BROOKLYN: Legal Aid Society Sues Its Own Landlord For Moldy Office

BROOKLYN (NYC) NY: The Legal Aid Society says it sued the landlord of its offices, because a years-old mold infestation has rendered its Kings County headquarters uninhabitable.

The Kings County organization’s nearly 500 staffers have not been able to return to their downtown Brooklyn workplace at 111 Livingston Street for two years in a row due to the extensive spread of the fungus caused by faulty ventilation.

When the legal workers first returned to their offices in the summer of 2020 after working remotely due to the pandemic, they discovered the shocking spread of fungi across the six floors they occupy in the building.

The mold was on walls, floors, carpeting, computer equipment and clothes left there, according to court filings.

Legal Aid told its 460 Brooklyn workers that the premises weren’t safe, keeping them remote, and hired environmental consultants Airtek to investigate the issue.

The company found the mold to be present throughout the premises and recommended the landlord find the source and resolve the problem.

In January 2021, the landlord told the law firm that they had fully remediated the mold problem and that it was now safe to come back.

Legal workers returned and operated there until the toxic fluffy stuff started growing again in June, forcing them to once again abandon the building.

They re-hired Airtek, which found elevated levels of humidity and spores in the office’s air, and that the HVAC’s systems regulating air flow were not working.

After several complaints to the city’s Department of Health, a city inspector found more than 30 square feet of mold on the premises. 

The city issued a summons to the landlord — Borough Park-based real estate firm Leser Group — to eliminate the mold condition in December, but the owner denied responsibility.

The downtown Brooklyn location is crucial for the organization’s work, because it is close to state and federal courthouses.