Paterson has collected $600K in fines as result of crackdown on negligent landlords
PATERSON, N.J. (WABC) -- Officials in Paterson say the City's crackdown on negligent landlords and property owners called "Operation Feet to the Fire" is paying off with unprecedented fines.
This year, the City has issued over half a million dollars in fines for fire violations and other building code issues, and it has collected more than $600,000 for fire violations since 2023.
Mayor Andre Sayegh says residents' quality of life and safety are his priority.
"We don't want any resident of Paterson to have to worry about not having heat, electricity, a fire extinguisher, or holes in their wall and that's why we are aggressively ensuring that these landlords are no longer negligent," Sayegh said at a briefing Monday.
The money collected will go to the City's Fire Prevention Bureau and will be used to pay for training and equipment to improve firefighter safety.
Queen, a single mother, said not only is her refrigerator disgusting, she refuses to put anything in it because her landlord, Frank Ferrito, wants to charge her for using it.
She said her apartment also has exposed water lines, uneven floors, and an open heater all stuffed in a tiny space.
"I assumed that all of the things would be changed and fixed up, renovated by the time I got in, but none of it was changed, it was exactly the same from the walk in," Queen said.
Queen works full time but had been homeless. She needed a place and this is what she could afford.
"I was living in hotels all throughout Wayne for the past year. So, this is me coming back and this is the apartment that I settled for," Queen said.
Ferrito has a notorious reputation with tenants and has been fined many times.
In another case, a fire back in January 2023 resulted in the fire department fining the owner of the building.
The city took this action because there were several fire code violations at the building which were never addressed and caused the fire.
The fines totaled over a quarter of a million dollars.
"We're turning up the heat on negligent landlords. We want to make sure that residents are reassured that their quality of life is our priority," Mayor Sayegh said.
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