Former Skyline Apartments tenants have until Aug. 8 to claim settlement

Former Skyline Apartments tenants who lived at 753 James Street for at least one month between Jan. 1, 2017 and July 14, 2023 have until Aug. 8 to file a claim for part of an $800,000 settlement. Notices were mailed June 9, and late claims will not be paid.

The settlement covers former residents of the Syracuse building at 753 James Street, Syracuse, New York 13203, and the payout will be divided by how long each person lived there. The agreement uses a points system in which each month in the building counts as one point, then the net settlement fund is divided among class members after litigation and administration costs are taken out. Individual recoveries are capped under the agreement.

The case was filed July 1, 2021 and amended Aug. 11, 2021, then certified as a class action on June 17, 2022. The named plaintiffs are Martina Carter, Anne McCheyne and Lawrence Fuller. The former owners in the case were Tim Green and Troy Green, and Green Skyline Apartments, LLC agreed to pay the settlement to resolve the lawsuit.

The suit alleged unsafe conditions in the building, including problems in the lobby, elevators, hallways, stairwells and other common areas. WSYR reported that a court order in May 2022 required 24/7 security guards and stairwell cameras, and tenants later said the building was unfit to live in after going without hot water for days in freezing weather in 2023.

The Skyline settlement is only one part of a longer fight over the property and how it was managed. Syracuse city reporting said Green National had owned Skyline since December 2016, and in February 2023 the city sued Green National, saying the company had allowed the property to fall into disrepair and seeking a receiver and $1 million for repairs. The city later said Clear Investment Group missed an April 30, 2026 repair deadline and the building still was not ready for tenants.

For former Skyline renters, the settlement now offers a direct path to compensation after years of complaints, court orders and stalled repairs. The deadline is fixed, and the chance to claim a share of the fund will end Aug. 8.