Bushwick residents face water leak in building amid over 150 building violations

Residents at 291 Wyckoff Ave. say they had their Thursday night ruined by a leak that sent brown water pouring from the third floor down through the ceiling all the way to the first floor.

News 12 was at this same building less than two weeks ago after learning that it had more than 150 open violations with the city Housing Department and had even been put in the city's Alternative Enforcement Program - which is for buildings with unresolved issues.

Residents say water leaks happen every three or four months, but never this bad.

A frustrated second-floor resident said when it comes to landlord Jacob Sacks, "when you see something that's breaking, just jump on it. I'm talking about fixing it right away, no delays, it has to be done."

Instead, residents say that when they have brought up an issue, they have either been ignored or told by management to work with them instead of the city - with management even threatening eviction if they escalate.

"And now here we are," said Brendan O'Malley, who lives on the first floor. "This is like the culmination of something that's been going on for years."

The landlord was able to get a plumber over to work on the issue Thursday night, who told News 12 there was a blockage somewhere in the main pipe system, which is a common problem.

The city Housing Department also sent an inspector to look at the building.

O'Malley says he will continue to work to get the issues properly fixed, and has no plans to move.

"I like my neighborhood; I will continue to fight them. I'm tired of this, I'm not just going to move out and have them push this problem on a new person who moves in," he says.

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