Is Park51's Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf a Slumlord?

(Sept. 14) -- Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is in some hot water today that's shockingly unrelated to Park51, aka the ground zero mosque, formerly known as Cordoba House. The town of Union City, N.J., filed a lawsuit today against the imam, charging he is a terrible, law-breaking slumlord, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Rauf owns two apartment buildings and has not addressed a range of tenant complaints, from moldy bathrooms to lack of heat to bedbugs to fire hazards, according to the lawsuit. A fire broke out in one of the buildings in February 2008, one year after the city issued 12 fire code violations to Rauf. Residents in the 32 apartments were forced out, and the building was boarded up.

"He's a terrible landlord who's unresponsive to the residents who live in his building," Mark Albiez, a spokesman Union City's mayor, Brian Stack, told the Star-Ledger. "City officials and inspectors have reached out to him to express the urgency in correcting problems in his buildings, and it's unfortunate that it's gotten to this point, but it's our responsibility to ensure that residents receive the care that is needed."

The lawsuit could put the buildings into receivership, allowing a court-appointed receiver to collect rent and use the money to fix up the buildings, pay bills and settle fines.

Read more at The Star-Ledger.

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Imam Rauf Accused of Being a Slumlord by NJ Town

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