Apthorp complaints go unanswered: residents

Irene Front’s Apthorp apartment has mice crawling around and a broken doorbell, but the landlord has yet to resolve all problems there, residents told the New York Times. Front, a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor, lives in the building at the southwest corner of Broadway and 79th Street, where many of the 163 apartments were once rent regulated. While the once-broken heating system in her apartment has been fixed, she says management has been slow to respond to other issues in her home (note: clarification made). Since the building was bought in 2006 by investors who started a condominium conversion, market-rate renters have left as their leases have ended. Meanwhile, the developers — including Africa Israel USA and the Feil Organization — renovated those apartments, and are now trying to sell them for $2.6 million to $7.8 million. Some residents of the 81 occupied rental apartments say they have trouble getting basic services maintained. “It’s certainly unnecessary for these complaints to be so prevalent in a building that is so grand and so beautiful and the management has the wherewithal to maintain it properly,” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who noted that there have been a high number of complaints from residents about “mice and roaches and generally unsafe conditions.” In September, the Observer reported that they found rodent traps hidden in the courtyard of the building. [NYT]