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What I’ve Been Up To Lately
- Remember kids, Twitter Torah experiment at 2:30PM EST: Collaborative discussion on Parshat Balak. Get in on it at #balak. 20 hrs ago
- RT @spagnoloacht Video of my Creative Commons Salon presentation on the Jewish Digital Narratives platform http://blip.tv/file/2305108/ 1 day ago
- Yes Men pull out of Jerusalem Film Fest http://su.pr/1uJUsU 1 day ago
- More updates...
More like Dermot Mismanagement
I just moved into an apartment at 121 Seaman Ave., in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan.
The property is managed by the Dermot Company, which has been snatching up properties all around New York City and providing broker free rentals through sites like Rent-Direct.com, which is where I found my apartment.
The apartment seemed like a steal: A lot of space, a pretty nice building, a decent neighborhood (if far as hell from all civilization) and a reasonable rent. However, upon moving in to my new apartment, I made a few alarming discoveries: My kitchen is infested with cockroaches, I have only intermittent hot water, and there are no smoke detectors in my apartment.
Though, at my lease signing, Dermot assured me that they would be prompt in responding to any maintenance issues, I have found that they keep their maintenance line locked in “Do Not Disturb” mode 24/7 and do not return calls under any circumstances. It has been over a week since I have called to complain about these issues — all three of which are clear violations of NYC housing code — and I have yet to receive a call back.
Last night, I asked a neighbor about her experience with Dermot. She told me that the tenants in my building — those who have had the will to stay and fight — have been organizing against Dermot and that they’ve already called in the City Council for help. She says that she has personally filed a half-dozen complaints with 311 in the past year, that the hot water has been an issue for a long time, and that when she withheld rent, as was within her rights, Dermot wrecked her credit. She said that half the tenants have vacated in the last year, three on my floor alone, and that she’s moving out before her lease is up because she doesn’t want to deal with Dermot anymore.
A NY1 article published earlier this month (that I wish I’d read before signing my lease) says:
Tenants [of another property in Brooklyn] say they’re being forced out of their rent controlled and rent-stabilized homes by new landlords who are transforming them into luxury apartments. They claim they’re being harassed with all sorts of tactics, from frivolous lawsuits to challenges to their leases, to being denied basic repairs.
[...]
Jackson’s been living in a rent-stabilized apartment at 99 Lafayette for 16 years. She says her problems began when the building was bought by the Dermot Company in February. The same developer also owns 266 Washington, where many long-time residents shared similar stories.
I called my City Council representative to look into this matter. The conversation began like this:
“Hi. I just moved into the neighborhood and have found my new landlord to be somewhat negligent. It’s a management company called Dermot.”
“Do you live at 121 Seaman?” the councilman’s associate asked, instantly naming my address.
“Uh… yeah.”
“Yeah, they’re a big problem,” she said, warning me that I should file a rent overcharge form in order to check whether they’re also ripping me off on the rent, which has been her experience. She also urged me to attend the upcoming tenant meeting in my building, which she will be present at.
I offer this as a cautionary tale to my fellow New Yorkers and those presently hunting for apartments in NYC: Stay the fuck away from Dermot. They are, to put it mildly, indifferent to the needs of their tenants; and to put it fairly, douchebags.
Act in solidarity with your fellow renters and help bring pressure to bear on Dermot. Blog, Digg, or otherwise share this article with as many New Yorkers as possible.
[Update] Thanks to Gothamist and Consumerist (which scored me a brief-but-gone mention on Gawker this morning), I actually got a call back from Dermot today… Let’s see if they actually follow through on my issues now.
Hello
My name is juanita and I’m a community organizer a Pratt Area Community Council. We are working with tenants that live in dermot’s buildings, PACC want to thank you for being this issue out for other people will know what this bastard is doing to our community. So I want you to know that they are our target so if you want to join us in this fight please contact me at 718-522-2613 ext.24. We are looking to plan something big real soon please call if you are willing to join this fight against Dermont.
Thank you,
Juanita
[...] management companies every day, but most don’t do much about it other than move out. Not this scorned tenant, the self proclaimed “Orthodox Anarchist”. He’s on a crusade to bring down Dermot Company, an [...]
I’m in the same boat in a Dermot managed apartment in Astoria. I was bitten alive as soon as I moved in…after putting up with their incompetent exterminator for 3 months, we became convinced that we have bed bugs. The super was in denial, and it took us another month, after our publicity campaign, to find out that our building and the one next to it have been infested for over a year…without being treated properly. Cockroaches have been a problem since day one, and luke warm water in the kitchen too. The super is sympathetic but lazy. And Dermot’s maintenance line only return phone calls 2 out of 10 times. Our apartment is a market rate apartment and we are fed up…not to mention ways to redress for the time, money, and efforts we spent just to have a proper home.
I have the same problems with these scum bags in queens. I live in the Opal a 80/20 so called luxury building. Can you believe these lying fucks registered my 1 br apt to DCHR for $5,500. This was three years ago! Can any body tell where in f**king Queens u can find a 1 br apt for $5,500 ?!
Dermot just bought 180 Borinquen PL. in Williamsburg a week ago and already put flyers under everyone’s door demanding we reinstall our air conditioners with brackets that are secured to the brick facade or they will be marked as abandoned and seized.
They have given us one week to do this and it is done on the pretense on bringing the building “up to code”. Meanwhile my ceiling leaks, paint is chipped and peeling all over the building, the buzzers haven’t worked for 3 years, the building is infested with roaches, and the hallways on the 5th and 6th floors have exposed rafters covered in mold (that’s the short list). I would call that not up to code.
To the resident of 121 Seaman.
I’m a neighbor of yours in a Dermot Building as well. I’d like to attend one of those meetings if possible to learn more. I am hoping to form a tenant’s group here.
Hi there. I am from the organization that organized the tenants meeting you read about in the newspaper. I encourage you to email me! we had a great meeting tonight. All of Dermot’s tenants (in buildings we know of) were invited. We’d love to talk with you and fellow tenants!
Hi all,
I’m a tenant at 121 Seaman and have been having major issues from hot water to smoke alarms for quite some time now. I called more times that I can remember since moving in and they have yet to return my calls. So I started holding back the rent and now they want to evict me. I immediately sent them a payment when I got the notice out of fear but now they don’t even want to take it. We’re seriously scared. What can we do? Please help. Thanks.