Children under the age of 6 are more likely to be exposed to lead than any other age group, as their normal behaviors could result in them chewing lead paint chips; breathing in or swallowing dust from old lead paint that gets on floors, windowsills, and hands; and lead can be found in soil, toys, and other consumer products. AkH5tKl#'FM|X0'UH^F+y{OBhiOio+O| l5r(>Vb[NX+Y,. Lead poisoning is a serious and immediate problem, particularly in New York. Exposure to lead paint in our aging housing stock puts children in grave jeopardy and our future at risk, James said in a statement. The New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act requires owners of apartments and houses built before 1960 to take critical safety measures such as identifying apartments where children under six live, conducting annual investigations of those apartments for hazards that are conducive to lead poisoning, and remediating those conditions where they occur. 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. The case status is Pending - The OAG will continue to work with them and other dedicated local partners to continue to make progress in combatting childhood lead poisoning in the region. The penalty amount is based on the extent of violations determined through the OAGs investigation. Unfortunately, tenants are often denied a fair chance at renting an apartment due to source-of-income discrimination, where housing vouchers are seen as less desirable forms of payment. This action by Attorney General James holds those who have repeatedly violated housing codes accountable and protects the health and safety of our children., Lead exposure continues to be a very real problem across New York state, and our children are suffering long-term as a result, said StateSenator Tim Kennedy. This Google translation feature is provided for informational purposes only. But, far too many New York City landlords continue to ignore their obligations under the law and expose our children to wholly-preventable lead-based paint hazards. Although New York banned the use of lead paint in 1970, with the federal government following suit in 1978, buildings constructed prior to 1978 often still have lead paint. The art will continue to hang in the building lobby for all residents to enjoy. All rights reserved 2023 The Real Deal is a registered Trademark of Korangy Publishing Inc. 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. According to a complaint her office filed today, Chestnut Holdings repeatedly exposed children to lead paint and fraudulently certified that it had complied with the law passed to prevent that. The Office of Attorney General's website is provided in English. If such properties are properly maintained, however, lead poisoning can be prevented. Endzone has sold all the properties it owned and all of the properties it once managed are now under new management. Children who have been exposed to even very low levels of lead are at risk for neurological and physical problems during critical stages of early development. 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. Revelations in 2018 that the New York City Housing Authority covered up exposure to lead which can damage childrens brains shocked the public and led to the appointment of a federal monitor. Childrens lives and futures are a stake in this ongoing effort, and the actions we take today will help to safeguard our youth and punish those who would harm them., Families living in Buffalos older, distressed properties are disproportionately vulnerable to the serious health consequences of lead poisoning, said U.S. Representative Brian Higgins. 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. 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 NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. 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. 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. However, the "Google Translate" option may assist you in reading it in other languages. We must continue to ensure that landlords are in compliance with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act and continue to promote this important law. 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. 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. When shes not writing you can find her at the gym, a family cookout, or at brunch with her girls. It is as immoral as it is illegal that a landlord would knowingly expose families to lead poisoning, which disproportionately threatens the health and development of Black and brown children, said Attorney General James. 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. 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. This is extremely troubling for Black/African American communities because we know from national studiesthat Black children living below the poverty line are twice as likely to suffer from lead poisoning as poor white children. Chestnut Holdings manages more than 6,000 apartments in approximately 134 buildings, most of which are located predominantly in low-income communities of color in the Bronx. 95 worked with DreamYards art instructors to create an art display that was unveiled in the lobby of Chestnuts building at 1504 Sheridan Avenue. These include annual inspections and ensuring that an apartment is code compliant when a tenant moves into their new home. The landlord also falsely certified in new leases that it had complied with the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, the complaint alleged. A copy of this disclaimer can also be found on our Disclaimer page. The health code thus requires lead paint to be enclosed with a rigid surface, such as drywall. This is the second time the property management company is being sued for housing discrimination. Topics you care about, straight to your inbox. Children under 6 years of age are more likely to be exposed to lead than any other age group, as their normal behaviors could result in them chewing lead paint chips; breathing in or swallowing dust from old lead paint that gets on floors, window sills, and hands; and can be found in soil, toys, and other consumer products. 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. The lawsuit, filed in October 2021, 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. Chestnut Holdings is dedicated to visually and culturally enriching our Bronx neighborhood. Children under six are more likely to be exposed to lead than any other age group, as their normal behaviors could result in them chewing lead paint chips; breathing in or swallowing dust from old lead paint that gets on floors, window sills, and hands; and can be found in soil, toys, and other consumer products. 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. They have damaged the lives of countless children in our community. Chestnut Holdings is a family-owned real estate investment and management firm of properties throughout New York City. During this same period, at least 32 Endzone properties were flagged by the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County for chipping, peeling, deteriorating paint, and other conditions conducive to lead poisoning, which are prohibited by county and city laws. 0 We are fortunate to have Letitia James in our corner as Attorney General. 