“We’re not leaving” say tenants in poorly maintained building About 20 protestors crammed in front of the doorway of 569 W. 192 St. May 7 to voice what they called repeated neglect and callous practices by their landlord Daniel Andrejczuk. Residents chanted “aqui no nos vamos, aqui nos quedamos” (We’re not leaving, we’re staying here) and held hand written signs that read “nos acosan porque somos Hispanos” (They harass us because we’re Latino) and “no tenemos tranquilidad, ya basta” (Why can’t we be left alone, this is enough). Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat’s tenant advocacy group, Nos Quedamos, along with the CUNY Law Project, is working to help tenants. “Eso es un terrorismo urbano, (this is urban terrorism),” Espaillat said to the predominantly Spanish-speaking audience. Residents complained of a four-year pattern of insufficient heat and hot water, not having a superintendent and a decaying building in desperate need of repairs. “Para ella, no hay leyes (The law doesn’t exist to this woman),” Resident Divina Munoz said of the wife of the landlord. She said her floor has been steadily sinking into the ground for years, and no one has been in to repair it despite her complaints. Enedina Pilar Sanchez, a private attorney who is working with the CUNY Law Project, said the landlord’s failure to provide basic services is grounds for legal redress. She plans to file a building wide complaint. The Manhattan Times is the bilingual newspaper of Washington Heights and Inwood.
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