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. Lead poisoning in New York City is highest among children of color and children living in high-poverty neighborhoods. 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. OPINION & ORDER. The health impacts of lead paint in rental housing are particularly acute in the Buffalo region, where children who live in communities of color are 12 timesas likely than children who live in predominately white neighborhoods to be diagnosed with an elevated blood lead level. I applaud Attorney General James for taking swift action to hold landlords and management companies accountable that put their tenants at risk. Harvey Lindo, 68, is another plaintiff in the case against Chestnut. NEW YORK New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc., a property management Protecting the health and safety of our tenants should always be our number one priority., Attorney General Letitia James deserves high praise for this important victory protecting New Yorkers against lead poisoning, said New York CityCouncil Member Robert Cornegy. The Bronx rental management company firmly denies the accusations, claiming they have hundreds of tenants currently paying for rent in vouchers. ` *d * $4%Y1\ - Z:q;.&&c60e`tIrS*hd Chestnut workers (from left) Francisca Orduna, Luis Dominguez, Maria Orduna, Teodoro Santos are suing over their April 5 ordeal. 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. Chestnut Holdings is getting slapped All too often, unprincipled landlords like Endzone disregard their duty to ensure their properties are free of lead hazards and its harms. The Judge overseeing this case is John Preston Bailey. Veritas $450M loan default: A sign of things to come? Back in 2018, a woman sued Chestnut Holdings for failing to accept her, Tips for Remote and Hybrid Learning in NYC. All rights reserved. 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. Additionally, children from households living at or below the federal poverty line are at a greater risk of exposure to lead than children from households above the federal poverty line. Chestnut Holdings The Office of Attorney General's website is provided in English. CHESTNUT HOLDINGS INC. Email | Print | Comments (0) No. This is incredibly pervasive in New York City. This seems to be the case with Chestnut Holdings. 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 than 6,000 apartments throughout New York City are in full compliance with the law. 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. Attorney General James thanks the City of New York and the New York State Homes and Community Renewal for their assistance with data collection during the investigation. All rights reserved. Chestnut Holdings The futures of our children are at stake., As a pediatrician, when I see kids with lead poisoning its usually too late to prevent the worst effects on their developing brains, which is why people in public health have worked so hard to prevent lead exposure over the years,said Dr. Travis Hobart, MD, MPH, FAAP, medical director, Central/Eastern New York Lead Poisoning Resource Center. I want to thank Attorney General Letitia James and her team for their ongoing commitment, consistency, swift action, and thorough investigation into this important issue., A key premise of the lead law in 2004 was to make it clear that landlords had the prime responsibility to make sure the apartments they rent do not have lead-based paint hazards, said Matthew Chachre, attorney, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation. I hope this settlement serves to let all property owners know how seriously HPD and the attorney general take lead-based paint compliance and encourages them to find out more about how to properly comply.. 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 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. Inspect for and remediate any and all lead paint hazards when tenants vacate apartments. Morrison said she was devastated and humiliated by the experience. The Office of Attorney General does not make any promises, assurances, or guarantees as to the accuracy of the translations provided. Chestnut Holdings, Regulation. 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. The refusal to accept the voucher came at a troubling time for Morrison, who had recently been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This matter is being handled by the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York Attorney Generals Office and is led by Assistant Attorneys General Matthew Eisenson and Patrick Omilian, Special Assistant Attorney General Marissa Lieberman-Klein, Environmental Scientist Jennifer Nalbone, Science Interns Meredith Seibold and Serena Labrecque, and GIS Intern Gregory Welter. We are fortunate to have Letitia James in our corner as Attorney General. 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. Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. ". NYC workers forced to strip as boss hunted for stolen cash, lawsuit says. Todays complaint alleges that Chestnut Holdings engaged in repeated illegal acts under Executive Law 63(12) violating several provisions of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, including failing to inspect apartments to determine if a child under six lives there, failing to conduct complete annual investigations of apartments for hazards that are conducive to lead poisoning, and failing to take the necessary measures when an apartment turns over. 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. In fact, no safe lead level in children has been identified. Our management team has over 150 years of collective experience and a deep understanding of the real estate market. Attorney General James thanks Erie County and the city of Buffalo for their partnership and for providing critical information for this complaint. I look forward to continuing to work with the attorney general and our colleagues at all levels of government, to prevent these types of abuses going forward., Access to safe housing is a human right. Lead paint in residential housing has been a pervasive problem for decades, particularly in New York. Chestnut The building in front of which the attorney general selected to announce the lead lawsuit, 1515 Macombs Road, has exactly zero lead violations. WebNEW PALTZ, N.Y. Chestnut Petroleum Distributors Inc. (CPD) debuted a new logo and branding for its Chestnut Markets through a partnership with GSP. Attorney General James also thanks the City of New York and New York state's Homes and Community Renewal for their assistance with data collection during this investigation. 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. Recently, a lawsuit on behalf of eight housing voucher recipients was filed against Chestnut Holdings in the Manhattan Supreme Court. Lead-based paint was banned in 1960, but remediating the toxin has proved difficult in older buildings. 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. The following day, a tester from the NYC Human Rights Commission inquired about the same apartment that the plaintiff has. Todays announcement is welcome news and communicates a strong message of just how intolerable it is to promise the safety of a place to live only to deliver danger. The Dark History of the Empire State Building, How to Become a Digital Real Estate Investor in the Metaverse. 216(b). Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. 18 Civ. SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 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. They have damaged the lives of countless children in our community. 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.
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