FROM RATS TO RIGHTS: East Harlem Tenants Triumph After 750-Day Showdown with Landlord
July 1, 2025
After over 750 days of protests, legal battles, and organizing, tenants at 245 East 110th Street in East Harlem won a breakthrough victory against their landlord Ivan Sun and his management company, New York City Building Management LLC. Backed by the local nonprofit LSA Family Health Service and partner organizations TakeRoot Justice and Manhattan Together, the largely immigrant tenant community reshaped years of fear, neglect, and reported intimidation into a coordinated movement for justice. What began as isolated and hesitant complaints soon evolved into a compelling collective effort, as tenants—many of whom have lived in the building for decades—joined forces to confront the life-threatening conditions they had long endured. Their efforts led to a rent strike, culminating in the hard-fought legal and financial battle now coming to a close. Tenants have secured a settlement of nearly $133,000 and legally mandated repairs—restoring not just the safety of their homes, but their dignity and power.
The strike was born from years of experiences that exposed just how dangerous and neglected Building 245 has been. In one instance in January 2021, five people were hospitalized from a carbon monoxide leak caused by a broken boiler. One week later, a resident’s daughter noticed a second leak, triggering the family to immediately contact the fire department.
Building 245 has over 30 units across 6 floors and has been owned by Sun and his LLC since 2004. As of March 2025, the building had 206 open violations in Housing Preservation and Development alone, with 94 of them being Class C (most of which must be cured within 24 hours).
The neglect goes beyond carbon monoxide leaks. Tenants have complained about rat infestations, with some losing sleep over the clawing of rodents through the walls. There have been reports of roach and bed bug outbreaks, a constant presence of mold, lead paint violations, and numerous faulty appliances and infrastructure issues, including an exploding stove from a defective gas line. Replacement equipment provided by Sun has often been used or of poor quality, leaving tenants to pay for their own new appliances, flooring, and improvements.
One evening, building resident Humberto was taken to the ER after the ceiling collapsed on him during a shower. Humberto had also been among those evacuated during the carbon monoxide incidents. According to his wife, Magdalena, “ever since the ceiling fell, he’s had trouble sleeping. He has to use medication to sleep, and he always leaves the bathroom door open because he’s terrified the ceiling will fall again.” The couple, who have lived in the building for over 27 years, originally moved to the U.S. from the Mexican countryside to escape Mexico’s corrupt political climate in pursuit of a better, more stable life. Once in New York, Humberto worked washing dishes 6 days a week in 12-hour shifts at $140 per week. The couple has not been able to afford to move due to rent increases and has remained in a state of anxiety about the safety of their own home. “The problem is, Sun believes he doesn’t need to fix the apartments,” Magdalena continued, “because it’s not like we live on Fifth Avenue—we don’t do luxury here. But we aren’t asking for luxury. We’re asking for basic necessities so that we can live with dignity.”
Heating has also been a struggle, as Heat Seek records revealed temperature readings far below New York City requirements. Tenants have been regularly left to take cold showers and have experienced difficulty opening and closing faulty windows when needed—only worsening the rat problem, as the vermin enter the apartments through the open windows.
Despite extensive violations and tenant complaints, many local housing inspections had little impact. According to Magdalena, “When the authorities came to check on us, the manager hired a painter to paint only during their visit as a means of saying, ‘Look, I’m fixing it.’ And this would happen over and over again, and they’d keep coming to look at the same problem. I want the authorities to pay more attention and be more effective in their job.”
Magdalena and two other residents looked for backing to take on these conditions. LSA Family Health Service was a familiar partner, where most families in 245 had already participated in its health, education, and wellness programs. As LSA CEO Jonah Gensler explains: “We’ve always been here for families: from the basics, like food and clothing and access to services, to real community change through action. This rent strike speaks to the core of that; that the community themselves have the power, and our job is to accompany them.”
