Caribbean Life, N B OVEMBER 22-28, 2019 3
By Nelson A. King
New York City Council last Thursday
passed legislation by Public Advocate,
Jumaane D. Williams codifying
the creation and continued existence
of the School Diversity Advisory
Group, originally convened by Mayor
Bill de Blasio, to develop solutions to
addressing the systemic segregation
in New York City schools.
The Advisory Group has released
two reports to date, with detailed proposals
for increasing diversity in city
schools and in select programs.
The legislation, Intro 1550-A, is
one of three bills sponsored by the
public advocate, which was passed by
the City Council.
“I’m a New York City public school
baby, and I’m proud of that fact and
the education I received,” Williams
said. “But despite that pride and
because of that history, I know that
our deeply segregated school system,
and our students within it, are in desperate
need of reform.
“The School Diversity Advisory
Group is critical because it involves
taking the input of these people experiencing
our education system up
close in order to change it,” he added.
“My bill today expands the reach of
that group across years, administrations
and boroughs.”
Established in 2017, Williams said
the advisory group was tasked with
“working to reshape citywide policies
and practices such as admissions and
program planning.”
Intro 1550-A, which passed overwhelmingly
last Thursday, codifies
the advisory group to be made up
of Council appointments, a public
advocate appointment and mayoral
appointments.
Williams said this codification
would build on “the critical work
By Nelson A. King
Eighteen families who have been
homeless for the past eight months
following a devastating fire in their
36-unit rent-stabilized building at 180
East 18th Street in Flatbush, Brooklyn,
on Friday asked Brooklyn Housing
Court to force their landlords,
Juda Rosenfeld and JBM Estates, to
make the repairs necessary to move
back into their homes and to pay relocation
costs in the interim.
“Since the fire in February, landlords
have done little to nothing to
make the necessary repairs, and the
little work they have done has failed to
meet City safety or health standards,
resulting in numerous City stop work
orders,” said Brooklyn Legal Services’
Tenants Rights Association.
“Meanwhile, tenants and their families
continue to be homeless, some
staying in shelters or with friends and
family and one tenant who left the
state because she couldn’t afford to
live anywhere else,” it added.
Gail Nurse, a tenant who has lived
in the building for the last 20 years,
said: “My whole life is turned upside
down right now.
“You can’t imagine how frustrating
it is to live like this,” she said. “I’m living
out of garbage bags at my friend’s
place. We’ve been out of the apartment
for going on nine months now.
“All I want is to move back into my
apartment,” Nurse added. “It’s like the
landlord is intentionally taking his
time so we don’t move back in. But I
like my building. I like this area. I like
where I live. I just want justice for me
and my neighbors.”
New York City Public Advocate
Jumaane Williams said “it has been
almost a year that residents of 180 E.
18th experienced the tragedy of losing
their homes and possessions in a
fire and still little or nothing has been
done for those who remain displaced.
“I went to court with these families
because what I saw was egregious,”
he said. “It’s time for JBM Estates to
commit to helping their tenants who
are still struggling as they protect
profits. Housing is a human right and
landlords cannot continue to make
empty promises while their tenants
face housing insecurities.”
Sabrina Francois, a community
organizer with the Flatbush Tenant
Coalition, said that, “historically,
housing court was supposed to represent
tenants against landlords in
regards to repairs, harassment, and
more.
“But it is 2019, and housing court
is an eviction mill where tenants face
eviction and there is no enforcement
of repairs,” she said. “We need to shift
the current power dynamics in housing
court and make it a place of justice
for tenants.”
At last count, Brooklyn Legal Services’
Tenants Rights Association said
there are 422 outstanding violations
in the building — 153 of which are
considered extremely hazardous by
the Department of Housing Preservation
and Development (HPD).
“Windows need to be replaced,
water-logged ceilings and walls need
to be fixed, and mold removed, gas
and electrical lines need to be repaired
and restored, the roof needs several
fixes, fire escapes need to be replaced,
and fire damage to common areas and
units needs to be addressed,” it said.
In the approximately eight months
since the City issued vacate orders,
the Tenants Rights Association said
the landlord has done minimal work
beyond demolishing much of the units
and removing fire safety walls, “and,
even then, workers flouted city health
and safety codes which slowed repairs
and resulted in several stop work
orders from the City.”
In June, the association said the
Department of Health issued a stop
work order following repeated warnings
that landlord’s workers were not
mitigating lead dust created by the
construction.
Other stop work orders were for failing
to acquire the necessary construction
permits, the association said.
Last week, it said the landlord
finally obtained the necessary permits
needed to continue repairing the
building.
On Friday, tenants asked Brooklyn
Housing Court to order their landlord
to commit to a schedule of repairs or
face civil penalties.
Additionally, tenants asked the
landlord to pay relocation costs while
the delayed repairs are being made.
“These tenants and their families
have been waiting eight months without
seeing signs that their landlord
is making progress on repairs. These
tenants are tired waiting and are now
asking the court to intervene,” said
Veronica Corsaro, a staff attorney at
Brooklyn Legal Service who is representing
the tenants.
“Now that the landlord has secured
the necessary permits, tenants expect
the landlord to work as quickly and
safely as possible to make repairs. so
they can finally move back into their
homes and get their lives back.”
The Flatbush Tenant Coalition is a
member-led group of tenant associations
in Flatbush, East Flatbush, and
South Crown Heights working collectively
to build tenant power.
Brooklyn Legal Service’s Tenant
Rights Coalition, a program of Legal
Services NYC, provides legal and advocacy
services to tenants in East New
York, Brownsville, Flatbush, and surrounding
neighborhoods, assisting
thousands of tenants to fight evictions,
address bad housing conditions,
and force scofflaw landlords to comply
with the law.
Brooklyn Legal Services’ Tenant
Rights Coalition’s work is funded by
NYC Human Resources Administration’s
Anti-Harassment and Tenant
Protection program.
Public Advocate, Jumaane Williams.
Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Homeless Brooklyn families
seek redress in court
City Council
passes
school
diversity bill
Continued on Page 28