Repairs

[Santana]

What can I do if my building management is lax about repairs and upkeep? For instance, there's been an ongoing problem with plumbing clogging up and overflowing. They send the super over to patch things up and things work fine for a while. Recently, though, the overflow cause water to pour from the bathroom ceiling. I don't feel as though the landlord is acting quickly enough given the fact that this is a one-bathroom apartment! Is nasty looking water flowing from the ceiling a health code violation? Would the health department be on my side? In general, is there an agency that regulates the condition in which a property is maintained?

[Brooklyn Babe]

The Dept. of Housing Development and Preservation handles building violations.
www.nyc.gov/hpd. The following may be of help....
CRTC HP ACTION
http://www.tenant.net/Rights/CTRC/hpaction.txt
REPAIRING YOUR APARTMENT AND
DEDUCTING IT FROM YOUR RENT
http://www.nls.org/housing/deductdm.htm
http://www.dca.ca.gov/legal/landlordbook/repairs.htm (applies to Cali, but is very informative).

Best of Luck!