Press Release: Communities Resist and Mesa Verde Tenants Union Call Out Real Estate Giant A&E For Building Violations, Broken Elevators, Collapsed Ceilings, and Neglect

Communities Resist and Mesa Verde Tenants Union Call Out Real Estate Giant A&E For Building Violations, Broken Elevators, Collapsed Ceilings, and Neglect
Rental apartment giant A&E Real Estate has abandoned tenants at La Mesa Verde leaving tenants with hundreds of building violations, broken elevators, and more. 

Jackson Heights, NY – On Saturday, November 8, in front of 34-33 90th Street, Communities Resist, Mesa Verde Tenants Union, and elected officials called out A&E Real Estate for abandoning its tenants at La Mesa Verde apartments. These tenants have continued to face gross mismanagement by A&E.

A&E’s neglect includes broken elevators, which has caused tenants with disabilities and older residents being unable to leave their home. Additionally, this building has missing stair boards and even a collapsed ceiling, which has resulted in tenants suffering injuries.

Despite having hundreds of building violations, A&E still refuses to take action. It’s part of an ongoing pattern of willful neglect and harmful conditions A&E has perpetuated throughout the city.

Furthermore, A&E owns over 180 buildings, which includes nearly 17,000 units. Additionally, A&E has a total of nearly 70,000 violations across New York City.

[PHOTOS HERE]
[ATTORNEY JOHN FRANCIS REMARKS HERE]
[LIVE STREAM HERE]

“La Mesa Verde comprises a small portion of A&E Realty’s portfolio, spanning buildings across Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Due to A&E’s gross negligence, residents have gone without heat, hot water, working elevators, and have suffered injuries, as well as increased living costs as a result. A&E needs to be made to account for its actions against the residents of NYC,” said Communities Resist Attorney John Francis.

“The apartments are in bad shape: there is mold on the walls, which is harmful to our health, the paint is peeling, the courtyard is neglected and full of weeds and trash. Security is also a problem: the intercom does not work and some of the locks on external doors don’t work. The elevators, which are almost never operational and have been out of order since March, are a danger, especially for sick or elderly people who have to climb stairs. Years ago, a neighbor died of heart problems because the elevator was not working. He had heart issues and he died from a heart attack in the laundry room after hauling his laundry from the 6th floor. I am sure this is because of the strain the lack of elevators put on his heart. We cannot allow something like this to happen again,” said José Luis Rico, La Mesa Verde Tenant.

“I have lived here for 35 years. I am a senior citizen, and since the elevator broke in March, I have to go up and down the stairs to my apartment on the sixth floor to do my laundry, go shopping, and run my errands. There are also problems with the stairs. My neighbor on the fifth floor was injured falling down the steps because they are cracked and broken. The building is not maintained, and there are hardly ever repairs. This struggle we have is the same struggle of all our neighbors in Queens and in NY. We fight for dignified housing today, and tomorrow for better education and healthcare. We fight for a better future where the needs of all workers are prioritized. Because we create the wealth of this city. We build the buildings, we teach in the schools, we cook in the restaurants; everything moves because of us immigrants,” said Elena Martinez, La Mesa Verde Tenant.

“I’ve been living here for 26 years, and I’ve always had problems with mold. I don’t have any cabinets. My stove doesn’t work, and neither do my oven and refrigerator. I’ve had mice and cockroaches. The same thing happens to many neighbors who are here today. Their bathroom ceilings have fallen in. Some neighbors have fallen down the stairs because there’s no working elevator. Now we are fighting for decent housing. We go out every week with flyers and signs because together we fight. We are condemning the lack of maintenance. We deserve a working elevator and apartments free of mold. We work hard, day and night, and it’s a shame that they make us live in these conditions. We pay our rent, and they live off our hard work. Today, we have hope that this movement will bring change. We will not take a single step back, because together, united, we have power—and we are going to make it happen,” said Ivonne, La Mesa Verde Tenant.

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.

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