The building at 2010 Newkirk Avenue was in bad condition for many years. There was no super on the premises, no emergency phone number to call for emergency repairs or regular repairs, the basement badly needed electrical rewiring, and many apartments had leaks in bathrooms and kitchen ceilings. As a matter of fact, my apartment was in the worst condition with leaks from the bathroom, kitchen and bedroom ceilings and broken doors. The bedroom ceiling collapsed and I was injured in this incident. As a result, I had to call 311. I called 311 whenever I had a problem serious or otherwise. “3ll” was my favorite number to call and I became well known to it.
As a tenant leader of my building, I joined the Flatbush Tenant Coalition who helped us form a tenant association. The Coalition helped us to open my eyes and fellow tenants to their rights. With the new found knowledge, we demanded improvements and began to get some of our repairs done. We are still fighting for many repairs that still have to be done.
It took 5 years for MP Management to realize what we as tenants have been through. They haven’t finished repairs in some apartments, and we know this is a continuous fight on behalf of tenants. The Flatbush Tenant Coalition has helped us a lot because we realized we had to keep fighting and not give up. Eventually HPD and 311 is helping also.
