Sophia Rostom, a 26-year-old Brooklyn resident, has taken legal action against the New York Housing Authority (NYCHA) after a horrifying attack.
Sophia was visiting a friend at the Farragut Houses when she was brutally stabbed more than 10 times by an intruder named Maurice Brister.
This terrible incident happened in the building’s lobby while Sophia was waiting for an elevator in March of last year. She suffered 14 stab wounds to various parts of her body, leading to life-threatening injuries.
Sophia lost nearly half of her blood and had to undergo emergency heart and lung surgeries at the hospital, according to her lawyers John Morgan and Moses Ahn from Morgan & Morgan, as reported by the New York Post.
Woman brutally stabbed 14 times by career criminal sues housing authority for unlocked entrance in NYC complex:
Woman brutally stabbed 14 times by career criminal sues housing authority for unlocked entrance in NYC complex https://t.co/pdqSUALDdo pic.twitter.com/1iGS8DS1hD
— New York Post (@nypost) January 28, 2024
Negligence Lawsuit
In response to the incident, Sophia has initiated a negligence lawsuit against NYCHA. Her legal team argues that Brister was able to enter the building through doors that were either unlocked or inadequately secured.
They also point to previous audits carried out by the city’s comptroller’s office in 2018 and 2022 as evidence to support their claims.
Troubling Audit Findings
The 2018 audit revealed that 23.5% of doors in 262 NYCHA complexes were not properly secured. Specifically, at the Farragut Houses, the audit discovered that eight out of ten doors were open and had broken locks.
These concerning figures worsened in the 2022 audit, reaching a staggering 57.9%. Furthermore, the audit highlighted the deteriorating security situation at the Farragut Houses, where 90% of locks were broken, and doors were left open.
Sophia’s legal team alleges that NYCHA’s leadership was aware of these audit findings but failed to take corrective actions, such as repairing or replacing the broken locks and doors in the building.
Landlords’ Responsibility
Sophia’s lawyers stress that all landlords, whether they own a single home or oversee large housing authorities like NYCHA, bear the responsibility of ensuring the safety of their residents and guests.
They believe that Sophia’s case serves as a chilling example of what can happen when landlords allegedly neglect this critical duty.
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NYCHA’s Troubled Reputation
NYCHA’s public housing complexes have long been plagued by poor living conditions. They consistently held the undesirable top spot on the annual Worst Landlord Watch List for four consecutive years, spanning from 2018 to 2021.
This ranking is based on the average number of open housing code violations in buildings managed by each landlord.
As of 2021, NYCHA had a staggering 600,480 open work orders, underscoring the significant issues faced by residents in their properties.