Syracuse, N.Y. -- The New York Attorney General’s Office and the owners of the Skyline Apartments have agreed the apartments must be fixed in the next 60 days or the apartments’ owners have to pay up.
Green National, Skyline’s owners, and Attorney General Letitia James came to an agreement that Green has to fix all code violations at the four properties it owns in Syracuse in the next 60 days or pay a $300,000 fine, James said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
“This is just the beginning of our effort to address long-standing housing problems in Syracuse,” James said.
Green National is a limited liability company owned by Troy Green and his father, former NFL football star Tim Green. At its peak, Green National owned 1,273 housing units in Syracuse.
It now owns four apartment buildings, including Skyline Apartments, The Vincent Apartments, The James Apartments and Chestnut Crossing Apartments.
The agreement was brokered to preempt a lawsuit by the attorney general’s office against Green National, which could hamper Green National’s ability to sell properties it owns. James’ office began investigating properties held by the Greens in March and found the properties the Greens own to have numerous code violations.
Even if the Greens fix the code violations, they still must pay at least $50,000, James said. The Greens have already put the money in an escrow account. If they do not make fixes to the properties they own, James said her office is also prepared to seize them.
Troy Green and a Green National spokesman have said Skyline Apartments is under contract to be sold but have not publicly stated a timeline for the sale. They have started selling other properties they own.
“I would hope that they would consider selling all of these properties because they are obviously very bad at managing these properties,” James said.
Reached before James’ news conference, Troy Green said he could not comment.
The agreement between the attorney general’s office and Green National requires it to fix all open code violations or include a requirement in contracts for future sales that the new owners fix outstanding code violations. Green National must also notify the attorney general’s office when it sells properties it currently owns or if it purchases any properties in New York in the next five years.
Issues have persisted at Green-owned properties for years, including at Skyline Apartments.
Residents first talked about their concerns at the building in a 2019 report by Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. In March 2021, Connie Tuori, 93, was murdered on the 12th floor of the apartment building at 753 James St.
In the six months before Tuori’s murder, police were called nearly three times a day, with an additional 293 ambulance calls in that same time period.
The 12th floor of the building, where Tuori was murdered, had become a hot spot for drugs and crime. An apartment occupied by a disabled man on that floor had been taken over by people selling drugs.
Katrina Weston, the president of the building’s tenant association, said Tuesday that problems have persisted. Weston said she didn’t feel comfortable bringing a family member she cares for back to Skyline.
“To this day it’s not safe,” Weston said.
Green National tried to make fixes after the city used its nuisance abatement law against the building. The company evicted or did not renew the leases for 34 “problematic apartments,” according to a Green National spokesman.
Two security guards were added to Skyline, and a key fob system was installed. Syracuse police officers and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office deputies have been stationed at the building as off-duty security over the last year.
In January, however, a woman was shot in the stomach outside the ninth-floor elevator.
On Tuesday, Skyline tenant Larry Fuller said the shooting happened about 10 feet from his apartment. In recent years, Fuller said he’s dealt with blood, human waste and garbage in the hallways and stairwells.
“I have wondered: When will things get so bad that it will be enough for the Greens to take care of their building and their tenants?” Fuller said.
At a news conference after the shooting, Mayor Ben Walsh said Skyline needs new ownership to improve.
Officials from the city’s Division of Code Enforcement inspected Skyline later that same day and deemed Skyline’s common areas unfit for occupation for a third time.
On Tuesday, Skyline’s common areas were deemed unfit for occupation for a fourth time.
The city has 15 pending lawsuits against companies used by the Greens to own various properties, including two against Green Skyline LLC.
“The Greens have treated their tenants as something less than human for far too long in this city,” Fuller said. “No person should ever be expected to live like this.”
More on Syracuse.com about the Skyline Apartments and Green-owned properties
Not just the Skyline: While tenants suffer across Syracuse, the Greens have a bigger plan
Inside Tim Green’s Skyline Apartments: Murder, drugs and filth. Tenants, cops say enough is enough
Family IDs 93-year-old woman murdered in Skyline Apartments
Woman pleads guilty to brutal killing of Connie Tuori, escapes mandatory life sentence
Walsh says he’s exploring legal action against Skyline owners: ‘It’s public nuisance No. 1′
Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati by phone at 585-290-0718 or by email at clibonati@syracuse.com.
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