, rat infestations, mold, and unsafe facades are just a part of the collection of the complaints lobbied against a Washington Heights landlord in a recent lawsuit from the city.

A trio of New York City landlords let those "dangerous" conditions fester in buildings, including properties owned by Alma Realty in Washington Heights.

“All New Yorkers deserve to live in safe, clean homes, which is why we will not tolerate landlords who repeatedly flout the law and put the health and wellbeing of tenants at risk,” Adams said in a statement.

Buildings owned by Alma had 800 uncorrected violations, court filings show.

Alma Realty did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

Here are the addresses of the Washington Heights buildings included in the lawsuit.

• 961-969 St. Nicholas Ave. (Near West 158th Street)
• 559 West 164th St.
• 600 West 161st St.
• 1548 St. Nicholas Ave. (Near West 187th Street)
• 4445-4465 Broadway (Near West 190th Street)

The lawsuit references a laundry list of complaints and violations connected with the different uptown buildings.

At 961-968 St. Nicholas Ave. there are more than 100 violations for the building, including at least six missing doors in hallways, lead-based paint, and exposed electric wiring, according to the suit.

Farther uptown at 559 W. 164th St., there are more than 40 violations from the city that include visible mold and an unsafe building facade, the suit says.

Continue moving north to 1548 St. Nicholas Ave. near 187th street and there are more than two dozen complaints connected to the building, the suit says. These violations include work on the gas pipes without a proper permit, and inadequate maintenance of the building's fire extinguishers, the suit reads.

In the farthest uptown building included in the suit at 4445-4465 Broadway, the legal document mentions violations of vermin infestations and problems with the plumbing.

The lawsuit declares that the landlord has "failed" to correct their building's violations, and demands they comply with all outstanding violations in the next 30 days.

The landlords now facing lawsuits from the city were chosen based on a multi-agency database of building violations weighed by severity and affect on tenants, officials said.

The other landlord the city filed a suit against on Friday was Empire Management America Corp.

Each of their portfolios includes the worst-scoring buildings, according to the database.

“The city has zero tolerance for landlords who break the law and put tenants and the public at risk,” said Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix, in a statement. “These new suits demonstrate our commitment to holding violators accountable and to ensuring landlords keep their buildings up to code."

Read More: Here Are The Wash Heights Buildings On The 2022 'Worst Landlord' List