Shabbos comes in; peace at last. My wife is delighted to finally relax for a bit in the bright, air conditioned dining room after a long day of cooking and rushing about our small CH apartment. The kids are content and find toys to enjoy beside the couch. The multiple gourmet dishes, resulting from my wife’s hard work that day, are keeping cool in the fridge and warm on the electric blech nearby. All seems perfect and with a hearty “Good Shabbos”, I leave for Shul looking forward to returning with our guests.
I come home to a starkly different scene than the peaceful one I had left not even one hour prior. The baby is screeching having not had his bottle, my wife is tense and exasperated, our toddler is sweaty and frightened, my guests are tripping over stuff unable to see by the light of a mere few candles. It’s hot. It’s dark. It’s devastating. And it’s the eighth time this month. Our building has lost electricity — yet again, each time lasting hours on end.
‘Grin and bear’ was a reasonable command the first time we experienced the power outage in the building on Shabbos, June 26. The heat was sweltering and unbearable. Our food was spoiled in no time. But surely it was a surprise for the landlord as well and we waited out the 20-30 hours for the electricity to be restored. It was Shabbos for him too, he couldn’t possibly have been prepared for this. Sure, Mr. Landlord, we’ll excuse you although it would have been nice if we didn’t have to wait until late Sunday to bring our 98 degree apartments back to breathable levels.
This happened Sunday, July 4, Thursday, July 8, Sunday, July 11, Wednesday, July 21, Shabbos, July 24, (it’s 100 degrees outside), and Shabbos, July 31 – 22 hours of no power, and still no signs of hot water returning.
How many times can you continue to throw out fresh food just purchased and watch your hard-earned dollars rot in the garbage? How many hours can you sit in limbo waiting for lights, fridge, AC and computer to come back to life? How many days can you pack up a family in the dark and spend money on accommodations while paying serious rent? How can you watch a baby cry for a bottle and be unable to provide due to an unpowered urn? And how can you possibly endure when your calls to the Super, are ignored and unanswered, providing no sign of impending help? For how long must you guard your exasperated fingers from pushing those 3 buttons, 3-1-1.
I’m tired of landlords taking advantage of good tenants and getting away with inexcusable repeated behavior. I’m sickened by the lack of responsibility and accountability by our very own. I can’t understand. And I can’t allow my family to lie sleepless in escalating temperatures for much longer.
It’s no longer a game. I don’t pay rent to gamble on electricity and jeopardize the safety and health of my family. When crisis strikes, I need help – can 311 answer my call?
Signed,
CH tenant
I have never heard of an issue being properly resolved by beis din. All I ever hear is that people ignore the summons to beis din, or ignore the verdict given by beis din. Why go to a court that is ignored by most people??!!! How will that be effective???
#who ever blames the tennants telling them to move out.
not everyone has money to just move out like that! if you have the money good for you but think about other situtations that are definetly different than yours before you write
l forgot to add that yes we did say quite a few times about the problem to the land lord and they simply disregard what ever we said and yes we were paying rent,the first one only loss 3,000 awhile we lost 50,000. everyone kept telling us to move but where,you have to pay the rent and we were not on sec 8 either and there really wasn’t any where to move,later l’d find out that we could have gotten help from ohel. another thing l wish to bring up is chimmy liners,how vital this is for your health unless… Read more »
Which community are you referring to ?.
I am shocked so many of you have said that the rabbonim say noone listens to them and you are allowed to go to court. 1. Each case is different , no two cases are the same and the rov needs to listen to two sides before he can say go to court. 2. I f people in ch don’t respect the rabbonim for what ever sad reason they should find different rabbonim. there is no grand heter that you are allowed to go to court it is USSOR, USSOR ,NO EXCUSES!!!!!!! We have a shulchan aruch and Da’as Torah… Read more »
we should ask for moshiach the same way that we ask for electricity…
Let’s not warp this honest article – this is clearly not the case – the author is not asking not to pay rent nor is anyone suggesting to find excuses not to pay – we all want electricity, tha’s all. And unfortunately withholding money may be the only language landlors speak at this point.
whoever you are that is suffering this indignaty. i must compliment you. in two words; you’re crazy!!! if a landlord can see fit to do this more than once in the summer when it’s murderously hot than you should have dialed 311 after the first or for sure the second time, by not doing at least that you are telling him he can keep on doing it.
