SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A landlord is facing a criminal charge for exposing his tenants to lead paint at his Syracuse's Near West Side property that has flunked 21 inspections in three years.
The Onondaga County District Attorney's Office charged Mendy Kletzky, 34, of Brooklyn, with willful violation of health laws, a misdemeanor. If convicted, he could face up to one year in jail and up to a $10,000 fine.
Kletzky entered a not guilty plea Tuesday in Syracuse City Court and was released. He could not be immediately reached for comment. But earlier this year he said he had not fixed the violations in the house at 119 Kellogg St. because of financial problems.
The Kellogg Street house is occupied by Rashida Mims, a woman with nine children, one of whom tested positive for lead poisoning last year. The family has been featured in syracuse.com stories about how lead paint poisons hundreds of kids each year in Syracuse.
Mims moved into the house four years ago. She said Kletzky promised to fix peeling paint and other problems in the house, but he never did. She called the county Health Department and requested a lead inspection, which found high levels of lead.
The county ordered Kletzky in 2014 to correct the lead hazards. Since then, the county health department has reinspected the property 21 time and the problems have not been fixed, the District Attorney's Office said in court papers.
City and county officials have been trying to move Mims and her children. Mims said she expects to move out next month.
Kletzky tried unsuccessfully to evict Mims last year after she stopped paying rent. Earlier this year Kletzky said Mims was living in the house as a "squatter" and should have moved out.
The city has a pending judgment of more than $1 million against Kletzky over outstanding code violations at the house.
Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245