New York City has some of the most unique and picturesque apartment buildings in the world. Neighborhoods like the Upper East Side have architecture that dates back several generations. The people who own those buildings are referred to as landlords and the people who live in the apartments are referred to as tenants. The dynamic between the landlord and the tenant is a legal arrangement that can sometimes require professional assistance to clean up. There is landlord liability attorneys New York City residents turn to when they have disputes with their landlords. But before you call an attorney, you should make sure that you have covered your bases and put yourself in the best possible position.
Whether you live in apartments in the West Village or Chelsea, you need to have a lease with your landlord. A lease establishes who is responsible for the various aspects of the apartment including maintenance and care. For example, a lease will establish that it is the landlord’s responsibility to shovel snow and ice from the sidewalk. If someone falls and gets injured on the sidewalk, then the landlord liability attorneys New York City residents call on would use the lease to establish who is liable for the injury. However, if a shelving unit you installed in your apartment falls on someone, then that is your responsibility.
Landlord liability attorneys New York City residents trust will also recommend that you get everything in writing from your landlord. When you pay the rent, even if you pay with a check, then you should get a receipt. If your landlord agrees to take some money off your rent because you painted your apartment, then get that in writing along with the exact amount that is being taken off the rent. As long as you have proof that you are living up to your end of the lease, then it is more difficult for your attorney to say you are liable for issues that may come up.
Most New York City residents try to avoid having a contentious relationship with their landlords. But if you do find yourself having an issue with the owner of your apartment complex, then you need to contact the landlord liability attorneys New York City residents trust. You need to make sure that your side is clearly stated and that all of your rights as a tenant are protected.
A new study of the effects of combustion-related air pollutants in New York City reveals that babies in the womb are more susceptible than their mothers to DNA damage from such pollution. Despite the protection provided by the placenta, which reduces the fetal dose to an estimated one-tenth the dose of the mother, the levels of DNA damage in the newborns were similar to those found in their mothers. The study was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a part of the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as a number of private foundations. Results of the study, the first of its kind in New York City, were released today by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, part of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. These findings are especially notable since evidence from previous studies of laboratory rodents suggests that the fetus is more susceptible to the carcinogenic effects of the same pollutants than the adult. The study was designed to measure the effects of prenatal and maternal exposure to combustion-related pollutants, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), on DNA damage. PAHs are carcinogenic air pollutants that are released into the environment as a result of combustion from car, truck, or bus engines, residential heating, power generation, or tobacco smoking. According to the researchers, PAHs are able to cross the placental barrier.