Select a Language Below/Seleccione el Idioma Abajo. The vast majority of these dwellings were constructed before New York banned lead paint in 1970. In the state of New York, its illegal for landlords to deny housing to voucher recipients. The Office of Attorney General does not make any promises, assurances, or guarantees as to the accuracy of the translations provided. The suit alleges that Chestnut Holdings has put the health of its tenants at risk by repeatedly violating the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, which requires property owners to take several critical measures to prevent children under six from being exposed to paint with dangerously high levels of lead. In fact, lead paint has been found in approximately 43 percent of all of New Yorks dwellings. All rights reserved. Here are Your Next Best Options. The Environmental Protection Bureau is part of the Division of Social Justice, led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux, and all under the oversight of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy. What Is A Loft Apartment and Why Do I Need One? The New York attorney general is filing a lawsuit against a Bronx-based property management company for violations of the city's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. As a landlord to thousands of children and families, Chestnut failed to safeguard its tenants, but, today, we are ensuring their health will be protected moving forward. The suit alleges that Chestnut Holdings has put the health of its tenants at risk by repeatedly violating the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, Morrison said she was devastated and humiliated by the experience. 6 were here. WebChestnut Holdings of New York is a family-owned real estate investment and property management firm with a long track record of successful, responsible and reliable In fact, no safe lead level in children has been identified. Cant Get Into the Infamous Rolfs Christmas Bar? 95 Students Unveil Artwork in Sheridan Avenue Apartment Lobby , Supporting Art for Children in the Bronx Culturally and Financially . The building in front of which the attorney general selected to announce the lead lawsuit, 1515 Macombs Road, has exactly zero lead violations. As we have seen with the tragedy in Flint, Michigan, lead can pose a serious safety issue with devastating effects on our most vulnerable populations. Lindos case is similar to another one of the plaintiffs, who was living in a shelter at the time of their apartment search. Chestnut is a hands-on owner-manager that acquires, manages and improves multifamily properties throughout New York City. 1037 (PAC). Chestnut Holdings is dedicated to visually and culturally enriching our Bronx neighborhood. I thank the attorney general for pursuing justice and reaching this settlement on behalf of tenants who have faced dangerous conditions as a result of Chestnut Holdings' negligence, and am glad to see that, as a result, more children and families can be protected against hazards in their homes., I applaud Attorney General Letitia James for having taken infamous Bronx-based landlord Chestnut Holding to task and reached a settlement agreement that will make them fully comply with our city's existing childhood lead poisoning prevention laws, said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. Vivian Tejada is a freelance real estate writer from Providence, RI. Please click on the link below to access our payment processing portal- provided through ClickPay http://login.clickpay.com/chestnutholdings And we greatly appreciate the attorney generals willingness to pay attention to the call for action from local stakeholders, including Families for Lead Freedom Now, and to pursue a bright line against childhood lead poisoning in Syracuse.. The lawsuit, filed in February 2020, alleged that Chestnut Holdings put the health of its tenants, primarily children, at risk by repeatedly violating New York Citys lead poisoning prevention laws, which require landlords to take critical measures to prevent children under 6 years old from being exposed to paint with dangerously high levels of lead. It is wrong and unacceptable. Chestnut Holdings is a family-owned real estate investment and management firm of properties throughout New York City. Property owners and managers that knowingly rent substandard units to low-income residents ought to be punished to the full extent of the law. endstream endobj 3119 0 obj <>/AcroForm 3137 0 R/Lang( E N - U S)/MarkInfo<>/Metadata 219 0 R/OCProperties<>/Outlines 289 0 R/OutputIntents 3115 0 R/PageLayout/OneColumn/Pages 3099 0 R/StructTreeRoot 326 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 3120 0 obj <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 3121 0 obj <>stream Senior Data Analyst Akram Hasanov, Intern Atharv Khatu, and Director of Research and Analytics Jonathan Werberg also assisted with this matter. Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. Lead poisoning in Onondaga County occurs predominantly within Syracuse, and disproportionately harms low-income communities and communities of color. WebPhone: (718) 543-8200. '' In addition, no apartments According to the complaint, 600 children in Chestnut Holdings buildings are under the age of six and receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, colloquially known as food stamps. Chestnut Holdings will pay $300,000 to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for initiatives to protect children from lead poisoning and ensure that all of its more Upon revealing that she would be paying her rent with the voucher, the broker shut down the conversation and said, Oh, were not taking those.. Beginning in the 20th century, paint with dangerously high levels of lead was used on both exterior and interior surfaces of housing in the United States. alleged that Kiggins and Endzone endangered the health of its