A Brooklyn apartment building filled with rat droppings has become New York’s most expensive slum, residents say.

Several residents of the blighted Bushwick site on Starr Street say they pay nearly $4,000 a month to live with rat droppings on countertops, moldy ceilings and leaking roofs in the trendy neighborhood – which led them to form a tenants union to fight against the so-called slumlord who owns the place.

Hunter Boone, 34, founded Starr St. Union a month ago after repeatedly calling 311 about disrepair and sometimes “unlivable” building conditions in his two-bedroom apartment, priced at $3,500. $ per month.

Boone said he and his dog even both contracted a parasitic infection from the poor conditions. In May, both men suffered prolonged digestive problems and were unable to keep their food down due to their exposure to rat feces, according to medical records provided by Boone.

“After that, that’s when I said, OK, I really need to get the city involved in this rat problem. …If someone charges that much, why does the building look like this? Wouldn’t that mean that they are, quote, slum landlords? he said.

During a tour of the eight-unit building with The Post, Boone showed the shocking conditions — including rats falling onto his counters, a boarded-up yard with water-damaged ceilings and apparent holes in his floor. bathroom.

“There is a fire hazard here, these doors cannot close properly on their own upon entry. I actually printed my own ‘fire hazard’ signs for this purpose,” Boone said, pointing to one of the building’s emergency violations.

Starr St. Union is taking legal action and organizing tenants against Cayuga Capital Management Ventures owner Jacob Sacks, who owns at least 21 buildings in the area.

Its properties average two open city violations per residential unit, worse than the city average of 0.8 per unit, according to JustFix data.

The Starr Street building alone has 49 open building violations.

When contacted by The Post, Sacks defended his management of the property, alleging there were only “four current tenants.” . . who like to complain and deny access,” triggering a series of complaints.

“The reality is this is an activist tenant who, as you’ve seen, is intentionally trying to inflate the problem and prevent repair work in the meantime,” Sacks said.

Boone says his nightmare began as soon as he sublet the two-bedroom apartment in April 2023.

The building sits across the street from a park and a few blocks from the L train line in Brooklyn’s trendy northern neighborhood.

And although online rental listings show freshly painted rooms with stainless steel kitchen appliances, Boone said he quickly realized the reality was far from idyllic when he heard reports rats scurrying into the ceiling the first night.

“When I mentioned this rat problem to the previous tenant, he said, ‘Oh, isn’t it just New York?’ “But you shouldn’t have rats in your ceiling, it’s crazy,” Boone said.

When Boone reported the problem to 311, Sacks tried to force him to leave the building, although records provided by Boone showed he was legally residing there, the resident claimed.

In December, Sacks told Boone he would only offer him a six-month lease for $600 more, bringing the total for the space to $3,500.

“At this point, all signs point to fraud,” Boone said.

Unable to move out, Boone paid the increased rent until he says the heat stopped working and he was forced to live in 45-degree temperatures. He also claims he had other problems, such as a garden where the fence was in such poor condition it was on the verge of falling over.

“I thought it was absolutely insane, I haven’t had heat for a month. … The city came and confirmed it was 45 degrees in the apartment, and the landlord immediately said, ‘Stop calling 311,'” Boone said.

“But I told him it was crazy. I stopped paying the rent because I was like, “I don’t have heat. I have the right to do that. “

Sacks is now suing Boone in housing court for $12,300 for nonpayment of his rent and is seeking permission to evict him if he is unable to pay, according to court records.

But Boone says he’s using the case to report Sacks to the city for alleged neglect of his properties and obtain rent stabilization for units in the building.

After a month of prospecting, the union obtained the full participation of all eight units in the building.

In the absence of a resident superintendent, residents turned to the city’s Housing Preservation and Development Department to voice their complaints.

A union member at the building, who pays $3,250 for a two-bedroom apartment, described the chaos when a pipe burst in her home, displacing her family for six days and forcing them to throw out all their groceries .

Although the leak was eventually repaired and the man eventually received a refund from Sacks, mold spores are now visible on his ceiling, the resident claimed.

He also said the unit was overrun with vermin.

“I left a bag of groceries on the floor, and when I came back later, there was a hole through them,” said the tenant, who asked not to be identified.

An individual was spotted on security cameras Boone installed in the building tearing down Starr Street Union posters, footage showed.

Sacks denied tearing down any posters, but Boone believes someone in building management was responsible., although there is no specific evidence that either is involved.

An HPD representative praised Starr Street tenants for forming a union.

“Tenants at 147 Starr St have taken important steps to hold their landlord accountable by banding together to address building conditions and filing complaints through 311,” the rep told The Post in a statement.

“HPD records indicate the landlord has begun making corrections, and tenants can object if they feel the issues remain unresolved, prompting a reinspection by HPD to confirm.”

Despite the building conditions, Boone said he had no plans to leave the apartment until he could settle his case with Sacks.

“A lot of people in New York don’t think they can fight this stuff because it takes so long,” Boone said.

“I will now assert my rights as a tenant and I will fight this.”

Boone is scheduled to appear in housing court on October 30.