Some tenants and employees say there was fist fights, threats from colleagues and sexual harassment in one of New York City’s largest apartment buildings.
Max Apartments are located on 57th and 11th Avenues. Its owner, TF Cornerstone, promises “the best and luxurious life in West Midtown.”
Former maintenance workers Kenrick Gale and Dane Gomez say it’s not a luxury to work.
A fiddle-fighting claim between colleagues
“I threw me on the floor and started panmering,” Gomez said.
“He also ran and started assaulting me,” Gale said of his colleague.
They claimed that in 2022 he was attacked by four colleagues, tearing the ligaments with Gale’s feet and hurting his eyes. They claim it started when the employee punched Gomez. Another employee later said he took part in the attack on Gomez.
Gale and Gomez say one of those employees and one of the other two workers began attacking Gale.
“Punched me, hit me, kicked me. I left there with serious injuries,” Gale said.
Both said a judge in Gale’s Workers Compensation case said Gale “did not begin a brawl” and said “employers were aware that the two employees who started the brawl had a history of hostility and that the employer had failed to take action to separate these individuals, but they were later fired.
A letter notifying Gale of his firing said it was the result of the brawl.
Gale and Gomez filed a lawsuit against the TF’s cornerstone.
“There was a lot of accumulation there. The culture was very bad. It was supposed to happen,” Gale said.
Sexual harassment claim
Two other former MAX employees have filed a settlement agreement with TF Cornerstone since the building opened in 2018, claiming that their colleagues have sexually harassed them. One employee said in the lawsuit that the maintenance worker “looks at his crotch” and made inappropriate comments.
The tenant, who asked to remain anonymous, filed a similar complaint with management about another employee, a doorman.
“He started looking at my crotch. He looked at my crotch. I came into the building and he was like, ‘Hello.’ He deliberately stared at my legs, and he did this several times.
TF Cornerstone claimed that it had launched eviction proceedings against her and created “an unfounded complaint directed at long-term members of building staff who have no history of fraud.”
“Nothing has changed.”
The company disagrees with CBS News New York.
“We are committed to being an equal opportunity employer and a fair housing provider. Our organization maintains strict policies that prohibit discrimination and harassment, including those outlined in the collective negotiation agreements that govern most building service workers. We cannot comment on the ongoing litigation, but we will continue to stick to our commitment to promoting the promotion of workplaces to promote the community and respect for building the workplace statement.
That’s not how Gale sees it. He shared the video. He shows the aftermath of spraying peppers of a man scattering his colleagues over another conflict, and playing a ring toss game with adult toys in the break room. At least some videos have been posted online.
“There’s still a lot going on in the building to this day. I have friends who are still going through it. Nothing has changed,” Gale said.
“I absolutely want to see that there are steps in place to ensure I have to go through what I have gone through. I want accountability for the way I was treated at home,” Tennant said.
CBS News New York asked TF Cornerstone, an employee accused of fraudulent conduct.
We receive a partial tax exemption on our property. That’s because they agreed to include affordable units in the building, including the tenant’s apartments we interviewed.
A building management lawsuit against her is still ongoing in eviction court, and she says for now she is living at the biggest without a lease when she is looking for a new home.
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Tim McNicolas
