|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By: Hal C Clarke
In an exclusive New York Post report, tenants across a dozen buildings owned by the Tran Group in Manhattan and the Bronx are staging a rent strike to protest horrific living conditions. Residents allege that the buildings, managed by Son “Sonny” Tran and associate Anh Do, are infested with vermin, suffer from unsafe construction, and are neglected despite numerous complaints.
Milan Moore, a tenant leader from the Lower East Side, expressed frustration: “Our front door is always broken. The cameras don’t work. We have no exterminator. I was without a way to cook for over four months. Rats are running in the basement. This has to stop.” Moore’s experiences highlight the severe issues tenants face in these properties.
City records show Tran properties have an average of 467 open Housing and Preservation Department violations per building. These include serious issues like mold, leaking roofs, and missing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Each building also faces an average of 12 Department of Buildings violations. Due to these infractions, Anh Do was ranked No. 88 on Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’ worst landlord list this year.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander voiced his concerns about the situation: “I urge Sonny Tran to fulfill his legal and moral obligations and call on the city to intensify monitoring and enforcement until tenants are assured of safe living conditions.”
The tenants’ complaints are varied and severe. At the Riverside Studios building at 342 West 71st St., a toilet was left in the lobby for a week in April, and a gas outage remained unresolved for 18 months. At 219 East Fifth St., construction dust was found to have lead levels three times above the legal limit. Tenants at 218 Thompson St. reported numerous house mite bites.
Rodent problems are particularly alarming. William Moye, a resident and leader of the Tran Tenant Coalition, described the situation at the Greenwich Village building on Thompson Street: “Mice persist inside the building. I get bitten by house mites and suffer from swelling, rashes, and other health issues. Tran Group sets out poison that young rats learn to avoid.”
In response to these conditions, tenants of Riverside Studios filed a lawsuit in April and have been on rent strike since November. Their suit cites numerous issues, including garbage-strewn common areas, broken intercoms, bedbug infestations in community bathrooms, and unreliable elevators. The landlords’ lawyers have largely denied the claims, stating the suit “contains legal conclusions to which no response is required.” A judge has mandated that violations be addressed, with fines of $50 to $150 per day for each unresolved issue.
Support for the tenants has come from various elected officials, including Assembly member Linda B. Rosenthal, State Senators Brian Kavanagh and Brad Hoylman-Sigal, and City Council members Carlina Rivera and Gale Brewer. Rosenthal remarked, “For too long, my constituents and other Tran tenants have endured conditions that most New Yorkers couldn’t imagine. We must fight for safe, habitable housing for all tenants.”
Despite their efforts, tenants have found that their complaints are often ignored. A letter sent on June 24, outlining their demands for resolving welfare concerns, received a response from the landlord claiming that all issues were “resolved or being resolved,” even as conditions worsened.
As the struggle continues, tenants remain hopeful that their collective action will drive change and hold the Tran Group accountable.
