Public Housing Residents Threaten Suit if NYC Housing Department Balks on Guarantee to Help Individuals Displaced by Eminent Domain Seizure
Legal Services E-lert
Bibliographic Info:
Author: Samuel Newhouse
Source: “Lawsuit Looms At Albee Square In Downtown Brooklyn,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle (NY)
Date: January 4, 2010
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle states: “It seemed like a miraculous resolution for the residents of buildings in Albee Square West [Brooklyn, New York] that were targeted for development. After [several structures] were targeted to be seized through eminent domain and converted into an acre of public space and a parking lot, residents won a guarantee from the city that residents would receive help them find new affordable housing if they lost their homes. But now they claim that the city is reneging on its end of the deal. At a press conference outside Albee Square last month, Jennifer Levy, [LSC-funded] South Brooklyn Legal Services housing attorney and Candace Carponter, attorney and director of litigation for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, accused the city, specifically the Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD), of failing to keep up with its end of a bargain that was made more than a year-and-a-half ago. They were joined by local residents and members of FUREE (Families United For Racial Economic Equality). ‘The city is a slumlord,’ said Wanda Imasuen, lead organizer for the Downtown Brooklyn campaign at FUREE. ‘They’re saying the only affordable housing is in East New York, not Downtown Brooklyn, where these families have lived for years. They’re shoving them to the worst areas’ . . . . According to a source in city government, the agreement guaranteed residents assistance with Section 8 applications and preference in city-assisted affordable housing developments, but HPD did not and can not guarantee to keep tenants in the neighborhood. However, the tenants are [claiming] that HPD employees are trying to evict tenants without due process. Tenants claimed that they were threatened by HPD with deportation or being forced into shelters. Meanwhile, tenants are living in apartments that reportedly have molded walls, detached sinks and, in one apartment, a steam pipe that spews hot water from the ceiling . . . . Levy sent a letter to the city’s legal counsel outlining ‘the atrocious physical conditions’ endured by the families including ‘ceilings that have fallen in’ and ‘non-working bathroom facilities.’ A lawsuit has not yet been filed, Levy said, but there will be one soon if the situation doesn’t change.”