You hit it on the head. There are people who do not pay rent but have money for vacation, for new cloths and sheitels, for luxury cars and other luxuries. There is a warped mentality between certain types of people in the community who think that everything is coming to them even free rent. And it does not matter who gets hurt on the way. Do they really believe that there is no cheshbon in life? That they will not get to enjoy the money that they literally “stole” from the landlord. These people should be educated on the obligations… Read more »
How about addressing the issue of tenants who do not pay rent.? I think there should be a list of these tenants on line so that (A) they will get embarrassed and pay rent or (B) if they really can not pay maybe the community can help them as they need help or (C) their mashpia or rav can explain to them that this is stealing and not what frum people do or (D) at least everyone will know who they are and not do a shidduch, trust in business, give a loan to etc. to these type of people.… Read more »
moving out aint scaring the landlords. people dont know about these issues. i have a brand new huge apt with few amps. believe me if i move out they will find someone to take over in a jiffy
it’s interesting to see that just about everyone here agree’s with the author, this is not usual for op-eds. I’ll admit that before I read the whole article and saw how this was a recurring issue that has been neglected I thought that the author shouldn’t make a big deal about a power outage. It made me think of this cute clip I’d seen that I’ll post on bottom. After seeing that it happened over and over again I agree with all the commentators. I think that anyone in this situation should: a) Make an accurate calculation of the losses… Read more »
Your lease does not specify an electricity or an amount of electricity.
we lived in a private house and the next-door neighbor said that she smell gas.do you know how many people cannot smell anything,l thought it was a dead mouse,she said it 3 times,how hard is it to call the gas company or a plumber, the old saying,think good and it will be good, the wife says it’s my husband responsibly,did nothing,but when we called the gas company,turn it off,they wanted to murder us,we were sick non-stop for years,it never dawn on us to check on the gas as both, my husband grew up in homes that our parents took care… Read more »
I remember living in a fisher building in 742 montgomery st where this was a problem. They installed switch boxes instead of the old fuse boxes. This enabled us to switch the electricity back on from within our apartment without having to go to the super each time. I don’t believe this job is so expensive. The electrician did it within 3 hrs. Most buildings have their own electrician on salary anyways. In addition, I think there is a law about how many amps a landlord is required to provide to each apartment. The commenter above that says they only… Read more »
huh?
1. Call 311, and every city agency. RIGHT AWAY. As a Rav told me that since the landlords don’t listen to the Beis Din anyways, you don’t need to go through this step before notifying the city about these problems.
2. Don’t pay your rent. Explain to the Judge that without electricity, you are not living in livable conditions.
3. Post the addresses of the buildings so we know not to move there or in the buildings managed by the same people.
you MUST call 311 if you want to prove your claims either in court, din torah or even to your landlord should he try to evict you or not renew your contract for complaining and causing him problems. if you dont call 311 there is no proof of any of your claims and then you might suffer even more. calling 311 may not get your electricity back on right away but it will help legitimize your case.
We are living in times when we see our fellow yidden and Lubavitchers R”L charged…which can lead to along chain of undesirable events because of Messira.
Landloards please take responsibility!! Please do not advantage of us!
lastly overworked overheated old wiring can lead to electrical fire. Action must be taken to prevent tragedy and ensure safety immediately.
As a victim living in the particular building mentioned in this article, i did include the address of my building in my comment and COLlive removed it, I assume as a courtesy to protect the landlord. I respect their decision although I’m not sure I personally agree – it will only be of benefit to achieve the result we all want: paying our rent and receiving electricity.
move to a normal community, where rent is cheaper. apartments are nicer, chinuch is better, community is warmer, and you can get the same government benefits if you need them.
why stay in cramped tiny out of date apartments???
