The Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit asking the court to appoint a administrator to manage a residential building that has been “effectively abandoned” and neglected by its owners on behalf of six tenants residing at 201 Pulaski Street in Brooklyn.

The lawsuit was filed against Food First Housing Development Fund Company, a nonprofit that claims to provide supportive housing for the homeless and working poor. Food First owns several apartment buildings throughout NYC and has a long history of neglect, allowing building conditions to become dangerous to the life, health, and safety of the tenants who live there. This is the third suit tenants at 201 Pulaski have brought against the landlord to address ongoing, unaddressed issues.

The conditions at the Bed Stuy property include vermin infestations, persistent roof leaks, inadequate heat, and inadequate janitorial services. Food First has failed to complete any significant repairs or construction on any of the tenants’ homes and continues to harass them by depriving them of basic services.

“Our clients and all tenants at 201 Pulaski have suffered years of dangerous living conditions as a result of Food First completely ignoring their duty as landlord to address the disrepair issues,” said Linda Holmes, an attorney in the Housing Brooklyn Neighborhood Office at The Legal Aid Society. “Food First has made it clear that, left to their own devices, they will continue to neglect and mismanage this building, so the tenants have been left with no choice but to seek intervention from the court. We look forward to fighting on their behalf.”