Tenants claim they were harassed, forced out of their Crown Heights homes by landlords

The Crown Heights community stood in solidarity with tenants who tell News 12 they are being harassed and forced out of their homes by their landlords Wednesday.

News 12 Staff

Jul 8, 2020, 9:09 PM

Updated 1,555 days ago

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The Crown Heights community stood in solidarity with tenants who tell News 12 they are being harassed and forced out of their homes by their landlords Wednesday. 
Nearly a dozen tenants lived at 1214 Dean St. and now there are nearly three. 
One of the tenants, who still lives in the building, told News 12 her roommates were traumatized by the events that unfolded over the last couple of weeks and had to find friends to stay with. 
Several organizations, including the Crown Heights Tenant Union and Equality for Flatbush, rallied in support of the tenants Wednesday. 
Angelina Martinez tells News 12 her roommates have been out of work, did not receive stimulus money, and have not been able to pay their rent. 
She says they communicated that to their landlords, Gennard Brooks-Church and Lorreta Gendville. She says she told them that this month they will be able to pay this month’s rent, but that it hasn’t stopped their landlords from sending them emails telling them to move out. 
She says they have also tried to physically remove them from the building themselves. 
Martinez says they never received any formal eviction notices but that their landlord changed the locks and moved her roommate's property out of the building while she was staying somewhere else while recovering from brain surgery. Martinez also says that Brooks-Church even slept in the building Monday evening. 
She says she and her roommates don’t feel safe in their own homes and have nowhere else to go and that no one should be treated this way. 
Martinez says the Legal Aid Society has reached out as well and that they’re now fighting for justice.