Greenpointers: Tenants at Williamsburg Building Accuse Landlord of Ignoring Mold, Sewage, and Heating Issues

Greenpointers
January 10, 2025

Tenants at Williamsburg Building Accuse Landlord of Ignoring Mold, Sewage, and Heating Issues
By Emma Davey

Tenants at 156 South 9th Street are accusing their landlords of letting their building fall into disrepair, charging them with neglecting mold, broken locks, and heating, among a plethora of other issues. And now, ABC 7 reports that they are taking them to court.

Hindy and Jacob Meislik of South Nine Realty of Monsey have racked up nearly 400 housing violations, including no gas and raw sewage.

“This guy doesn’t want to spend money on this building. He got us to live like dogs and cats here,” one tenant told ABC 7. “If you want to fix something, you have to put your hands in your pocket, buy the part and put it on yourself. That’s not fair to us.”

The tenants’ association hosted a rally in the building’s lobby on Tuesday evening, calling on the city’s Housing Preservation and Development to take over the building and remove the current landlords. The housing rights group Communities Resist is representing the association in housing court. The same group recently helped affordable housing tenants in Greenpoint win a rent reduction against a negligent management company.

Assembly Member Emily Gallagher shared her support for the tenants on X.

When reached by phone, a representative from South Nine Realty of Monsey declined Greenpointers‘ request for comment, stating that all questions needed to be asked through “a certified letter.”