Hirsch v. City of N.Y.

300 F. Supp. 3d 501
District Court, S.D. Illinois·Decided January 10, 2018·No. 17 Civ. 965 (ER)·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

Edgardo Ramos, U.S.D.J.

Plaintiff Harold Hirsch brings this action against the City of New York, the City of New York Department of Buildings (the "DOB"), and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (the "DEP"), (collectively, the "City" or "Defendants"), pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 18 U.S.C. § 241, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1962 ("RICO"). Plaintiff alleges violations of his federal constitutional rights under Section 1983 as a result of the City's alleged failure to follow regulations that protect citizens from having their rent-stabilized apartments destroyed and their failure to intervene to prevent private citizens from so harming Plaintiff. Plaintiff further alleges a conspiracy to violate his constitutional rights pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 241, and violations of RICO because the municipal employees allegedly acted in their official capacity when engaging in a scheme to defraud citizens. Doc. 1 at 1, Doc. 18. Pending before the Court is Defendants' motion to dismiss. Docs. 14. For the reasons set forth herein, Defendants' motion is GRANTED.

I. Factual Background1

Plaintiff, Harold Hirsch, a disabled man, is a tenant of 666 West End Avenue, *506New York, New York (the "Subject Premises"). Doc. 1 ¶¶ 5, 17. Plaintiff has lived in a rent-stabilized apartment in the Subject Premises since 1983. Id. ¶ 16. Plaintiff alleges that from 2010 to 2016 the City was complicit in a scheme of the building's owners to conduct widespread construction on the Subject Premises in order to force out rent-stabilized tenants, create market-rate apartments in their place, and generate increased profits for the owner and the City alike. Id. at ¶¶ 15, 19-21. Plaintiff alleges that the City was complicit because it improperly approved and renewed applications for work permits for the Subject Premises that falsely represented that the building was vacant and contained no rent-stabilized apartments. Id. ¶¶ 18, 23. According to Plaintiff, the City's issuance of full work permits and failure to confirm whether the representations contained in them were true constitutes a violation of law. Moreover, Plaintiff asserts that, while the owners only renovated the market-rate apartments in the building, the owners intentionally and negligently caused 300 rent-stabilized tenants in 178 units to be displaced, injured, or poisoned, and attempted to physically force out rent-stabilized tenants in order to convert those apartments to market-rate ones.2 Id. ¶¶ 20-21.

As a result of the building construction, which included the use of jackhammers to point the building's outer walls, "the outer walls of the [Subject Premises] br[oke] through into Plaintiff's apartment." Id. ¶ 24. This resulted in internal damage of Plaintiff's apartment, the surrounding hallways, and the lobby area. Id. The construction also damaged the heating, electricity, telephones, plumbing, and air ventilation systems of the Subject Premises. Id. Additionally, because the ventilation and water systems were allegedly compromised by "toxins and poisons" resulting from the construction, Plaintiff's kitchen and bathroom suffered water damage, toxic mold build-up, collapsed ceilings, and exposed electrical wiring. Id. ¶ 25. Plaintiff claims that from November 2010 to April 2016, highly deadly toxins, poisons, and powdered cement were released into the air in Plaintiff's apartment, making it difficult for Plaintiff to see or breathe in his apartment unit. Id. ¶ 24. Though Plaintiff does not specify his precise medical condition, he alleges that he had to wear masks and was ultimately forced to begin medical treatment because of his exposure to the toxins in his apartment and the common areas of the Subject Premises. Id. ¶¶ 21, 39 (alleging that "Mr. Hirsch was forced to endure years of suffering and pain and serious, possibly terminal medical condition from these toxins in his apartment; and caused him to be fearful to return home to his apartment which he has lived in for over 30 years."), 55. Although Plaintiff does not specify precisely over what duration, he alleges that residents of the Subject Premises issued "daily complaints" related to these conditions, resulting in the collapse and redesign of New York City's non-emergency information hotline, known as NYC311. Id. ¶ 13.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Hirsch v. City of N.Y., 300 F. Supp. 3d 501 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

300 F. Supp. 3d 501 (Hirsch v. City of N.Y.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Untitled Case
S.D. New York, 2026
Untitled Case
S.D. New York, 2025
Bost v. CSCO Henson
N.D. New York, 2025
Paul v. Capra
S.D. New York, 2022
Sentementes v. Bethel
D. Connecticut, 2021
Rothman v. City of New York
S.D. New York, 2019