Tenant claims Bishop Findlayter was a slumlord

Bishop Orlando Findlayter, a friend of Mayor Bill de Blasio, was a slumlord, a former tenant alleges.

The bishop, who served on the Mayor’s inaugural committee, owned two apartment buildings in Bedford-Stuyesant and Crown Heights, Brooklyn, from which he booted at least ten people, according to public records cited by the New York Post. Tenants at the Bed-Stuy building, located at 726a Quincy Street, owed Findlayter a total of $21,967. But one ex-resident alleges he owed money only because he refused to pay up until critical repairs were made.

“There was a rail coming up to the building that everybody complained about that he refused to fix,” Jason Brewster, who lived in the Quincey Street building with his two young children and fiancée until he was evicted for owing $3,800, told the Post. “You could potentially fall and injure yourself.”

Brewster dubbed Findlayter a “slumlord” for the lack of repair, adding:

“Bottom line was he didn’t want to fix anything. We owed money because we refused to pay any more.”

Findlayter booted seven tenants from his Quincy Street building in Bed-Stuy and another three from his Crown Heights property on Bergen Street, according to records cited by the Post. But he accumulated a sizable debt after taking out a $253,000 Mortgage For The Quincy Street property in 1998. In 2001, the bishop filed for bankruptcy protection.

Findlayter did not respond to the Post’s calls requesting comment. He bowed out of a press conference at which he’d previously said he’d address the controversy surrounding a recent arrest for a traffic violation and other open warrants. [NYP] — Julie Strickland