Plainfield sues property owner of condemned apartment building
PLAINFIELD, N.J. -- Plainfield is suing the property owner of a condemned apartment building.
After questions about a lack of follow-up, CBS New York investigative reporter Tim McNicholas has learned Plainfield is also moving forward with a new law to try to prevent something like this from happening again.
For months, CBS New York has reported the state found more than 230 violations at that property back in 2021, but Plainfield's mayor told us the state's Department of Community Affairs didn't notify him, allowing the violations to linger.
The city says they finally discovered the horrid living conditions after a tenant complained this past summer, and tenants were forced to move out with just 24-hours' notice.
Now, Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp wants city inspections in addition to the state.
"This is a very aggressive task that we have given ourselves, but we know this is absolutely necessary given the past history of us not being notified by the DCA when they do their inspections," he said.
The city is also pressuring state lawmakers to require the state's Housing Inspection Bureau to notify cities and towns when they find severe violations.
The city is now suing the owner of that condemned building, a company called Cyclone. We reached out to Cyclone and have not heard back.