Inwood tenants are experiencing ‘hell’: Mold, no heat among top complaints

INWOOD, N.Y. (PIX11) — After a winter with no heat, unsuccessful legal action, and hundreds of 311 calls, tenants at seven Inwood apartments say life has been "hell" for years. 

Residents at buildings on Seaman Avenue, West 207th Street, and Cooper Street — all affiliated with Lisa Management, Inc. — on Monday said “enough is enough” with the disrepair at their buildings. Many of the buildings were on Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’ Worst Landlords list in 2023 and have racked up hundreds of city violations. 

“[It's been] 30 years taking their crap, not getting anything fixed but yet paying your rent,” said Alexandra Rodriguez, who’s lived at 140 Seaman Ave. for 30 years. “I have paid from my pocket, so I have the right to live like a human being.”

Tenants said they’ve faced a slew of issues, including inadequate heating, security problems, garbage build-up, and inaccurate rent statements. They also said all of the repairs that have been made have come up short.

Each building has between 59 and 308 open violations with NYC Housing Preservation and Development and numerous lead-based paint violations, according to city records and the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation. 

At 15 Cooper St., some of the hundreds of open violations include visible mold in apartments, mouse and roach infestations, and issues with hot water, city records show.

“I have a notebook full of the times that I have made complaints, 311 has come, and still to no avail,” said Betsy Roman, who’s lived at 128 Seaman Ave. for 50 years. “We reach out to them and they don’t respond.”

A spokesperson for Lisa Management told PIX11 the group took over the buildings in December 2023 and inherited “hundreds of violations and outstanding repair requests due to the negligence of the previous management company” that they have since started to repair.

The company has already done work to ensure access to heat and hot water, initiated vermin treatments and started mold and lead assessments before abatement and remediation, the spokesperson said. The company will also paint and clean common areas and add a backyard fence to address safety concerns, according to the spokesperson. 

The previous landlord, Jennifer Perez, ranked 52nd on the 2023 worst landlord list. PIX11 was unable to locate contact information for Perez.

“We understand and empathize with our tenants and are moving as fast as we can to make sure that everyone’s apartment and the buildings overall are in great shape,” the spokesperson for Lisa Management said. 

Tenants say conditions have been deteriorating since before the pandemic. In 2022, lawyers with the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation initiated legal action on behalf of the tenants to get their repairs fixed. 

Some of the repairs brought to court in 2022 remain unresolved, and they plan to initiate a new case with more tenants, attorney Raunak Wolfe said. Brian Valladares, a lawyer with the Corporation, added that the city needs to be stricter on violations so landlords can’t continuously disregard tenants.

“Court is an escalation, and we view it in that way. We’ve done everything... And then we have to escalate it to the point where we’re taking it to court and now there are civil penalties that are over the landlord’s head,” Valladares said. “It gives the tenants more leverage and it gives them more power.”

The backdrop of ever-increasing New York City rents further exemplifies the injustice, Valladares said. 

“Rents are way too expensive, so these tenants are dealing with terrible conditions in their apartment and they can’t afford their rent,” Valladares said. “These tenants, some have lead and mold in their apartments, and they’re looking down the barrel of a rather substantial increase in their rent.”

The tenants, many of whom have lived in the buildings for decades, are only growing more determined to hold onto their homes. 

“Nobody’s getting me out of there,” 30-year tenant Rodriguez said.