tenants, primarily children, by repeatedly violating lead paint laws and failing to properly address related hazards. Young children are more likely to be exposed to lead than any other age group. Veritas $450M loan default: A sign of things to come? On 08/24/2021 Chestnut Holdings, Inc filed a Contract - Other Contract lawsuit against TH Exploration, LLC.This case was filed in U.S. District Courts, West Virginia Northern District Court. This matter is being handled by Attorney General James Environmental Protection Bureau by Assistant Attorney General Abigail Katowitz, Special Counsel of the Health Care Bureau Sara Haviva Mark, and Chief Scientist Jodi Feld, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Monica Wagner. I will continue to do everything within my power to uphold our lead laws and hold landlords accountable for exposing our communities to serious and irreversible harms., As a part of LeadFreeNYC, HPD is committed to keeping children safe from lead through enhanced enforcement, education, and resources for property owners to make good on their obligations, said New York City Department of Housing Preservation and DevelopmentCommissioner Louise Carroll. CHESTNUT HOLDINGS INC. Email | Print | Comments (0) No. As Buffalo continues to have some of the highest rates of childhood lead poisoning in the country, my office will continue to hold bad actors responsible. Too many suffer from a lifetime of avoidable debilities here in New York City. Data analysis was handled by Senior Data Analyst Akram Hasanov, under the supervision of Research and Analytics Department Directior Jonathan Werberg and Deputy Director Megan Thorsfeldt. I commend the New York State Attorney General for taking this action, and thank my team at HPD, along with our colleagues throughout the city and state who work day in, day out to protect the people we serve., All New Yorkers deserve safe homes, free of the dangers of lead poisoning, said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. I am proud to stand with Attorney General Letitia James to fight for Bronx residents and to stand with all New Yorkers to demand that landlords and management companies treat their tenants with the respect and dignity they deserve., "Exposure to lead has devastating consequences for all those exposed, but it is particularly dangerous for young developing children, said New York State Senator Jos M. Serrano. The Office of Attorney General does not make any promises, assurances, or guarantees as to the accuracy of the translations provided. We have met with the staff personally to The passage of the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act in 2004 made it possible to systematically and equitably erase lead hazards in housing across the city and promised to end childhood lead poisoning by 2010. %PDF-1.7 % Since 2017, OAG hasfound that the group violated the law in other ways, such as: The poisoning of children from lead paint in aging rental housing is an ongoing national public health crisis, but is of particular concern within New York, and especially the Buffalo region. Chestnut Holdings has recently come under fire for allegedly turning away tenants with housing vouchers. Children who have been exposed during critical stages of early development to even very low levels of lead are at risk for neurological and physical problems. Last week, she reached a pre-suit agreement with A&E Holdings to ensure that children living in its NYC apartments are protected from dangerous lead-based paint. Lead paint exposure is a dangerous scourge on New Yorks communities that disproportionately impacts our Black and brown children, said Attorney General James. Chestnut Holdings of New York is a family-owned real estate investment and property management firm with a long track record of successful, responsible and reliable management. 3118 0 obj <> endobj Last Updated on 12 months by Vivian Tejada, The best of the city, straight to your inbox, 8 New Yorkers Sue Chestnut Holdings for Housing Discrimination. When the tester revealed they would be paying rent with employment-based income, the broker promptly forwarded the necessary documents to get the rental process started. Additionally, Chestnut Holdings repeatedly certified, in new leases, that it had complied with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Acts turnover requirements, even though it had not done so. NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. NEW YORK New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc., a property management Endzone has sold all the properties it owned and all of the properties it once managed are now under new management. Our children deserve to live in safe and healthy homes, not dangerous and poisonous ones. The lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Civil Court accuses Chestnut Holdings of violating city and state Human Rights laws that make it illegal to refuse The landlords frequently allowed paint on their properties to deteriorate to the point of being a lead hazard instead of preventing deterioration of paint, as required by local and state building codes, and only addressed the lead hazard after a lead-poisoned child was discovered. NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. She's passionate about the future of work and helping Latin American freelancers achieve time, location, and financial freedom. After revealing they had a CityFHEPS voucher, the plaintiff was told they would get a call back from the broker, but never did. Attorney General James is continuing to pursue legal actions across New York to end the scourge of childhood lead poisoning by holding accountable landlords that allow lead paint-related hazards to proliferate in low-income rental properties. Chestnut also works to make a positive impact on surrounding neighborhoods by providing cleaner, safer housing options and reliable service to tenants at reasonable rental rates. The