Drugs, prostitution and leaky faucets

The Majestic, at 3660 Waldo Ave., has sweeping views of the Kingsbridge valley, a grand entrance boasting the building’s moniker and ornately detailed hallways and elevators. When a tenant, who goes by the name Dottie, moved in 41 years ago, it was “beautiful,” she said.                            

Now complaints range from broken locks and leaky faucets, to drug dens and prostitution. Since landlord Morris Rubin purchased it in 1993, the Majestic, an 87-unit building with a mix of rent-regulated and market-rate apartments, has been anything but, tenants say.

“It’s just a nightmare year after year in this building, no security, nothing works, intercoms, elevators, it’s down the toilet and flushed,” said Dottie, who asked that her nickname be used because she feared retribution from the landlord. 

The once-pleasant courtyard adjacent to the West 238th Street step-street was recently a catch basin for raw sewage leaking in and as of Tuesday, records from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development showed 400 open violations, nearly 150 of which were posted this year. Sixty-eight are Class C violations, which are considered immediately hazardous and can include inadequate fire exits, rodents and defective electrical circuitry. 

The law requires Class C violations to be fixed within 24 hours of citation. If the landlord does not make the changes, HPD can make the fixes and bill the landlord. The department has spent $17,000 making repairs since Mr. Rubin took control of the building. 

Mr. Rubin said he blames many of the building’s problems on its tenants.

“They break the locks … they are vicious, mischievous tenants,” he said. “They like to have something to talk about.”

Dottie and other tenants have contacted local elected officials, including Councilman Oliver Koppell, whose office is down the block from the Majestic, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development has been making visits to the building since late July.