in our Spotlight on Business Report frustrated tenants at an Elizabeth apartment complex are taking matters into their own hands tonight organizing a union among the renters to fight what they say are unsafe living conditions and unlawful rent hikes as Ted Goldberg reports the move comes after the landlord was hit for nearly 300 violations by the state but is yet to make repairs the conditions in this building are deplorable and the landlord is raising the rent illegally in a rent controlled building people who live at 19 pingry place in Elizabeth are fed up with their landlord and they've organized a union to protest their living conditions we are afraid that they are doing this in the building and letting it fall into disrepair to force us out and to replace us with tenants who will pay more we've seen that happen here in Elizabeth and in other cities across New Jersey and that's why tenants are organizing here today because they want to stay in this building this is their home many have lived here for 20 years they've raised their children here Sarah Cain leads make the Road New Jersey a nonprofit based in Elizabeth tenants here want to stay in their building and they want their landlord to make repairs before it's too late and before they're forced to condemn the building she says residents have a laundry list of issues that haven't been addressed by their landlord pingry Equity LLC conditions are deplorable and the tenants deserve and under New Jersey Law they must the L must provide habitable conditions for their tenants since I've moved into my apartment eight years ago I still don't have light in my living room when the pipe burst the ceiling flooded and fell in and the whole bathroom was flooded um we made calls to the office and no one responded we didn't have anywhere to go my daughter and I were suffering because of this flood there's water coming into the closet in my bedroom and there's a mold my belongings have been ruined because of the leak New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs got involved last summer and says the building had almost 300 violations ranging from non-functioning smoke alarms to busted Plumbing in bathrooms pingry Equity LLC paid almost 4,000 in fines after not fixing the problems the elevator has been broken for weeks sometimes it's it breaks for 3 weeks on end and I have to carry all of my groceries all of my laundry up four flights of stairs since that uh fine came out in the summer um the landlord has made some repairs but not nearly enough as you heard from the tenants today there continue to be issues with the elevator issues in their Apartments representatives from pingry Equity LLC asked us to leave while we heard from tenants and declined our requests for interview for this story in Elizabeth I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight news on Wall Street stocks opened higher today after a key inflation report showed prices are mostly holding steady ahead of the fed's final policy meeting of the year here's how the markets closed support for the business report is provided by Newark Alliance which curates the Newark Holiday Festival a collaborative calendar of holiday events in newark's arts and education District more details available at nework holiday festival.com