Manhattan Beach Tenants Abandon Court Fight Over Foul Odors

Tenants have given up on their Housing Court fight over a foul odor in their Manhattan Beach apartment building caused by Superstorm Sandy. A storm surge in the basement of the rent-stabilized building caused leaks in stored fuel oil. According to the tenants, they couldn’t afford independent environmental tests to prove fumes from fuel residue are a health hazard the building's owner should clean up.

According to the owners' lawyer, the owner spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on building repairs without any insurance reimbursement and waived November rents totaling more than $50,000. In addition, the lawyer cited a Health Department inspection report issued in December, which found indoor air tests at the building were normal and “only a mild oil odor [was] noted in the oil tank room” in the basement, to indicate that no further cleanup is necessary at the building.