Housing Law Requires Landlords Make Speedy Repairs-NY News

Jashawn's Law Named After Child Killed in Fire in Building with 350 Housing Code Violations

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By David Greene, December 1, 2020

A pair of local officials joined housing advocates and attorneys in taking a bow and discussing a new law that takes effect in December-- that establishes deadlines for landlords to make court-ordered repairs.

State Senator Robert Jackson joined Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz in a Zoom conference call, they were joined by officials from the Legal Aid Society and officials from housing advocate groups Take Root Justice and the Fordham-Bedford Housing Corporation.

The bill was created by Dinowitz in 2003 in response to the August 6, 2002 blaze at 3569 DeKalb Avenue in Norwood, that took the life of 8-year-old Jashawn Parker. At the time of the blaze, the building had over 350 building code violations and the building's owner had been ordered to make repairs by a housing court judge, but those repairs were never made.

Explaining the passage of Senate bill 3320, Senator Jackson said, "It was being blocked by my Republican colleagues in the New York State Senate.

“They held it up all these years and now finally, because in 2019, the Democrats became the majority in the senate. This legislation has passed like many other pieces of legislation."

Jackson added, "The life of this child should never have ended, I mean he should never have died as a result of an electrical fire or any other situation... regarding life, health and safety, so understanding that this should have been done a long time ago."

John Reilly of the Fordham-Bedford Housing Corporation, whom Dinowitz said played a "very major role" in ending the life-threatening conditions at 3569 DeKalb Avenue, when Fordham-Bedford Housing Corporation was appointed as a 7-A administrator of the building and taking control of the building from the landlord in November, 2002.

With the rent payments of residents now going back into the building as opposed to the landlord's pocket, Reilly recalled, "The conditions in the building were deplorable. There were hundreds of very serious code violations that had been neglected for many years." He continued, "So tenants started to see improvements right away."

According to Reilly, thanks to financing from the city, the building had all its plumbing replaced, the electricity in the building was upgraded as well as replacing the building's leaky roof. Lead paint violations and other hazards inside individual apartments were also corrected.

Reilly concluded, "So it didn't really need to come to a tragedy to force this to happen. So this law will hopefully help avoid this from happening in the future, that repairs can be gotten in a timely manner."

Jessica Bellinder of the Legal Aid Society stated that in the past, housing court judges did not often understand the urgency at some building's, but now believes, "Having the court recognize that the time is of the essence is a really important aspect of this legislation, because what we find often is the court process doesn't really recognize the urgency that tenants feel."

Bellinder explained that residents with "really terrible conditions" such as no heat or running water, active leaks, mold, electrical issues, broken security systems or rodent infestation-- have few places to turn. Bellinder said of most residents, "They don't have a lot of options to just move when the building deteriorates, they need to hold the homeowner accountable to be able to stay in affordable housing, so they need every tool available to force landlords to step up and take responsibility for their building."

According to Bellinder the new law also covers harassment by the landlord, illegal evictions and withholding of services.

Greg Baltz of Take Root Justice added, "This law can really make a meaningful difference for tenants living with dangerous conditions. The law as written says that a judge can take control of a building away from a landlord who has failed or refused to address conditions that are dangerous to the health, life and safety of the tenants in that building and those conditions just need to have existed for five days, which is already too long."

Josh Stevenson of the West Bronx and Neighborhood Resource Center recalled how former director Sally Dumford spent two years petitioning the court to take over the DeKalb Avenue building, but the landlord kept requesting and was granted numerous delays," until Parker's tragic death.

Looking to the future Stevenson added, "One of the things we're worried about is the potential for property owners to outright refuse to make repairs, citing the economic conditions from the COVID pandemic."

Dinowitz offered, "I just want to point out first that if Jashawn Parker had lived, he would be 26 years-old today and perhaps even raising his own family. It's really a tragic loss." 

As the Zoom video conference ended, Dinowitz thanked Senator Jackson for his support and added, "And all our advocates here, the work you do really makes a difference in the lives of countless people and it's much appreciated."