At 75 Lenox Road in Flatbush, tenants say their homes have crossed the line from frustrating to flat-out uninhabitable, and they now want City Hall to do what their landlord has not. Residents describe a grim daily routine of roaches, rats, mold, leaking ceilings and broken windows that they say have gone unaddressed for months. Several families in rent-stabilized units report they have been chasing basic repairs for years and fear that if conditions drag on, they will be pushed out of the affordable apartments they fought to keep.
As reported by News 12 New York, tenants, including a 22-year resident and tenant-leader named Angelina, gathered this week to publicly press Mayor Zohran Mamdani for help. Standing with neighbors, Angelina asked, "What is Mamdani going to do about all of the tenants that have affordable housing and they're letting landlords push them out of it?" Tenants pointed to a housing court judgment that ordered repairs by April 20, 2025, which they say is still not fully satisfied. The gathering highlighted a growing anger that legal victories and complaints have not translated into fast, on-the-ground fixes.
According to HPD, 75 Lenox Road is one of 100 properties on the agency's Jan. 15, 2026 Certification Watchlist, flagged for falsely certifying that hazardous violations had been corrected. HPD says buildings on this list are supposed to get mandatory re-inspections and can face civil penalties or city-performed emergency repairs. Tenants at the building say that, so far, being on the watchlist has not delivered the turnaround in living conditions they had been told to expect.
Public property records list the address as 75 Lenox Road (73-83 Lenox Rd) in Flatbush and show that the complex has roughly 80 units. Databases tracking tenant complaints show hundreds of 311 service requests and HPD violations tied to water leaks, pests and other habitability issues at the property, according to PropertyShark and tenant-data services like Augrented. Tenants and advocates have identified landlord David Blau as the managing owner. They note that Blau has appeared on watchdog lists in prior years and that his buildings have repeatedly drawn enforcement scrutiny, including reporting by Gothamist.
Tenants are now explicitly appealing to Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office on Jan. 1 after running on a tenant-focused platform, to use city enforcement tools to get repairs done. As reported by AP, Mamdani has signaled an activist approach to housing enforcement in his early public moves and statements. Residents at 75 Lenox Road say they want those promises converted into faster inspections, meaningful fines and actual repair work in their building.
Legal context
Under Local Law 71 of 2023 and HPD's certification rules, the agency audits owner certifications and can place buildings with multiple false certifications on the Certification Watchlist. That status is supposed to trigger extra re-inspections and stepped-up enforcement, according to HPD. Tenants at 75 Lenox Road say they previously secured a housing court judgment that ordered repairs by April 20, 2025, but contend the ordered work is still incomplete. Advocates say that both the watchlist designation and the court judgment give tenants some leverage, but that fines and emergency repairs from the city will likely be needed to force full compliance.
How tenants can push back
Housing advocates advise tenants facing similar conditions to document problems, keep filing 311 complaints to trigger HPD inspections and, when needed, bring enforcement actions in housing court while organizing through tenant associations. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams' annual Worst Landlord Watchlist, along with his office's tenant resources, is frequently used to pressure repeat offenders and to help tenants band together, as recent releases from the NYC Public Advocate show. Tenants at 75 Lenox Road say they plan to escalate their organizing and are asking both the mayor's office and HPD to step in directly.
For now, residents at the Flatbush building say they will keep pushing for inspections, real repairs and the basic habitability they argue their families are entitled to. They are calling on Mayor Mamdani for a direct response and want the city to turn watchlist status and court orders into visible work inside their apartments.
