Abandoned Buildings In 'Foreclosure No-Man's Land' Leave Poor Tenants In Dangerous Digs As Lawyers Look To Lienholders To Fork Over Fix-Up Funds

In Brooklyn, New York, WABC-TV Channel 7 reports:

• There's a major legal push to help tenants living in deplorable conditions. The tenants are living in apartment buildings now in foreclosure and essentially neglected because of the dire financial situation. It has become a nationwide problem.
• Without landlords, no one is fixing these rent controlled buildings. There are crumbling ceilings and floors, and there was little heat or hot water over the winter and the roof has holes in it. "When it comes in, it's all over the floors," said Yolanda Jimenez, a tenant.
• There is black mold, the vents have not worked in years, and in this building at 294 5th Avenue, five of the six tenants are more than 70 years old. The average monthly rent runs about $200. Downstairs, a 98-year-old woman in a hospital bed and her son deal with all of these problems. He showed Eyewitness News a list of the people he has called for help.
• "This is New York City, America! This is not supposed to happen," said Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, (D) Brooklyn. How were these tenants left in foreclosure no man's land?
• So, advocates and lawyers with South Brooklyn Legal Services(1) are taking banks and intermediaries to court to fix buildings, in foreclosure now around the city, buildings that are full of people. "I hope they fix it, I'm not going nowhere," Jimenez said. There's no comment from the bank involved.

Source: Brooklyn rent controlled apartment in foreclosure.

See also, South Brooklyn Legal Services Files Lawsuit to Hold Mortgage-Holders Accountable for Foreclosed Properties (The advocates seek to draw attention to a major housing crisis across the borough— a rapid increase in overleveraged multi-family buildings going into foreclosure).

(1) South Brooklyn Legal Services is a non-profit law firm that provides legal services and information to low-income people in Brooklyn, NY.