Bronx tenants sue landlord, claiming building conditions may have contributed to fire
NEW YORK -- Tenants in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx are suing their landlord in an effort to get him to fix the dangerous conditions they say are everywhere in the building.
In February, a two-alarm fire displaced families in eight units. Tenants believe what they describe as poor building maintenance and worsening conditions might have contributed to the fire.
Tenants say they deal with black mold, rats and other safety concerns, like their front door not closing. They say they've tried to reach out to the landlord for help for years, but their calls have gone unanswered.
"If you start out with 76 violations in January ... not even two months later, and you have 191 violations, that's the wrong trajectory," said Douglas Henderson, a housing attorney at Bronx Legal Services.
"If you call the management, you cannot reach them, like at all," resident Maimouna Nbengue said.
The attorney representing the tenants said the landlord did not appear in their first hearing in court last week.
We attempted to reach out to the landlord for comment, and we are waiting for a response back.