Communities Resist and 23 West Street and 40 Oak Street Tenants Celebrate Rent Reduction

Communities Resist and 23 West Street and 40 Oak Street Tenants Celebrate Rent Reduction
Tenants at 23 West Street and 40 Oak Street were recently granted a rent reduction by DHCR after months of maintenance issues

Brooklyn, NY – On November 13, 2024, tenants of 23 West Street and 40 Oak Street in Greenpoint were granted a rent reduction by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). The rent reduction is retroactive to August 1, 2024.

For months, the 23 West Street and 40 Oak Street buildings suffered from maintenance issues. This included brown water, broken elevators, and lack of trash pick-ups, which attracted rodents. After Halcyon Management, the buildings’ management, failed to complete the repair requests from tenants, the buildings’ Tenant Association successfully applied for a rent reduction.

The rent reduction will apply to all 214 affordable housing units in both buildings. Furthermore, it will remain in effect until Halcyon Management fulfills its obligations and makes the required improvements.

“I congratulate the Tenant Association of 23 West Street and 40 Oak Street for scoring a rent reduction,” said Communities Resist Executive Director Nick E. Smith. “After months of living in uninhabitable conditions, it was imperative that the tenants come together and put pressure on management to make the much-needed repairs. This would not have been possible without the organizing of the 23 West Street and 40 Oak Street tenants, the offices of Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and Council Member Lincoln Restler for their assistance, and the incredible work of our attorney Daisy Fernandez for helping these tenants every step of the way.

“The tenants’ victory comes after months of persistent efforts to hold their landlord accountable,” said Communities Resist Attorney Daisy Fernandez. “This victory shows that when tenants organize together, they win together.”

About Communities Resist

Communities Resist (“CoRe”) is a community-based housing legal services and advocacy organization established and led by people of color to empower, educate and represent low-income communities and community coalitions preventing gentrification and displacement. Founded in 2019, CoRe has racked up several impressive wins, stopping nearly 1,000 evictions, filing 4,000+ affirmative litigation cases, engaging more than 8,000 New Yorkers at housing rights workshops and recovering settlements of all sizes for tenants across New York City.

“After years of feeling powerless against our abusive landlord who wasn’t providing heat and hot water nor repairing my apartments, my neighbors and I had no other choice than to reach out for help. With the help of our attorney from Communities Resist we were able to organize a Tenant Association and fight back against the abusive landlord. We finally won,” said Ramona Blash of 316 Suydam St. Tenant Association.

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