Waterbury Lasalle Community Association

Recently, Senator Klein’s office forwarded a very interesting article that was in the Daily News several months ago.  It was about a slumlord named Hamid Khan, who has a legacy of abuse very similar to that of Jacob Selechnik.  The difference?  HPD sent Khan to jail!  So, why is Selechnik left to abuse tenants, abuse taxpayers by refusing to pay HPD what is owed for correcting the violations he refused to correct and why, oh why, is he allowed to come here, to our community, and begin a new legacy of abuse?

The article tells us that Khan was sentenced for failing to repair thousands of violations on a building he owns in High Bridge.  The building had 2,268 outstanding housing code violations, many in the C class.  So, they hauled him off to jail!  Although he was only there for nine days, certainly this was a step in the right direction.  The article also says that Khan was not the first person to serve jail time for abusing tenants.  Great, now we have a precedent!

The article quotes the HPD commissioner, Shawn Donovan, saying that ”Landlords who violate the law will be held accountable.”  Why then hasn’t Jacob Selechnik been held accountable by HPD?  He has been allowed to create a decades long legacy of abuse.  Enough is enough! He should be in the jail cell right next to Hamid Khan!  

At one point, Selechnik accumulated 23, 127 violations and owed HPD $91,000.  Right now he still owes HPD $83,000 and has thousands of violations, many in the C class.  If “Jake the Snake” spends some time in jail he may not decide to build his slum at 3030 Middletown Road.  I ask that you take some time today and write a letter to HPD commissioner Shaun Donovan at 100 Gold Street, NY, NY 10038.  Tell him that Jacob Selechnik has paved his road to jail by abusing tenants and taxpayers.  Stop him before he devastates our community with a potential slum that will be here for as long as that proposed building stands!

Tell your neighbors to write letters, too. We have the power to change things if we unite!  Tell the commissioner to jail Jake!

Middletown Plaza

If you live at Middletown Plaza and have an apartment that has windows facing Middletown Road, we need your help.  We have a plan to let Jacob Selechnik know just how serious we are about not wanting someone with his reputation in our community.  We will do anything we can to protect future tenants from getting caught in his web of abuse.  

If your windows face Middletown Road and you want to save our community from a monster, call me at (718) 792-6385 to hear about our creative plan!