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Posted by Scott Ferguson on January 07, 2002 at 13:11:39:

I live in a rent-stabilized, 1960s-era building with approx. 70 units in Astoria, Queens and have a written lease. The building has numerous problems but the most annoying one right at the moment is that the elevator is frequently out of service. The seven-flight trudge up the stairs is bad enough for the younger tenants (we live on the 6th floor numerically, but it amounts to 7 stories since the ground floor is considered zero and the first floor is what is normally counted as the second floor in most buildings), but I'm most concerned about two of my neighbors on the 6th floor, a 91-year-old woman and a 70-plus-year-old man. The elevator is often out of service for an entire weekend at a time. I have written the landlord to express my concern on behalf of the elderly tenants as well as my own irritation over the problem. The landlords do not seem ever to respond directly to the tenants and they apparently authorize only the cheapest repairs to the elevator, which keep it going from breakdown to breakdown. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could recommend a way to get real action out of the landlords on this subject. I was told once of a city housing agency, located in East Harlem I think, where tenants could request official complaint forms that carry more weight with landlords. Does anyone have any info on this agency? Thanks in advance.

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: I live in a rent-stabilized, 1960s-era building with approx. 70 units in Astoria, Queens and have a written lease. The building has numerous problems but the most annoying one right at the moment is that the elevator is frequently out of service. The seven-flight trudge up the stairs is bad enough for the younger tenants (we live on the 6th floor numerically, but it amounts to 7 stories since the ground floor is considered zero and the first floor is what is normally counted as the second floor in most buildings), but I'm most concerned about two of my neighbors on the 6th floor, a 91-year-old woman and a 70-plus-year-old man. The elevator is often out of service for an entire weekend at a time. I have written the landlord to express my concern on behalf of the elderly tenants as well as my own irritation over the problem. The landlords do not seem ever to respond directly to the tenants and they apparently authorize only the cheapest repairs to the elevator, which keep it going from breakdown to breakdown. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could recommend a way to get real action out of the landlords on this subject. I was told once of a city housing agency, located in East Harlem I think, where tenants could request official complaint forms that carry more weight with landlords. Does anyone have any info on this agency? Thanks in advance.


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