I agree post the names of the landlords who are continuing this shameful behavior.
Also, please let the public know which buildings these are so they dont rent there and run into these issues. Help out your fellow lubatchers, dont let unsuspecting people fall into this crazy situation. Please tell us which buildings these are.
Instead of blaming the landlords, blame yourselves. A bunch of idiots willingly subjecting themselves to pain and torture by living in Crown Heights. Move out! It’s better for your health, your finances, your Sholom Bayis, your judaism, your children’s chinuch
Everyone come to 763 eastern parkway we don’t have these problem here
thanks to new management we have the best building in the best location
I think the first step is to post on this site, the addresses of the buildings where this is happening, and the names of the landlords. and the dates that this occured. the second step is for all of the tenant to collectively only pay half of the rent each month untill the issue is resolved. thirdly, I would take it to court immediately. no one listens to rabbanim or beis dins these days. If you want result. File this in court. otherwise, find another place to live. There is no chance that landlords who havent had the decency to… Read more »
1) if you don’t like something in a building move out 2) call the landlord to a din torah This does not sound like it but there are tenants who will look for any excuse to deduct rent. I think that if a landlord does not fix the problem you can call him to a din torah. Only if the rav says to deduct rent, do so. There are people who will end up deducting so much rent for so nothing, even if the owner is working hard to fix the problem i.e. calling electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and until the… Read more »
I work with a family with more than 3 special needs children. They pay rent and they are terrorized by a landlord who doesn’t take care of violations in their apt.-now refrig is out-there is no recourse-WHERE IS ZAKY TAMIR-and the VAAD HAKOL-Take care of your people-this house is a multiple dwelling on Eastern Pkwy -SHAME SHAME
You have an effective and legal means of causing your landlord to fix the electricity: don’t pay rent. If you read your apartment lease, you should probably see a section that says that landlord has the obligation to provide electricity to the tenant’s apartment. If you don’t see it, you as a tenant still have the right by law to receive the delivery of electricity from the landlord. Since the landlord has not kept with his obligations, you do not have an obligation to the landlord. You do not need to pay rent. If you withhold rent and cut into… Read more »
you are right – not so much for venting but moreso so that others will know whom not to rent from and avoid the hassle of moving later… Most importantly, this might hopefully motivate landlords to be more proactive about tenant issues knowing they will be documented for all…
Perhaps this comment should more accurately be entitled “Electrical Outrages.” The writer who so well describes the aggravating results of the electrical outages his family is experiencing is right. Rents in our community have long ago caught up with those of other Jewish communities where there is old housing. There is no excuse for CH landlords not to dig into their profits and beef up the electric wiring in their multiple dwelling houses. If they feel it isn’t worth their while to own these houses, there are surely others who are willing to make a smaller profit on them and… Read more »
Sure I’ll move – when the landlord gives me a check for moving expenses. I did not sign a lease on no electricity – if the landlord broke the agreement, he’s absolutely responsible for necessary compensation such as being required to move out. Let’s think logically please, thanks.
I live in the building this happened to – WE DID NOT HAVE A SINGLE AC RUNNING when it blew at 9:30!!! And please do not cry about rewiring the buillding – if you’re the landlord that’s part of your responsibility, hands down. And YES – we have money and gladly pay for things that do what they’re intended to do. We pay our AC bill when we run our AC, we pay our rent when we live in our apt – we clearly cannot afford to pay our rent when we’re forced to live elsewhere and need to repurchase… Read more »
Consider this fact:
70 percent of Crown Heights (renters) work all week to pay 5 percent of Crown Height (landlords).
Until that changes, you will have abusive landlords.
Are you some all knowing NYCer? Have you experienced this? I know someone who is going through something similar.. every shabbos this summer, the fuse would blow. They called 311 after the first shabbos. It’s still happening.
Take him to a din-torah immediately. Make a claim for damages also.
