MINOR VIOLATIONS IN BUILDINGS OWNED BY STEVEN KESSNER

There have been a number of articles and news clips recently about Steven Kessner and his R. E. Group. Some have been fair and balanced but many are driven by the media ties to politicians and non profit groups supporting the undocumented immigrant population. They are trying to paint Kessner as anti Hispanic but nothing could be further from the truth. The smoke screen that they constantly throw up are the numbers of violations in Kessner buildings. Steven Kessner employs over 55 people in his organization and the majority of them are Hispanic, from the Neighborhood. These are the people entrusted with the day to day operations of Kessner’s company and they are the ones directly responsible for abating the violations in the buildings. Steven Kessner sets the policy; maintain the safety and the quality of life in his buildings, complete and certify new violations before they are due and continually reduce the numbers of outstanding old violations. Its an open secret in the real estate industry that numbers of violations alone do not tell the real story about a building. So, lets take a look at the real story behind the violations in some of the Kessner buildings that have been attacked in the news media.

First, as a case in point, we would like to provide an in depth look at 291 Pleasant Avenue. This is a 16 unit building with 97 violations, or above 6 per unit. Ostensibly, this would be on HPD’s radar as a “building at risk.” However, a closer examination of the violation report reveals that 56 violations are in one apartment, including 37 duplicate violations. In other words, this tenant calls HPD over and over again about the same few things and then refuses access for the purpose of repairing them. 9 of the duplicate violations are for vermin and rodents. According to our exterminator’s records, the tenant has refused access every month. The purpose behind this tenant’s actions is to avoid paying any rent and she has not paid for several years. We also have a petition from every other tenant in the building and surrounding buildings, stating that this tenant is constantly harassing everyone else in the building and on the street. Aside from this one apartment, 8 of the violations are not due or are certified and awaiting dismissal. 18 violations are in two other apartments, of which 7 are no access for the purpose of dismissal. In terms of real violations in this building, there are about 20, all concentrated in one apartment, which we cannot access to abate them. A close examination of this building therefore reveals that, while it may appear to be violation ridden, the story is really about one tenant who is abusing the system to avoid paying rent.

One of the darlings in the news media is Steven Kessner’s building at 231 East 117th Street. This is because there are approximately 100 Hispanic people living in this building. What the media fails to disclose is that most of them are crammed into several illegally overcrowded apartments. This is not the fault of Steven Kessner; he originally rented each apartment to two people who sublet to up to fifteen other people in each apartment and then moved out themselves. One article showed a picture of a moldy bathroom ceiling in this building. Again, they fail to disclose that 20 people were probably living in the apartment, showering once or twice a day. Of course there is mold in the bathroom. It wasn’t meant to take that kind of abuse. So, lets look at the breakdown of violations outstanding in this building at the time the news article was written:

231 East 117th Street - 164 Violations; 4.7 per unit
76 violations were new and not due yet. Most, if not all were certified before they were due
101 violations are concentrated in three apartments
Of the 89 older violations, 60 have been taken care of, 30 are no access and 4 are tenant created.
This leaves 25 violations in the building; under 1 per unit.
The largest concentration of violations are in two overcrowded apartments

Fourteen people in this building formed into a tenant association. Seven of them are in court with pending non payment or holdover cases, three are not our tenants and a few just signed to be good neighbors. Five of these apartments are identified as dangerously overcrowded.

Every building that Steven Kessner owns was extremely distressed when he acquired it and he has poured his heart and soul into turning them around. It is painful to see people move in, occupy them illegally and destroy them. Kessner is also disturbed to be the subject of a media barrage because of those people, based on raw information gathered from the City. The vast majority of tenants in Kessner owned buildings live peaceably, in comfort and have no problems with him. Unfortunately, this is news that doesn’t sell and that is why the media does not provide the proper coverage.

For more information about Steven Kessner and his company look up his personal website www.StevenKessner.org or the company website www.RE-Management.com.