Follow-up to meeting with Al Vann's assistant & PACC

April 30, 2009

Deb Howard
Executive Director
Pratt Area Community Council
201 DeKalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238

Dear Ms. Howard

During our meeting on April 8th with you Ms. Howard, the building property manager, Jenny Roman, and an aide to Council Member Al Vann, Mr. Crandall, we discussed ways to rectify and compensate 277 Gates tenants for the lack of heat over the past three winters. Together we discussed on dates that the boiler was not operational and the dates that it worked but provided inadequate heat (between the 50s- and lower 60s degrees through the winter).

Acknowledging the lack of heat over the past three out of four years the discussion focused on ways to fairly compensate tenants:

• Compensation (using the algorithm used for reimbursement when the boiler was totally non-functional) from 11/08 to present 4/8/09, or longer if the new boiler does not work.
• Additionally there should be no increase of rent for all the present tenants from this year through 2010.
• Many tenants would like the compensation to start from 12/05 when we first meet with Deb Howard and informed her of the lack of heat.

You stated you would consider our proposals and would inform us of what could be done within two weeks (April 22, 2009). As of yet we have not received a response from you.

Sincerely,

Portia Adams,
President, 277 Gates Tenants Association, Http://277gatestenants.blogspot.com
212 636-6675, 917 627-2415
poadams@fordham.edu

cc: State Senator Velmanette Montgomery
Assembly Person Hakeem Jeffries
Council Member Leticia James
Council Member Al Vann
Mr. Crandall of Council Member Vann’s office
DHCR, SCORE Bureau, Gertz Plaza, Docket No. XC230010 HV