Through LSA, tenants were connected with lawyers, community service groups, and non-profit organizations TakeRoot Justice and Manhattan Together, providing vital access to resources and support during a time of uncertainty. As Magdalena remembers, “My neighbors didn’t want to unite because they felt there was no serious backbone to our fight. But when I presented it to Little Sisters, they felt there was something important there, there was a backbone, and immediately we saw a great change.” As more residents saw the strength and structure LSA offered, tenant participation grew: “Before people were afraid. Now we’re united. We know our rights. We know we can take videos. Before there were three. Now there are 15.”
Their work was not without obstacles: “At first, there was a lot of fear and hesitation,” said Chief Program Officer Ray Lopez, who has helped thousands of tenants in his two decades at LSA. “Many tenants were nervous about speaking openly in front of lawyers or outside organizations. Our role was to be that familiar, trusted face in the room—to help bridge that gap and make sure tenants felt seen, heard, and safe.” For building tenants, fear can take on many forms. Residents are fearful of standing up in a complex system, fearful of the real harm their home may cause them, and may even be fearful of retaliation or violence. In 2005, for example, Sun was arrested for assaulting a tenant as neighbors gathered to discuss building conditions. Tensions have continued ever since.
In March 2023, residents began their rent strike. As Magdalena describes it, the decision was a moment of “fear… but also excitement.”
Tenants assembled outside 245 in protest, holding signs about rats and roaches. One LSA employee, Santiago Salazar, even dressed as a rat. For Magdalena, “It was like, wow, this is the start of the pressure buildup on the landlord. And we kept building that up. The first months, he didn’t care, and then he started pretending like he cared about reaching an agreement. But for us, the protest was a way of telling him, ‘You do this, or we take action!’ It was incredibly important.”
LSA helped by requesting rent history from the NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, which tenants had been struggling to access on their own. Then, LSA continued acting as a liaison between tenants and supporting organizations, providing translation, consulting, and, in partnership with ManhattanTogether, leadership development training sessions. LSA’s center served as a safe and welcoming space for strategic planning on the strike, as tenants were reportedly threatened when assembling within the apartment building itself.
In November 2023, LSA hosted a face-to-face meeting between property managers and tenants. CEO Jonah Gensler described the meeting as “a tense and powerful moment in the process: tenants were finally confronting management on their own terms, in a space where they felt safe and supported. It was a turning point.” A month later, Ivan Sun and his lawyer came to the building to meet with Ray Lopez and tenant representatives, a surprising turn of events given Sun’s history of avoiding direct communication. Tenants had been conditioned to expect Sun to send one of his family members or a representative in his place, rather than face them himself.
“We’re still working closely with the tenants every step of the way,” said Ray Lopez, “But at this point, they’ve taken the lead. They know what they’re doing. They’ve built the tools, the relationships, and the confidence to advocate for themselves, and that’s the goal.” In the words of Magdalena: “Once we got Little Sisters, it became something real, something serious, with power, and that support has been incredibly important and continues to be incredibly important.”
That support has led to an April settlement of $132,804 and the mandated building repairs, securing the tenants’ reclamation of their building and their voice. This equates to roughly seven months’ rent per household, alongside rent reductions of up to 35% during the upcoming repair period, increased extermination services, and comprehensive work standards to be monitored by TakeRoot Justice.
The experience gained through the rent strike may help with the next challenge on the horizon. The Second Avenue subway extension work is now on their block, and the residents note growing tremors. Calls to authorities have gone unanswered. East Harlem buildings with foundations not up to code are a concern for resident safety.
LSA’s seven-decade commitment to safe housing continues. East Harlem families are in the top quarter of housing and health risks across the city.1 The neighborhood has a level of carbon monoxide incidents six times greater than the NYC average, child asthma rates at double the average, and heat hospitalizations four times more often than the rest of Manhattan.2 Patterns of landlord neglect and incomplete repairs can have a direct impact on resident health and safety. “We can do better than this,” claims Jonah Gensler. “East Harlem needs fair landlords who keep their properties up and residents who can put their hard-earned income into rent in exchange for a safe place to raise their kids. We all win in the end when families are housed with dignity.”
