(RNS2-SEPT15) Paola Leiva has lived in her apartment in Union City, N.J., for the past 8 months with a roommate Wendy Lopez and Lopez’s son Cristian. The building, which has extensive maintenance issues, bedbugs and no child restraints over the windows, is owned by Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the controversial proposal to develop an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero. For use with RNS-IMAM-LANDLORD, transmitted Sept. 15, 2010. RNS photo by Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger.

UNION CITY, N.J. (RNS) In the third-floor apartment where Paola Leiva and Wendy Lopez live, the back wall of the tiny shower is stripped of its tiles and covered by a black garbage bag.

Mold is everywhere. There’s a hole the size of a fist in the ceiling.

“It’s from leaking in the bathroom,” Leiva said. “It’s a big problem. The kids cannot take a shower. I pay the rent every month, but I don’t know why the guy never came to fix it.”

On Tuesday (Sept. 14), a reporter was permitted access to one of the 16 apartments in a building owned by Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam who’s leading efforts to build an Islamic cultural center two blocks from Ground Zero.

Multiple, unaddressed complaints of leaks, mold, bedbug and rodent infestation and fire hazards at the dwelling are why Union City is suing Rauf, Mayor Brian Stack said.

The city claims Rauf, named as the sole officer of Sage Development LLC, has failed to properly maintain two apartment buildings, one of which has been boarded up since a 2008 fire. The city is asking the court to appoint custodial receivership that would collect rents and apply the funds to correct repairs and hazards, while also settling fines imposed by the city.

Rauf has not been available for comment, but he and/or his attorney are scheduled to appear for a hearing in Superior Court in Jersey City. Some tenants say they are eager to hear whether their complaints will be heard.

“I’ve been here since the building opened (in 1990) and it hasn’t been peaceful with this owner,” said Cindy Balko, who lives on the first floor. “He cares nothing about the people who live in this building. Not a thing.”

Balko did not allow access to her apartment, but complained of “leaks galore” and said she has asked for repairs repeatedly over the past eight months. She said her complaints were not motivated by the imam’s controversial plans in lower Manhattan.

“It’s fine and dandy that he can build a mosque,” Balko said. “But he doesn’t take care of this building or the building around the corner, and he’s going to take care of a mosque?”

Inside the apartment shared by Leiva and Lopez and their children, in addition to the mold and leaky bathroom, the living room window did not have child-safety protection. Leiva said she had made a request for such protection with the landlord, but it has gone unheeded in the eight months she has lived in the building.

The building’s yellow-colored hallways were clean, although there was a musty odor. Repairs were being made to a hallway light. On Monday, signs were posted to notify all residents of a scheduled fumigation for bedbugs.

Union City says 12 fire code violations have been issued for the adjoining fire-damaged building, which Rauf ignored prior to the fire. It also said Rauf boarded up the building and barred residents from their apartments after the fire, rather than address previous violations.

The lawsuit against Rauf states the Union City Health Department has responded to “no less than 30 complaints from tenants predicated upon various health and safety concerns, including lack of heat, mold inside apartments, garbage issues, bedbugs, foul odors, dirty hallways and the lack of utilities.”

The mayor singled Rauf out as the city’s worst landlord, but said the litigation has nothing to do with Rauf’s plans in Manhattan. City spokesman Mark Albeiz said the city files similar lawsuits against other landlords “several times a year.”

“Our office does this all the time,” he said. “Quite frequently, we take control of buildings through having receiverships appointed.”

(Bob Considine writes for The Star-Ledger in Newark)