Campaign To Harass NYC Rent-Stabilized Tenants Out Of Their Homes Continues; Recent Lawsuit Accuses Landlord Of Failing For Six Months To Fix Cooking Gas To All Apartments After City-Ordered Shut-Off Due To Problem In Boiler Room; Free Hot Plates Distributed To Each Family Of Little Help

In Bushwick, Brooklyn, Bushwick Patch reports:

• A group of Bushwick tenants who have lived at 36 Linden St. without cooking gas for six months are suing the city and ICON Realty Management, the building's owner, in the hope that a housing court judge will force the issue to be resolved.
  
  City records show that the Department of Buildings ordered the gas shut off at the property in late January due to a problem in the boiler room. A DOB spokesman said [] that ICON has been issued a permit to fix the problem, but has yet to have its work tested.
  
  Nicole Denuccio, a tenant leader who has lived in the building since 2012, said ICON gave out hot plates to the nearly 20 apartments that haven't been able to use their stoves and burners, though many have broken.
  
  She also said the company cut some of the affected tenants' rent bills by 25 percent, including hers.
  
  But boiling water on a hot plate can take an hour, she said, time she doesn't have, considering that she works two jobs and is in school. "A lot of times, I'll buy food out, and that's a significant cost," Denuccio explained.
  
  What's more, while her gas was free, the hot plates use electricity. That, combined with takeout bills, has surpassed the rent savings she was given, Denuccio said.
  
  ICON did not immediately return a request for comment [].
  
  The tenants' suit was filed by lawyers from Brooklyn Legal Services(1) in June, and a hearing is scheduled for Friday. The tenants will be rallying outside their building at 1:30 p.m., along with a collection of fair housing advocates.

Source: Bushwick Tenants Headed to Court After 6 Months Without Cooking Gas (Nearly 20 units in a Bushwick building haven't had cooking gas since January).

For a follow-up story, see Bushwick Tenants Say 6 Months Without Cooking Gas Is Part of Owner's Plan to Force Them Out:

• [A] housing court judge ordered Icon Realty Management, the building's owner, to install electric stoves in the gasless units within a month, according to Adam Myers, an attorney with Brooklyn Legal Services representing the tenants.

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(1) Brooklyn Legal Services is part of Legal Services NYC, a non-profit organization providing legal services for low-income residents of New York City.