Tuesday morning, Nina D’Alessandro and about a dozen other members of the Toledano Tenants Coalition, joined by state Senator Brad Hoylman, waved frozen turkey dinners outside 325 E. 12th St., where residents have been without cooking gas for more than six months. On the same day, eight residents filed a lawsuit against their landlord, Raphael Toledano, to force him to provide gas so they can cook at home. Toledano owns 24 buildings in the East Village, several of which have also been without cooking gas for long periods — which tenants say is a tactic intended to drive them out. In May, Toledano agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged that he harassed rent-regulated residents at 444 E. 13th St.
Sarah Ferguson
