I would also suggest calling 311 and seeing what they have to say.

I have a terrible landlord (moving out in a month, thank god), and I've always been pleasantly surprised when I've called 311 to complain about having no heat/hot water. Every single person I've spoken with has been extremely polite and helpful, and actually followed up days later! Couldn't hurt anyway. Good luck.

Also, try writing to the NY Times real estate section. There are always questions like this coming up.