Nyc Rent-stabilized Apartment — Neighbor Smoking Nonstop, Possible Illegal Sublet/squatter, Management Ignoring Us. What Recourse Do We Have?

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Hi all — looking for NYC-specific tenant advice.

We live in a rent-stabilized building and have been dealing with an ongoing issue with the apartment below us that management has essentially stopped responding to.

The person currently living in the unit below us is not the leaseholder. From what we understand, the apartment was illegally sublet (which isn’t allowed under rent stabilization). At some point, the sub-tenant stopped paying rent and is now effectively a squatter. Management has vaguely told us they may be pursuing eviction of the actual leaseholder, but there’s been no clear communication or timeline, and everything seems to be moving very slowly.

The bigger and more immediate problem is that the current occupant smokes cigarettes constantly. The smoke travels directly into our apartment through the floors and vents. Smoking is a violation of the lease, but despite this, it’s been allowed to continue.

We have a 6-month-old baby, and the smoke exposure became so bad that we were forced to move bedrooms just to reduce our baby’s exposure to secondhand smoke.

We’ve reached out to management for months by email and phone. They sent a single cease-and-desist letter a while back, but the smoking never stopped. Since then, management has largely ignored us — no follow-up, no enforcement, and often no response at all.

My questions:

1. What rights do we have when a landlord fails to enforce a no-smoking lease provision that’s affecting habitability?
2. At what point do options like a lawyer’s letter, rent escrow, or withholding rent become appropriate — and what are the risks?

Any guidance is appreciated.