NEWBURGH – New York Attorney General Letitia James Monday sued the owners and managers of the Kenney apartment complex in Newburgh, for leaving residents to endure dangerous and decrepit conditions, including a persistent lack of consistent heat and hot water. The Kenney apartments are an affordable housing development in Newburgh, home to over 100 low-income families and seniors. For years, these residents have paid excessive electric bills on top of rent for homes that are frigid in the winter, mold-ridden, and rodent-infested, with unsafe stairways, holes in the floors, and water and sewage leaking through the ceilings. Despite residents making hundreds of calls to management, these dangerous conditions have not been fixed. Attorney General James is seeking court orders requiring the buildings’ owners to repair and resolve all violations, as well as pay restitution for tenants and other financial penalties.
“It is outrageous that the Kenney residents have suffered in dangerous and inhumane conditions while their landlords ignored their calls for help,” said Attorney General James. “No one should be forced to endure a New York winter without heat or hot water. I am taking the owners of these apartments to court to get justice for the New Yorkers who have been cruelly neglected, and make sure they have a safe, clean, and warm place to live.”
Building owners in New York are required to provide their tenants with heat and hot water from October to May. Since 2023, residents of the Kenney apartments have lacked consistent heat and hot water, including a complete shutoff that lasted from October 2025 to January 2026. As a result, residents have been forced to heat their homes by boiling water, leaving their ovens on, or installing space heaters, which have caused their electricity bills to skyrocket and put their safety at risk.
In addition to enduring winter storms and record-setting cold without heat, Kenney residents have suffered for years in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Residents of the Kenney apartments have reported mold and mildew that have caused illnesses and worsened a two-year-old resident’s asthma. Doors to several units do not properly close, causing a safety hazard and making the apartments even harder to keep warm in winter.
Residents have also reported severely damaged floors with large holes in them, unstable stairs, sewage flowing out of toilets and into apartments, water leaks, peeling and moldy paint, exposed wiring, and broken appliances that have not been fixed in years. One resident, who suffers from diabetes and needs a working refrigerator for her insulin, has had her calls to replace her broken refrigerator ignored. The apartment complex has been cited for over 160 different building code violations for these conditions.
Residents of the apartment complex have made hundreds of calls to the owners and managers of the buildings to no avail. With this lawsuit, Attorney General James is seeking a court order requiring the owners of the apartment buildings to take all the necessary steps to fix the code violations within 30 days, ensure consistent heat and hot water access, and provide residents with safe and livable apartments.
This order would require the Kenney’s owners to:
• Repair all outstanding code violations and rehabilitate all previously condemned apartments within 30 days.
• Hire a heating systems and maintenance expert to assess the Kenney Apartments’ boilers and make recommendations for their repairs or replacement that would have to be followed within 30 days.
• Hire a licensed mold assessor and mold remediation contractor to develop and implement a plan to rid impacted apartments of mold.
• Provide housing for any tenant whose apartment needs significant renovations to bring it up to code.
• Provide restitution to affected tenants and pay additional penalties to the state.
In addition, the owners of the Kenney apartments would be barred from retaliating against any tenant who complained about unsafe conditions or obtaining any judgment against a tenant who withheld rent due to unsafe conditions. Attorney General James is also seeking the appointment of an independent monitor, paid for by the Kenney’s owners, to ensure compliance with the order’s requirements.
“Every resident is entitled to the basics: heat, hot water, a solid roof over their heads, and a home free of mold and rodents,” said Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson. “The conditions at Kenney apartments have been inhumane. As a former Assistant Attorney General in Poughkeepsie, I know how important it is that Attorney General James is bringing the full weight of her office to bear in this matter. This wasn’t election-year politics — she realized that people have been suffering and she took action. Thank you to the Attorney General for not forgetting the residents of Newburgh.”
“Families and seniors at the Kenney Apartments were living in conditions no one should have to accept—without reliable heat, without basic repairs, and without the peace of mind that comes from knowing your house is a home,” said Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey. “These are working parents, older residents, and neighbors who did everything right and still found themselves ignored by their landlord. When that happens, leadership has a duty to step in and insist on accountability. I appreciate Attorney General James for taking this seriously and for working with us to make sure these residents are treated fairly and with the respect they deserve.”
“For years, residents of the Kenney and Bourne Apartments have endured unsafe and unsanitary living conditions, including mold, rodents, sewage leaks, excessive utility costs, and hazardous structural conditions—often while fearing retaliation if they spoke up,” said Newburgh Councilmember-at-Large Robert McLymore. “After learning what our seniors and families were living through, I met with residents, visited their apartments, and worked alongside City staff as we pressed ownership to correct these conditions. When management stopped responding and these conditions persisted, I contacted the New York State Attorney General’s office to escalate the matter. With the support of the Attorney General’s Office, we will continue to ensure every resident has a safe, secure home and we will hold these property owners accountable.”