If that doesn’t work, for whatever, ask the BD for permission to report to authorities and sue for damages (plus costs.)
Turn the heat on him.
MOVE OUT!
Do you know the expense of rewiring a building? You guys are using way to much electricity. This Shabbos evening it was nice and cool, absolutely no reason to use the AC. You dont pay your rent, but money for the AC you have??
A CHUTZPAH!
By all means, you must call 311. And then a lawyer, to write a strongly worded letter, that’s how you start. And in the meantime, start looking for a new apt.
don’t pay rent this coming month.
not human to live like this
seriously!!
i think there needs to be a panel in community council that overlooks these abusive landlords! 311 doesn’t help anyway
move out. its sad, but you can people who are do not posses human caring feelings! so move out and be happier elsewhere. cant you also call the code department. get your landlord fined (annonymosly) bc the building that looses power so often might have electrical issues. thus can be unsafe for your family.. best result..move out.
The electricity went off and at the same time I got the worst stomach ache ever. So I had to contend with passing out from sweltering heat, and the most excruciating stomach ache pains simultaneously. In my case too the superintendent was AWOL and nowhere to be found. It wasn’t fun and I almost ended up in the hospital. It’s obscene.
its the same story in our building – and when its not the electricity, its the elevator. not the elevator? its no hot water. there’s always something.
311 doesn’t help but we call anyway. maybe they will slap on enough fines that the landlord will get annoyed and actually do something.
yeah, right.
i hate crown heights abuse.
I am in no way minimizing your situation, but want to suggest something for your baby. Buy a few thermos bottles, so that when/if it happens again, immedietely put some hot water into one, and milk into another, or whatever your baby needs to have his bottle. In best case (no more outages), you will have these thermoses for your next (planned) picnic. Good luck.
Wow this sounds like Ukraine where our electricity goes out every 2 hour for 2 hour in the winters.
Wish you all the best luck and it might be time to call 311 although I don’t know how much they will help.
Hatzlacha
that’s what they are there for.
yes you should call 311, the health department and everyone else that you can. These landlords are unbelivable they are getting their exoribant rent paid on time and we aren’t getting decent apartments for it.
its happen to me also every second shabbes its not normal and nobody care…and wen i call the super…………………. ignored and no unanswered..thank you for the AMAZING article good luke
that happened to us in the apt on empire so many times. im glad we moved. it was horrid!
our building goes thru this 3 or 4 times a week,
its crazy how our landlord gets away with charging us high rent and gets away with giving us 12 yes thats twelve amps of electricity for our three bedroom apartment, which , if you unplug everything else in the apartment might let you have one air conditioner on, (and hoping that some of the neighbors are out of town because when one apartment blows the whole line blows
yikes, it sounds serious this time….
they will slap a meaningless violation on the landlord who will again temporarily fix it and the violation will be cleared. It sounds like the entire building needs it’s electricity upgraded, a hefty bill for a landlord.
You need to get together as tenants and work as a group, form a tenant’s coalition. Only then will the landlord take it seriously.
Today being the first of the month, why don’t you without rent pro rata for the days that the landlord failed to live of to his obligation to provide electricity.
i agree. if you have to rent i learnt from experience it is better to rent a floor of a house where the landlord actually lives, like this if there is no electricity etc the landlord also doesnt have and something will get done.
About time ch landlords act right….its been living hell for me….i could write a book about the treatment i have received from mine….maybe we start a blog where frustrated tenants can vent their rage…and let other people know who not to rent from…
is this the building you live in? same story on union…its been crazy!!!
last summer i was 9 months pregnant and if my fridge was on I couldnt have ac….. we had to find new accomodations which were very costly… the landlords in CH sit in their cushy houses while the people paying them good money are dying of heat…
u shoulda called 311 after the second time it happened.
u are an irresponsible husband and parent for not calling 311 after the second time (maybe id grant him a warning but the warning would be after the first time).
dont blame the landlord, blame urself. business is business and trust me had u called then it wouldnt have happened again.
so sad someon should really help thes people