In fact, no safe lead level in children has been identified. A firm managing more than 6,000 apartment units in New York City disputes allegations that it hasnt been complying with lead-paint regulations. On 04/29/2020 Avery, Mary filed a Property - Other Property lawsuit against 1560 GC LLC Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc Wiener, Jonathan Rieder, Ben Department of Buildings Department of Housing Preservation and Development.This case was filed in Bronx County Courts, Bronx County Civil Court located in Washington, New Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. Hopefully, legal actions like this one will send a message to others who might choose to ignore lead poisoning prevention laws that such behavior will not be tolerated. I thank the attorney general for pursuing justice and reaching this settlement on behalf of tenants who have faced dangerous conditions as a result of Chestnut Holdings' negligence, and am glad to see that, as a result, more children and families can be protected against hazards in their homes., I applaud Attorney General Letitia James for having taken infamous Bronx-based landlord Chestnut Holding to task and reached a settlement agreement that will make them fully comply with our city's existing childhood lead poisoning prevention laws, said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. We never thought we would be in that position, but a lot of people are. hUmo0+jlNH4t : C There is no excuse for landlords failing to abide by the law and protect the health of their tenants.. It's the first-ever lawsuit filed by the Office of the Attorney General for failing to comply with the lead poisoning prevention law. Chestnut is a hands-on owner-manager that acquires, manages and improves multifamily properties throughout New York City. New York State has the highest percentage of buildings built before 1950 in the nation. As we have seen with the tragedy in Flint, Michigan, lead can pose a serious safety issue with devastating effects on our most vulnerable populations. The rate of lead poisoning in New York City is highest in children of color and those who live in low-income areas. Data analysis was handled by Senior Data Analyst Akram Hasanov, under the supervision of Research and Analytics Department Directior Jonathan Werberg and Deputy Director Megan Thorsfeldt. WebChestnut Holdings offers convenient online payment options and the ability to see your current account balance and activity online through ClickPay. James says her office reached out multiple times to Chestnut Holdings, but did not get a response. Attorney General James thanks Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse for their partnership in this matter. We need the ongoing assistance of every level of government to protect tenants from property owners who arent addressing lead hazards. Se habla espaol The Judge overseeing this case is John Preston Bailey. Whether it be our local executive order that withholds rent payments to landlords knowingly exposing their tenants to lead or investing millions of dollars in lead remediation just in 2022, Onondaga County is fully committed truly solving the lead issue plaguing our community, said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon. Loading Quotes Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. A copy of this disclaimer can also be found on our Disclaimer page. I want to thank Attorney General Letitia James and her team for their ongoing commitment, consistency, swift action, and thorough investigation into this important issue., A key premise of the lead law in 2004 was to make it clear that landlords had the prime responsibility to make sure the apartments they rent do not have lead-based paint hazards, said Matthew Chachre, attorney, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation. The Bronx rental management company firmly denies the accusations, claiming they have hundreds of tenants currently paying for rent in vouchers. The Environmental Protection Bureau is a part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and is under the oversight of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy. During this same period, at least 32 Endzone properties were flagged by the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County for chipping, peeling, deteriorating paint, and other conditions conducive to lead poisoning, which are prohibited by county and city laws. NEW YORK New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement in her lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc. (Chestnut Holdings), a property management corporation, over its failures to protect children from lead paint hazards in New York City. In addition, no apartments A property manager overseeing more than 6,000 apartment units in 134 buildings in New York City has been noncompliant with lead-paint regulations, state 3136 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<31CF17F26827B64D9D1C3BD947307B0A><1127F07792CB7B4EA4E7A2D6EC3485F1>]/Index[3118 28]/Info 3117 0 R/Length 89/Prev 699633/Root 3119 0 R/Size 3146/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream Each plaque displays an artists hand drawing of the tree along with a brief written description that includes related botanical, practical and historical content. They have damaged the lives of countless children in our community. Back in 2018, a woman sued Chestnut Holdings for failing to accept her Section 8 housing voucher. Chestnut Holdings continues to amass properties in the Bronx, paying $46.6 million for a 10-building portfolio in the borough. Chestnut Holdings will pay $300,000 to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for initiatives to protect children from lead poisoning and ensure that all of its more than 6,000 apartments throughout New York City are in full compliance with the law. All too often, unprincipled landlords like Endzone disregard their duty to ensure their properties are free of lead hazards and its harms. Since 2012, 87 percent of all lead poisoned children in Onondaga County were from Syracuse. Data also shows that Black children are twice as likely as white children to have elevated blood lead levels almost 23 percent of Black children in Onondaga County tested for lead had dangerous levels of lead in their blood, while less than 11 percent of white children tested had dangerous blood lead levels. She believes she was discriminated against by a broker at Chestnut Holdings. However, the "Google Translate" option may assist you in reading it in other languages. The New York attorney general is filing a lawsuit against a Bronx-based property management company for violations of the city's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. The lawsuit, filed in February 2020, alleged that Chestnut Holdings put the health of its tenants, primarily children, at risk by repeatedly violating New York Citys lead poisoning prevention laws, which require landlords to take critical measures to prevent children under 6 years old from being exposed to paint with dangerously high levels of lead. This Google translation feature is provided for informational purposes only. Attorney General James thanks Erie County and the city of Buffalo for their partnership and for providing critical information for this complaint. Chestnut Holdings, Regulation. 