group also consistently violated federal lead disclosure requirements by providing either no lead disclosure statement to tenants or false disclosures, which stated that the landowner had no reports of lead paint or lead paint hazards, when in fact there were multiple reports of lead paint and lead paint hazards regarding the residences. WebNEW PALTZ, N.Y. Chestnut Petroleum Distributors Inc. (CPD) debuted a new logo and branding for its Chestnut Markets through a partnership with GSP. )D hbbd``b`9$>`n> 1 u) q "D,i. The Bronx rental management company firmly denies the accusations, claiming they have hundreds of tenants currently paying for rent in vouchers. I thank Attorney General James for taking on one of the largest slumlords in Buffalo and holding them to account for their negligence., Recognizing that approximately 80 percent of Buffalos children with elevated blood lead levels live in rental singles and doubles, the Buffalo and Erie County Lead Safe Task Force has been linking arms with partners in the city, county and New York state to eradicate lead poisoning in many ways, said Cara Matteliano, senior director, Policy and Strategic Partnerships, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, convener of the Buffalo & Erie County Lead Safe Task Force. Chestnut Holdings continues to amass properties in the Bronx, paying $46.6 million for a 10-building portfolio in the borough. The health code thus requires lead paint to be enclosed with a rigid surface, such as drywall. Se habla espaol In 2013 Chestnut acquired the Shalom Aleichem Houses, three distressed properties made up of 15 buildings, in Van Cortland Village in the Bronx. If such properties are properly maintained, however, lead poisoning can be prevented. 216(b). New York State has the highest percentage of buildings built before 1950 in the nation. All rights reserved. NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. The Act also requires owners and agents to take measures to prevent lead poisoning when an apartment turns over. 15 Cheap and Underrated Ideas For Spring Break in NYC, Gears to Grind: The State of Biking in NYC, Fort Greene Neighborhood Guide: The Chill and Family Friendly Neighborhood. The OAG also found that Kiggins and Endzone engaged in repeated illegal and fraudulent acts by either not providing federally required lead disclosures or providing materially false and deceptive lead disclosures to tenants and purchasers of Endzoneproperties. All rights reserved. The State of New York, its officers, employees, and/or agents shall not be liable for damages or losses of any kind arising out of, or in connection with, the use or performance of such information, including but not limited to, damages or losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy of any such information, or damages incurred from the viewing, distributing, or copying of such materials. Every New Yorker especially children living in our most disadvantaged communities has a right to live a healthy life without the threat of lead paint poisoning, said Attorney General James. In the lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) identifies six specific Dalfin properties that serve as examples of the egregious and illegal lead hazard management practices used by the landlords and the poisoning of children in those properties. Data also shows that Black children are twice as likely as white children to have elevated blood lead levels almost 23 percent of Black children in Onondaga County tested for lead had dangerous levels of lead in their blood, while less than 11 percent of white children tested had dangerous blood lead levels. Attorney General James thanks Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse for their partnership in this matter. Understanding Recent Changes to New Yorks Gun Laws, Repeated and Persistent Violations Result in Continuing Health Risks, Dozens of Reported Childhood Lead Poisonings. We must build on the attorney generals work to make sure everyone is safe from this avoidable neurotoxin., It is great justice that Chestnut Holdings is being held accountable for their actions, that primarily affected families in the Bronx, said New York CityCouncil Member Eric Dinowitz. Anyone relying on information obtained from Google Translate does so at his or her own risk. The refusal to accept the voucher came at a troubling time for Morrison, who had recently been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. All rights reserved. This Google translation feature is provided for informational purposes only. aZQYN{2}hh@HK!6hvy%o);QnTy8+O'hNiMV\oyr%*;eZ=qW*^t:%PnOLi).d: 4{9UYQdOEix.4a:lEL&J?|HWR(zNLy94oMeu5KiEpyGVO4,W %7,K (5ioR#X ~Pl ql+zO] 9 00X=f[Pz@?}}^V Fqr'T6$;ry,I|q4\ ]U**ccpX4U]UE~"i$>(0-&YD-i9j_2")O-m rAyR{ There is no excuse for landlords failing to abide by the law and protect the health of their tenants.. We must prevent exposure to lead by taking bold and consistent steps to protect families., We thank New York Attorney General Letitia James for bringing this significant lawsuit," said Sonal Jessel, policy and advocacy coordinator, WE ACT for Environmental Justice. The suit alleges that Chestnut Holdings has put the health of its tenants at risk by repeatedly violating the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, A firm managing more than 6,000 apartment units in New York City disputes allegations that it hasnt been complying with lead-paint regulations. Some of the worst landlords in our city put the health and safety of New Yorkers at risk to protect their own profits, and Chestnut Holdings is near the top of my office's list, said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Brian Zak/NY Post A group Visite 516abogado.com, Huggins v. Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc.; 1425 U LLC; and Jonathan WienerCivil Action No. 516- ABOGADO (226-4236) When shes not writing you can find her at the gym, a family cookout, or at brunch with her girls. On May 29, 2020, the Court conditionally certified this collective action pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. Understanding Recent Changes to New Yorks Gun Laws, AG James Takes Action to Protect Tenants from Lead Poisoning, Files Lawsuit Against Bronx-based Property Management Corp for Violations of NYC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. Chestnuts strong safety record speaks to its commitment to all of its tenants, its communities, and its neighbors, but most especially children.. This is the second major action that Attorney General James has taken in the past week to hold landlords accountable for failing to comply with New York Citys lead paint laws. Any landlord or group that fails to address properties that contain these dangerous levels of lead need to be held accountable, and I commend the Attorney General for taking action., I have seen the impact of lead poisoning on members of my own family, and one of my proudest moments as a legislator was the creation of a pilot program to expand educational intervention services for children who suffer from lead poisoning, said Erie County Legislature Chair April N. M. Baskin. Chestnut Holdings manages more than 6,000 apartments in approximately 134 buildings, most of which are located in the Bronx. Exposure to lead poisoning can have long-lasting health consequences, especially on our children, said State Senator Alessandra Biaggi. The Office of Attorney General's website is provided in English. Lead paint has been found in approximately 43 percent of all of New York dwellings. Legal Services NYC, a non-profit offering free civil legal services to low-income individuals, claims that Chestnut Holdings brokers denied housing to eight New Yorkers after these tenants revealed they would be paying their rent with vouchers. hb```b``g`2@(@x*G78hvqiC]Vr M?3X0O;t; w8#?N9f-jY#cl ?'or: A+D5?-cuzF>g$]asy`MsrT `^a' 5~_A6OX9M9 E I_[EQ TyV)mt)H}Ri}+gE6I~_9*Ae`h`Mh DG8 ;:B fh``6X- u See some of the wonderful letters we have received from our tenants over the years expressing appreciation for various matters. %%EOF We believe there is a policy and practice of this management company to not rent to people who have housing vouchers, said Jean Fischman, who is representing the eight New Yorkers involved in the second case against Chestnut Holdings. These include annual inspections and ensuring that an apartment is code compliant when a tenant moves into their new home. Select a Language Below/Seleccione el Idioma Abajo. We uncover insider info about living in NYC and keep you updated on everything from tantalizing experiences and eats, to iconic stories and urban legends. Buffalos residents deserve to live in homes that are safe, secure and stable, especially when so many of us have been forced to spend a greater period of time in our homes as a result of the COVID-19 global health pandemic. A property manager overseeing more than 6,000 apartment units in 134 buildings in New York City has been noncompliant with lead-paint regulations, state This action is brought to recover unpaid minimum and overtime wages owed to Plaintiff and other similarly situated employees of the Defendants, in addition to damages for Defendants failure to provide required wage notices and statements. We need the ongoing assistance of every level of government to protect tenants from property owners who arent addressing lead hazards. AkH5tKl#'FM|X0'UH^F+y{OBhiOio+O| l5r(>Vb[NX+Y,. The agreement was jointly filed by Attorney General James and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) in the Supreme Court of New York, Bronx County for final approval. In September 2021, Attorney General James announced an agreement in her lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings, a property management corporation, over its failures to protect children from lead paint hazards in New York City. The agreement also requires Kiggins and Endzone to pay $215,000 that will be used to prevent the exposure of children to lead paint within the City of Syracuse or Onondaga County, and/or to provide assistance to the families affected by lead poisoning. I want to thank Attorney General Letitia James for holding landlords accountable and ensuring all New Yorkers have access to safe, lead-free homes., Chestnut Holdings, which owns dozens of buildings in the Bronx, including at least seven in my own district, failed to uphold their obligations to provide safe and decent housing for their tenants, said State Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz. WebCompany profile page for Chestnut Holdings Inc including stock price, company news, press releases, executives, board members, and contact information Students from P.S. Wb\M1uELF QPT20}7CL3p9e iS&JV?` 0 q Select a Language Below/Seleccione el Idioma Abajo. Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. I commend Attorney General Letitia James for filing suit against landlords who have so flagrantly ignored the laws we have put in place to protect our children. As reported in Crains New York Business, Chestnut Holdings is trying to evict WeWork from a midtown New York City building, and has filed a suit stating that it is Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Peter D. Lopez, Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced today that the United States has entered into a Consent Decree settling a civil lawsuit against Chestnut Petroleum Distributors, Inc., and its affiliates Back in 2018, a woman sued Chestnut Holdings for failing to accept her, Tips for Remote and Hybrid Learning in NYC. Earlier in September 2021, she reached a pre-suit agreement with A&E Holdings to ensure that children living in its New York City apartments are protected from dangerous lead-based paint. In the lawsuit, the Attorney General seeks injunctive relief requiring Chestnut Holdings to comply