The Department of Housing Preservation and Development spent more than $4 million this year to maintain 113 buildings that have been all but abandoned by their landlords. These landlords are required to reimburse taxpayers for the work, but until then the city places a lien on the properties, most of which are located in Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Prospect Heights and East New York. Yet despite the emergency repairs, conditions at some of these residences are still utterly appalling. Angelica Jimenez of Bushwick tells the Daily News, "Every night, we have rats in my apartment—big ones! They walk all over the kitchen and that's not nice. I kill them. I have no choice, I can't afford to move." City Councilwoman Diana Reyna sees a pattern, and speculates that landlords in Bushwick are neglecting repairs to drive out low-income residents, thus enabling them to cash in on the neighborhood's proximity to trendy Williamsburg by renting to hipsters. more ›

Meet 87-year-old Anna Reyneso, a Washington Heights resident who, when she needs to use the bathroom at night, must awaken her 50-year-old daughter to guide her by flashlight to a vacant apartment down the hall. That’s because her landlord, Dorothea Levine, sent contractors in January to rip out Reyneso’s bathroom toilet, tub, floors and walls--a harassment tactic the Daily News says is part of an ongoing battle over the 54-unit, rent-stabilized building's future. Three other tenants had their bathrooms removed, and the building has so many violations the city has taken the rare step of suing Levine to take over the building. Of course, two can play at that game: landlords are suing the city right back in order to stop the recently-passed Tenant Protection Act. more ›