A tenant of a Brooklyn building owned by Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has not had heat in his apartment since Feb. 23, when a snowstorm dropped more than 19 inches of snow on New York City. From October to May, when outside temperatures drop below 55 degrees, building owners in the city are required by law to heat their apartments to at least 68 degrees during the day and 62 degrees at night.
In this case, the criteria is not met. The tenant, a longtime Bucks fan, sent a direct message on Instagram to get the two-time MVP’s attention. (We are protecting the tenant’s identity because he has received professional threats, and this interview effectively reveals his address.) Here’s what it’s like to have a top three NBA player as your landlord, without the heat. The following interview, conducted March 4, has been condensed and edited for clarity.
When contacted by the defector Thursday morning, a Birx spokeswoman declined to comment. The defector also called and emailed a real estate management company and Antetokounmpo’s representative, Alex Saratsis, but received no response. We will update you if there are any changes.
How long have you lived in your current apartment and when did you find out who your current landlord was?
I moved there in October 2020. That’s because the building was being offered for free for about two months so people could move in. Because that was the time when everyone was leaving the city. The landlord tried desperately to let people in. It’s been there ever since.
The way I found out (about Giannis) was kind of crazy. i remember
One day I was scrolling through Twitter and suddenly I saw a screenshot of this trade organization that advertises when famous people buy apartment buildings. The first thing I remember seeing was my address.
I’m like Why does my address show up on Twitter? This is absolutely ridiculous. Then I saw Giannis’ face and for a moment I couldn’t believe it. I was very confused. Because I grew up in Milwaukee. Well then it’s a bit strange twilight zone The moment the star player on the team I grew up watching randomly bought my building on the other side of the country.
There is a group chat on WhatsApp about a sister building in the same complex as ours. It was starting at the time people were hearing about it. At the time, there was a mix of people who thought it was fake and people who thought it was real. Then, at some point, someone found a link to a signed rental agreement with Giannis’ signature on it, and that’s when we all realized it was being done legally.
He bought the building last November.
What has been your experience under new management so far?
I’d say it’s a bit mixed. The building itself has had security issues for some time, with people entering the building to steal packages. We recently had an issue with our front door not closing completely, and someone came into our basement, ripped open the delivery room door, ripped all the boxes, and stole everything inside. We have a problem with neighborhood kids going into one of the buildings where the lounge is located and smoking there and then behaving very aggressively when we try to get them to leave. And we had to call the police several times to make that happen. Management (before Giannis) wasn’t very good at making sure the buildings were actually secure for the people living there.
I’d say the new management has been better at solving the overall problems. But now we are faced with a heat problem. So you may have seen the screenshot (of a direct message) I sent to Giannis. Since the blizzard (February 23rd) the heat has been turned off in our building and our sister building.
From what I understand, it took a lot of people’s heat out. Because we had a problem with the condenser on our roof freezing during snowstorms. Last week, my agency hired someone to fix it, but they couldn’t fix it, so I ended up ordering parts. Then yesterday they brought in new people, and they said the people who came last week ruined everything. I have never had direct contact with Giannis. I mean, imagine if he quietly bought a building to become the owner, and hired a management company to handle everything for him. So everything is new, and it’s hard to know whether to blame the agency or the building itself, which has had problems since it was built.
But generally they hired supers who were a bit more responsive. We had a super employee living in that building, but he moved out and the last management company didn’t replace him. The last one I would say is a bit cheap in the way they do things. Improvements have been made across the board. But I think if you ask most people in the building, they’ll tell you things can get better.
Any updates on the lack of heating?
Last I heard, someone came in yesterday and was told that they wouldn’t be able to fix it yesterday and that starting today they would be giving people their heaters. In my opinion, it’s because you never know when you’ll be able to solve a problem. I didn’t get a solid date from the tech who came to fix the problem. The person said they wouldn’t be able to fix the problem today and that was yesterday.
So how have you been?
Yes, our heating system failed during the biggest snowstorm in New York in over a decade. There are many blankets and layers. I know some people have space heaters.
Have you considered organizing into a tenant group?
We called 311. On Sunday someone from the housing authority came. I don’t know what next steps we’re going to take. At this point we’ve been reporting as much as we can to get on the radar, and we’re confident we’ll be fined for every day the heat goes away. Of course you will get a rent reduction. We haven’t offered it, but we are going to get a 100% discount on rent at this point.
So as far as you know, the next step is to fix the condenser sometime after the space heater arrives?
Unfortunately, there is no timeline for when the issue will be resolved.
You said you don’t know exactly where the blame lies. Does this story change how you feel about Giannis at all?
You can say this as a joke. Because the reality is he has no control over any of this. Right? It’s definitely the people around him. His business advisors probably did the same. Oh, buy this building. On sale. It’s in Brooklyn. This neighborhood is gentrifying and people are spending more and more money there.. I’m sure it’s a good business deal. I imagine it was a drop in the bucket for him. If I were to say that this has a negative impact on the way I think about him, I’d be kidding myself. Because actually, what is he going to do? None of this is really on his radar.
yet!
Or what does your agency do? Yeah, again, it’s hard to know if this is his fault. Because all he did was buy the building three months ago and that doesn’t change the fact that the heater on the roof is going to freeze during the winter. He wasn’t even there when it was built or designed. The same goes for management companies. Whoever built this building made a foolish decision and decided to mount an incredibly important heater or critical part of a heating system on an unprotected roof, allowing the elements to operate even in extreme weather. Because this is not the first time since we moved into this apartment that the heating has been out for a long time.
Has this happened before?!
Yes, this happened to me 4 years ago. I had not had a fever for two and a half weeks. I don’t think the entire building had the same problem, but it sure did and we got a rent reduction.
So this has been a known problem in the building for many years.
Probably so.
all right. He said he grew up in Milwaukee. Are you a Bucks fan? Do you have any good memories of watching them?
When I was a kid, my family had Bucks season tickets. I was a huge fan. I have won “Fan of the Game” twice. I would get my face painted and go play games.
Who was your favorite player?
I grew up in the era of Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell. Ray Allen was my favorite player for a long time, but he got traded and it was one of the worst days of my life.
Have you seen much of the Giannis era?
Ah, yes. I was at Barclays (Center) when he was drafted.
Maybe one way to reach Giannis or get on his radar is to get some cheap seats close to a Nets game and hold up a sign.
I’ve definitely thought about it. I had friends like this, If you go to a game and fly out, there should be a sign that says, “Hey, no heat.”