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 Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that in 2017, 715 children in Erie County under six years of age tested with blood lead levels between 5 and 9 g/dL, filed 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. This highly toxic metal causes serious and irreversible harms, and I am committed to ensuring that landlords follow the laws to protect young children from lead poisoning.. James says at this point, there is no evidence of children being sick. 910 Franklin Avenue Suite 200 Garden City, NY 11530 Tel: 516-248-5550 Fax: 516-248-6027, 655 Third AvenueSuite 1821 New York, NY 10017 Tel: 212-679-5000 Fax: 212-679-5005, Copyright 2023 EmploymentLawyerNewYork.com |, Separation Agreements and Severance Packages, Marital Status Discrimination and Harassment, Sexual Discrimination and Harassment In The Workplace, Sexual Identity Discrimination and Harassment, Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Harassment, Civil Rights and Constitutional Law Claims, National Origin Discrimination and Harassment, Whistle Blower Protection and Retaliation, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, Borrelli & Associates, PLLC Reviews on ProvenCredible. 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 ` *d * $4%Y1\ - Z:q;.&&c60e`tIrS*hd 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. NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. However, the "Google Translate" option may assist you in reading it in other languages. A group of eight New Yorkers is suing a Bronx real estate company for allegedly refusing to accept housing vouchers as rent payment. Any future violation of the law by Chestnut Holdings will violate the agreement and subject the company to possible legal action by the OAG. What we do have is the fact that the landlord, unfortunately, has not complied with the law and as a result of that, he again, it poses a threat to all of the children who are currently residents in this building, she says. 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 Attorney General James is pursuing 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. AG Letitia James Sues Chestnut Holdings for Lead Poisoning - The Real Deal Attorney general sues Chestnut Holdings for lead paint According to the lawsuit, A 2017 Reuters investigation revealed that several zip codes in the city of Buffalo were some of the most saturated lead-burdened communities in the country, which is why I cosponsor Dakota's Law in the State Senate. Lead is a highly toxic metal that can cause serious and irreversible adverse health effects. 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. This is incredibly pervasive in New York City. A spokesperson for Chestnut challenged the quality of the investigation, and said the firm complies with all lead laws to the letter and addresses lead issues immediately. The event brought out close to100 volunteers who enjoyed a great day of helping to beautify and restore Claremont Park. 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. Hopefully, legal actions like this one will send a message to others who might choose to ignore lead poisoning prevention laws that such behavior will not be tolerated. It's the first-ever lawsuit filed by the Office of the Attorney General for failing to comply with the lead poisoning prevention law. He eventually received help from Breaking Ground, a permanent supportive housing provider. The rental housing operations addressed in the suit are controlled by Angel Elliot Dalfin. New York City has a major child lead poisoning problem, with a rate of 11.2 per 1,000 children living in private housing having elevated blood lead levels., New York Citys landmark Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention law is key to ending the enduring devastation of lead in our communities, saidMatthew Chachre, attorney, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation. The OAG has been active in holding landlords and property managers accountable for violating childhood lead poisoning prevention laws in New York. James says her office reached out multiple times to Chestnut Holdings, but did not get a response. 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. Todays agreement, negotiated in partnership with Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse, permanently bans Kiggins and Endzone from managing or owning residential rental properties in the state of New York. In fact, lead paint has been found in approximately 43 percent of all of New Yorks dwellings. Follow her on Linkedin to learn more. Lead paint has been found in approximately 43 percent of all of New York dwellings. Plaintiff Huggins regularly worked as many as seven days and well over 40 hours each week, including the requirement that he be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to deal with any issues in the residential multifamily properties that the Defendants owned. We never thought we would be in that position, but a lot of people are. The agreement announced today requires Chestnut Holdings to comply with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, including bringing all apartments into compliance with the laws provisions that it was found to have violated during the OAGs investigation. Thats what vouchers are there for.. This is unacceptable, and I am very proud of Attorney General Letitia James for her work to hold Chestnut Holdings accountable., Many of my Bronx constituents have been exposed to dangerously high levels of lead paint in their homes, putting young children at risk, said State Assemblymember Kenny Burgos. The Office of Attorney General's website is provided in English. Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. 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. hUmo0+jlNH4t : C NEW YORK New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement in her lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc. (Chestnut Holdings), a property management corporation, over its failures to protect children from lead paint hazards in New York City. In 1960, New York City prohibited the sale of paint with high levels of lead for residential use, New York state imposed a state-wide ban in 1970, and the federal government banned lead in paint in 1978. 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. WebPhone: (718) 543-8200. '' 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. b``$@z'@ e1 All too often, unprincipled landlords like Endzone disregard their duty to ensure their properties are free of lead hazards and its harms. 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{ Children who have been exposed to even very low levels of lead are at risk for neurological and physical problems during critical stages of early development. 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.