Tenants of Two Trees’ Court House Apartments are accusing the developer of moldy and dangerous conditions in the building. The tenants are now asking the city to intervene and force Two Trees to improve their living conditions before allowing work to start on the Domino Sugar Factory conversation.
The building, located 125 Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn, contains 321 affordable and rent-stabilized units. Residents told the New York Post of split and buckling floors full of mold, and of a broken elevator that often traps people — including a visiting Post reporter.
However, Two Trees claims that tenants refuse to let repair people into their apartments and are merely looking to attract bad press.
“We strive to provide excellent service to every resident . . . but these isolated tenants, who have not paid rent in two years, have made that impossible by barring access to their apartment for maintenance,” Dave Lombino of Two Trees Management said. “This incident is in no way reflective of conditions in the building.”
But tenants also claim that the developer is illegally raising rents in the building. One tenant saw his supposedly rent-stabilized two-bedroom go from $3,900 to $6,600 a month over four years.
And in 2012, tenants filed a class-action suit in Brooklyn Supreme Court against Two Trees, claiming that the company is violating Department of Housing Preservation and Development rent regulations. [NYP] – Christopher Cameron