with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, including bringing all apartments into compliance with the Acts requirements, penalties for its repeated violations of the Act, and disgorgement of money it would have expended to comply with the Act. According to the lawsuit, as many as 600 children who receive SNAP benefits were affected, Letitia James (Credit: Getty Images, iStock). Specifically, the agreement requires Chestnut Holdings to: Chestnut Holdings will also pay $300,000 to the OAG to fund projects that help protect children from lead poisoning. as soon as possible through one of our websites, www.employmentlawyernewyork.com or www.516abogado.com, or any of our phone numbers: (516) 2485550, (516) ABOGADO, or (212) 6795000. sued a group of Buffalo individuals and companies for repeated violations of city, county, state, and federal laws by illegally allowing lead paint-related hazards to proliferate in their rental properties. Elevated blood lead levels are also more prevalent in Buffalos low-income neighborhoods than high-income neighborhoods. This seems to be the case with Chestnut Holdings. The event brought out close to100 volunteers who enjoyed a great day of helping to beautify and restore Claremont Park. NEW YORK New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc., a property management corporation, for failing to comply with provisions of New York Citys lead poisoning prevention law. 95 worked with DreamYards art instructors to create an art display that was unveiled in the lobby of Chestnuts building at 1504 Sheridan Avenue. Residents of the Bronx took part inClaremont Park Dayas Chestnut Holdings partnered with The Bronx is Blooming and The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation to engage the community through environmental stewardship and educational activities. The New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act requires owners of apartments and houses built before 1960 to take critical safety measures to prevent lead poisoning in children tenants. Lead paint in residential housing has been a pervasive problem for decades, particularly in New York. The investigation was initiated in 2017, according to a source familiar with the matter. There is no looking the other way. Having lead paint in an apartment is not necessarily illegal if there is no risk of exposure, but when building owners paint over it rather than remove it which is expensive it can eventually resurface. Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. This is the second time the property management company is being sued for housing discrimination. The Environmental Protection Bureau is part of the Division of Social Justice, led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux, all under the oversight of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy. Thats what vouchers are there for.. All New Yorkers in every city, village, and town across this state have a right to live in homes that dont make them sick, said Attorney General James. Exposure to lead paint in our aging housing stock puts children in grave jeopardy and our future at risk. Whether it be our local executive order that withholds rent payments to landlords knowingly exposing their tenants to lead or investing millions of dollars in lead remediation just in 2022, Onondaga County is fully committed truly solving the lead issue plaguing our community, said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon. The Environmental Protection Bureau is a part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and is under the oversight of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy. Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. I thank our attorney general for putting our children first and ensuring that a message is sent to all landlords, that neglectful and dangerous behavior will no longer be accepted., Not only is New York Attorney General Letitia James holding criminally negligent landlords accountable for putting the health of our children at risk, but she is also using funds from these fines to protect other children from toxic lead poisoning, said Sonal Jessel, policy director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice. I thank Attorney General James and our partners at Onondaga County for helping us put a stop to the bad practices of John Kiggins and Endzone Properties once and for all, said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. James says her office reached out multiple times to Chestnut Holdings, but did not get a response. Lead is a highly toxic metal that can cause serious and irreversible adverse health effects. James says at this point, there is no evidence of children being sick. The event brought out close to 100 volunteers who enjoyed a great quoteRotator.delay=5;quoteRotator.fadeDuration=1;quoteRotator.fadeoutDuration=2;quoteRotator.quotesInit(); At Chestnut Holdings, we value our relationships with our tenants and are dedicated to building and preserving our tenant communities. This gallery provides a glimpse of the beautifully renovated complex in recent months during both the Fall and Winter seasons. Plaintiff Huggins brings this action on himself and all similarly situated current and former employees pursuant to the FLSA and NYLL. Her commitment to investigating and identifying these individuals demonstrates her dedication and commitment to defending the most vulnerable members of our society., The fact that the city of Buffalo will be joining in this lawsuit as a co-plaintiff in this case is major, said Buffalo Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski. Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), and Peter D. Lopez, Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced today that the United States has filed a civil lawsuit against Chestnut Petroleum Distributor, Inc., and its affiliates CPD Energy Corp., CPD HONORABLE PAUL A. CROTTY United States District Judge.