ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A deadline is looming for a landlord in the city of Rochester. The city is suing Tal Levi and his five companies saying he has systematically and flagrantly ignored serious code violations at 13 properties he owns.
Levi has until tomorrow to file a response explaining himself.
All of these city properties have two things in common. They all have at least 15 code violations and they’re all owned by Levi, a real estate investor from Harrington Park, New Jersey.
The city says Levi and his companies have failed to maintain 13 of his properties, causing them to become blighted. So in late April, the City of Rochester filed a lawsuit against Levi to force him to correct hundreds of violations.
“He owns a portfolio of properties that have unabated code violations and they’ve been unabated for quite some time now,” said Michael Furlano, the housing attorney for the City of Rochester.
Furlano questions if Levi is really motivated to make the necessary repairs.
“We’ve seen a pattern where they buy these properties, they don’t fix them up, don’t remedy the code violations, they keep them unsafe and hazardous conditions,” said Furlano.
According to the lawsuit, there are 536 outstanding code violations including 214 that directly impact the health and safety of the residents and 125 deemed an immediate hazard. An entire laundry list is included in the paperwork.
The city also says none of the properties has a valid certificate of occupancy. When News10NBC stopped by the houses, issues were clearly visible from the outside. There were broken windows, sagging porches, broken railings and rotted floorboards. We attempted to speak with tenants, but nobody was willing to go on camera.
The city says it is asking for a court order imposing fines of up to $500 per day, per violation. It also wants a receiver appointed to collect the rents and make the repairs if Levi refuses to clear the violations.
We did notice contractors replacing windows at one of Levi’s houses. We wanted to speak to him about his plans to address the problems. And by chance, he happened to drive by as we were checking out one of his apartments. His only comment, though, was a one finger salute.
In the meantime, Furlano says the lawsuit is an action of last resort.
“We’d rather have the money go toward the properties, repair the properties, but at a certain point, you have fines and judgments as a way to say, hey, this is not good behavior. We cannot allow this type of landlord in the city,” said Furlano.
This is not the city’s first go-round with this landlord. In 2023, the city initiated demolition hearings on three of Levi’s properties because they posed a “escalated danger to the community.”
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