Quinn: NYC Prepared To Sue Holding Company Over Crumbling Brooklyn Buildings
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Conditions in three buildings in Brooklyn have gotten so bad that it rains through the roof and sometimes there are no lights for days.
But, as WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reports from Sunset Park, it's proving hard to hold anyone responsible.
Francesca Ixtlilco says they live like animals there on 46th Street.
Quinn: NYC Prepared To Sue Company To Fix Crumbling Brooklyn Buildings
"Our showers don't work. We have to bath with a bucket as if we were in some gutter somewhere," she told Silverman.
The toilets don't work either.
"We have problems with some tenants that are pouring urine out their window," she said.
But fixing the 684 violations at 545, 553, and 557 46th Street is not as simple as tracking down a slumlord.
These buildings were foreclosed on and the mortgage was sold to an investment company.
"You might have thought you could buy a property that you'd flip quickly and make a lot of money," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn on Monday. "But what you bought is a whole lot of misery."
"You bought the lead paint. You bought the rats. They are yours," Quinn said.
It's a situation 100,000 homes have been through, said Quinn.
The city can step in and make the repairs there.
"And then we're going to take you to court and sue you for the money you owe the city of New York and if you don't pay it we will take it away from you," Quinn said.
WCBS 880 hasn't been able to reach the holding company, SERYL LLC.
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