Harlem residents riled over poor conditions at rent-stabilized complexes

Tenants at several Harlem-area Mitchell-Lama rent-stabilized apartments are accusing their landlord, New Jersey-based Urban American Management, of trying to ratchet up rents and squeeze out long-time residents, according to the New York Daily News. The buildings, which Urban American paid $918 million for in 2007, contain roughly 4,000 tenants, many of whom say that new tenants paying higher rates get preferential treatment, while older residents are denied basic upkeep and maintenance on their homes. “The new tenants get new kitchen cabinets, granite countertops, wood floors… we get nothing new and maintenance keeps getting worse,” Hilary Saunders, a long-time resident at one such complex, said. “We’re tired of being treated like second-class citizens in our own building.” [NYDN]