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Bronx tenants forced to share bathroom while landlord renovates building
Landlord says he gave tenants 120 days’ notice and offered to put them up at a hotel
A Bronx landlord is forcing his tenants share one bathroom after shutting off water in their units during building renovations.
The owners started turning off water in the 50-unit building at 60 East 196th Street over the summer, and on Oct. 10, tenants filed a complaint with the city about their living situation, according to the New York Post.
Landlord Scott Morgan said he only cuts off water to six units at a time for two to three weeks. He also claimed that he gave tenants 120 days’ notice about the repairs and offered to put them up in a hotel.
However, tenant Juan Santos countered that up to 12 units have had their water cut off at once and that Morgan ignored his request to be put up at a hotel.
The city hit contractors with a stop-work order on Oct. 20 for illegal construction and is expected to inspect the building again on Wednesday. A Department of Housing Preservation and Development spokesperson Juliet Pierre-Antoine told the Post that the tenants’ current living situation is “unacceptable.”
“If repairs are not completed in a timely manner,” she said, “HPD will step in to perform emergency repairs for which the owner will be billed.” [NYP] – Eddie Small