3145 0 obj <>stream CALL: 516-248-5550 sued a group of Buffalo individuals and companies for repeated violations of city, county, state, and federal laws by illegally allowing lead paint-related hazards to proliferate in their rental properties. Lead poisoning is completely preventable, and the city has plenty of laws on the books but they are rarely enforced. In fact, lead paint has been found in approximately 43 percent of all of New Yorks dwellings. )D Lead poisoning is devastating for a childs future health, and I applaud Attorney General James for taking swift measures to ensure this never happens again., These settlement agreements are showing landlords who have generally acted autonomously for decades that they can no longer ignore their duty and continue to put the health and safety of our communities at risk, said New York CityCouncil Member Oswald Feliz. However, the "Google Translate" option may assist you in reading it in other languages. Specifically, the agreement requires Chestnut Holdings to: Chestnut Holdings will also pay $300,000 to the OAG to fund projects that help protect children from lead poisoning. Upon revealing that she would be paying her rent with the voucher, the broker shut down the conversation and said, Oh, were not taking those.. All rights reserved. I am proud to have the city be a partner in this suit with Attorney General James and our partners in the county, said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. b``$@z'@ e1 I commend the New York State Attorney General for taking this action, and thank my team at HPD, along with our colleagues throughout the city and state who work day in, day out to protect the people we serve., All New Yorkers deserve safe homes, free of the dangers of lead poisoning, said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. I am proud to stand with Attorney General Letitia James to fight for Bronx residents and to stand with all New Yorkers to demand that landlords and management companies treat their tenants with the respect and dignity they deserve., "Exposure to lead has devastating consequences for all those exposed, but it is particularly dangerous for young developing children, said New York State Senator Jos M. Serrano. Vouchers such as FHEPS, CityFEHPS, and HRA subsidies are provided to New Yorkers with the intention of keeping them out of homeless shelters. Attorney General James is continuing to pursue legal actions across New York to end the scourge of childhood lead poisoning by holding accountable landlords that allow lead paint-related hazards to proliferate in low-income rental properties. Having lead paint in an apartment is not necessarily illegal if there is no risk of exposure, but when building owners paint over it rather than remove it which is expensive it can eventually resurface. The OAG began its investigation into Dalfin and the other individuals and entities in 2017, when upon a painstaking review of county and city violation histories, tax records, deed transfers, and corporate filings, the office identified the interrelated group of landlords and property managers with a record of repeated and persistent lead paint violations and childhood lead poisonings. We must prevent exposure to lead by taking bold and consistent steps to protect families., We thank New York Attorney General Letitia James for bringing this significant lawsuit," said Sonal Jessel, policy and advocacy coordinator, WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Attorney General James also thanks the City of New York and New York state's Homes and Community Renewal for their assistance with data collection during this investigation. Using shell companies to avoid complying with city rental registration requirements; Failing to comply with city and state property management and real estate broker licensing requirements; Conducting business in New York without authority to do so from the Department of State; and. The health impacts of lead paint in rental housing are particularly acute in the Buffalo region, where children who live in communities of color are 12 timesas likely than children who live in predominately white neighborhoods to be diagnosed with an elevated blood lead level. According to the complaint, 600 children in Chestnut Holdings buildings are under the age of six and receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, colloquially known as food stamps. WebChestnut Holdings of New York is a family-owned real estate investment and property management firm with a long track record of successful, responsible and reliable Additionally, children from households living at or below the federal poverty line are at a greater risk of exposure to lead than children from households above the federal poverty line. Lead paint in residential housing has been a pervasive problem for decades, particularly in New York. The futures of our children are at stake., As a pediatrician, when I see kids with lead poisoning its usually too late to prevent the worst effects on their developing brains, which is why people in public health have worked so hard to prevent lead exposure over the years,said Dr. Travis Hobart, MD, MPH, FAAP, medical director, Central/Eastern New York Lead Poisoning Resource Center. Lead-based paint was banned in 1960, but remediating the toxin has proved difficult in older buildings. Every family deserves to live in a home free of lead hazards, and I will work to ensure that happens.. Earlier in September 2021, she reached a pre-suit agreement with A&E Holdings to ensure that children living in its New York City apartments are protected from dangerous lead-based paint. The Office of Attorney General's website is provided in English. Follow her on Linkedin to learn more. It is wrong and unacceptable. Our intention is to deepen our understanding and connection to nature and weave it into the daily life of our communitys residents. announced an agreement in her lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings, a property management corporation, over its failures to protect children from lead paint hazards in New York City, reached a pre-suit agreement with A&E Holdings to ensure that children living in its New York City apartments are protected from dangerous lead-based paint, Attorney General James sued a group of Buffalo individuals and companies for repeated violations of city, county, state, and federal laws by illegally allowing lead paint-related hazards to accumulate in their rental properties. The vast majority of these dwellings were constructed before New York banned lead paint in 1970. The OAG will continue to work with them and other dedicated local partners to continue to make progress in combatting childhood lead poisoning in the region. In the lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) identifies six specific Dalfin properties that serve as examples of the egregious and illegal lead hazard management practices used by the landlords and the poisoning of children in those properties. One broker allegedly told a plaintiff, You wasted my time.I have been working with [Chestnut Holdings] for 30 years and they dont take voucher holders., Another broker told a plaintiff CityFHEPS applications never get throughtoo many people without programs apply and [Chestnut Holdings] always chooses them.. AG Letitia James Sues Chestnut Holdings for Lead Poisoning - The Real Deal Attorney general sues Chestnut Holdings for lead paint According to the lawsuit, as soon as possible through one of our websites, www.employmentlawyernewyork.com or www.516abogado.com, or any of our phone numbers: (516) 2485550, (516) ABOGADO, or (212) 6795000. Our children deserve to live in safe and healthy homes, not dangerous and poisonous ones. The Office of Attorney General's website is provided in English. NYC workers forced to strip as boss hunted for stolen cash, lawsuit says. Protecting the health and safety of our tenants should always be our number one priority., Attorney General Letitia James deserves high praise for this important victory protecting New Yorkers against lead poisoning, said New York CityCouncil Member Robert Cornegy.