'Dangerous' Upper East Side Building Renovations Exposed Tenants To Lead, Officials Say

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Tenants living in three Upper East Side buildings — 1290 and 1288 First ave. and 403 E. 69th St. — currently being converted into the swanky "Lenox Row" development held a press conference Thursday to draw attention to dangerous work being done within the buildings.

Tenants of three buildings on the corner of East 69th Street and First Avenue said Thursday that they are forced to live without proper heat or lighting, a working intercom system and have to endure breathing in dust contaminated with lead due to construction work being done in their buildings. Conditions got so bad that tenants complained to State Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright, who had Department of Health inspectors to come to 1288 First Ave. and issue a stop work order.

"Exposure to lead has life-threatening consequences and should be taken seriously. No Developer, big or small, is above the law and we will not allow anyone to put profits before people," Seawright said Thursday.

Julio Castro, a resident of 1288 First Ave., told Patch that he inspects lead and asbestos for a living, so he knew the work being done in his building was not up to code. Castro suspects that the developers circumvented regulations and acquired work permits under false pretenses by claiming the buildings had no rent-regulated tenants and by filing applications using the address of a next-door McDonalds.

"They came in without any sort of plan set up for health and safety," Castro told Patch.

As Castro walked through the hallways and stairwells of his building Thursday he pointed out where developers had workers strip walls — coated with lead paint — which kicked up harmful dust. Castro also said that workers removed frames from windows and removed the building's back exit, which served as an emergency exit and let tenant access garbage drop-off. Now tenants are forced to walk around the block and access the garbage area through a gate on East 69th Street, Castro said.

The construction work is only one of many problems longtime tenant Thomas Leonard has noticed in the building. Leonard — who's lived in the building since 1980 and uses a walker — told Patch that drains in his apartment kitchen and bathroom are often clogged and the building is infested with rodents.

And when Leonard has problems in his apartment — one time a leak from his upstairs neighbor's toilet caused his ceiling to collapse — the building's super simply performs "spit and bubblegum" repairs.

Leonard told Patch that the building's landlord has offered to buy him out of the building, but despite the poor conditions he does not want to leave his home.

"I'm living in an unlivable circumstance, what I would call squalor," Leonard said Thursday.

Photos by Patch