Tenants, legislators, and activists continue calling for accountability and better conditions in Hempstead

Though the protesting tenants of Fulton Manor, at 590-600 Fulton Ave. in Hempstead, have won a year’s freeze on rent increases and prevented their gas from being turned off, they aren’t finished rallying.

They want promises from their landlord, Karen Singh, that those who complain about poor conditions won’t be subjected to intimidation, that apartment overcrowding will be addressed, that no unexpected fees will be charged for ordinary services, that when a refrigerator or stove breaks down, the landlord will replace it, and that when fresh paint is applied in common spaces, it won’t peel off.

Some 40 people rallied last Saturday afternoon in front of the building entrance at 600 Fulton, despite the noise of yard workers trimming hedges with motorized tools.

“Most of the time, they don’t even trim the bushes,” said a 20-year tenant who declined to be identified. “They only mow the lawn.”

About 25 tenants joined the rally, which was organized by New York Communities for Change and supported by the Party for Social Liberation, the Poor People’s Campaign and the Working Families Party. Nassau County Legislator Siela Bynoe and the Rev. Arthur L. Mackey Jr., pastor of Mt. Sinai Baptist Cathedral, in Roosevelt, also attended.

“We’re going to be here for many weeks,” Darinel Velasquez said, speaking in both English and Spanish.

Bynoe commended tenants for their courage. She pointed to the deteriorated paint on the facade above the building’s entrance, and to improperly fastened air conditioners in upper-story windows.

“I understand this situation from two perspectives,” Bynoe said, “because I was an agent for the Town of Huntington Housing Authority for 14 years, and I was deputy director for the Housing Authority for the Town of Hempstead. I dare you to go to any of their locations and find conditions like this. It wouldn’t stand because the federal government wouldn’t allow it. So now I’m left to beg the question, why this landlord thinks that he can employ tactics to get rent increases disguised as fees — fees for parking, fees for the key that he gave you that malfunctions so if you touch this door and it doesn’t open, you have to pay him $50 to get it right.”

Tenant Janice Broxton said that Singh had called her into his office recently and demanded that she sign rental agreements that would have resulted in a $517 increase in Broxton’s rent. She refused, and took the documents with her to show her lawyer.

“He’s supposed to mail us our leases,” Broxton said. “We have 90 days to decide if we want to sign it. You don’t bully me and tell me I'm going to sign it or else.”

She added that she had caught five mice in her apartment in the past week.

“Never had mice in my life,” Broxton said. “And I lived over in the ’hood on Bedell Street” in Hempstead, she added angrily.

Singh has denied the charges, according to a previous Herald report. He did not respond to another call seeking comment by press time.

Inside the 57-year-old building, the barren walls and hallways looked fairly clean on Saturday. But red paint around the elevator doors that had been applied three months ago was peeling off in chunks. The insides of the entrance and exit doors looked filthy. A 20-year tenant who asked to remain anonymous said that Singh had fired most of the regular maintenance staff, leaving only a building superintendent.

Overcrowding, the noise of children running overhead, and continuous loud music have become problems since Singh became landlord, several tenants said.

“Tenants living with each other — there has to be some respect,” said Aaron Allen, a 20-year tenant and a former president of the tenants association. “All that stomping needs to stop! All that music needs to stop! Trash goes to the trash compactor. Don’t let your children play in the hallways.”

Throughout the rally, the building’s front door opened frequently to let families with strollers, as well as other tenants, in or out.

Responding to complaints about noise and overcrowding is the responsibility of the landlord, according to Joe Simone, superintendent of buildings for the Village of Hempstead.

“There should be a system in place for management to handle complaints from the tenant,” Simone said. “I would think management would handle it internally with an attorney, and start eviction proceedings if the tenant is in violation of the lease. If the management wanted documentation from the village, then they could call us.”

For tenants to call the buildings department directly would be a last resort, Simone said.

“We can have quality buildings and revitalizations of our communities without discriminating against the poor,” Mackey said after the rally. “We have a responsibility to make sure that every brother and sister, whether they’re a millionaire or whether they’re on welfare, has quality housing.”