Flooded Elevators, Burst Pipes At 49-Story Equity Residential Tower Haven't Stopped Rent Hikes

Residents at the high-end, 49-story multifamily building at 70 Greene St. in Jersey City are calling out their landlord for failing to prevent building floods, elevator breakdowns and displacement while pushing up rents.

A flood earlier this month from a burst pipe meant hundreds of residents had to stay in hotels, the New York Post reports, citing interviews with residents. There was also a flood in the building in April, and water gushed into the elevator in March 2021.

“There was water pouring down in the elevator. We ended up having to climb up 72 flights of stairs,” tenant Jordan Mendelson told the Post. She lives on the 36th floor in an apartment that costs $3,600 per month. She said it took her 40 minutes to get to her unit during the flood event last year, where the power was off and the ceiling was leaking. “We hadn’t experienced anything like this." 

Hundreds of people have been talking in a community chat about issues at the property, including leaks damaging possessions in their apartments, management that is unable to cut off water during flooding events, hot water stoppages and repeated elevator outages, according to the Post.

Residents also claim a pregnant woman fell down the stairs while getting out of the property. An Equity Residential spokesperson told the Post the company wasn't aware of an expectant mother falling down stairs and said affected residents are being compensated for hotel costs and damage to property.

“This building is a complete nightmare. It was duct taped together years ago and its pipes explode every six months,” one Yelp review read.

Residents said that despite the issues, Equity has been increasing rent by as much as 30%. A three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment is asking $6,070 rent, according to StreetEasy, with the cheapest property at the building a studio priced at $3,103.

The 480-unit property has a swimming pool, gym and a children's playroom. The average rent for a Jersey City apartment is $3,318 per month, per Rentcafé.

The building at 70 Greene is not the first high-end property in the region to experience resident complaints. In March, residents at 20 Exchange Place in the Financial District said the elevators serving apartments above the 15th floor of the 59-story building, which is owned by DTH Capital, had been stopping for hours at a time with regularity. 

Last year, the condo board at 432 Park Ave. hit developers Macklowe Properties and CIM Group, which co-developed the supertall condo tower, with a $125M lawsuit, arguing “sponsor malfeasance” has left owners dealing with a slew of problems, including apartment floods, pests and loud noise.