Last November, residents living at 2558 Grand Concourse were unable to cook a Thanksgiving dinner on their stoves because the gas service was cut off by Con Edison. Stellar Management, the company that manages the property, provided the Fordham Manor tenants with portable hot plates, but it was an unsatisfactory solution for some.

 

Daneiry Gonzalez is one of the affected tenants. “How am I supposed to cook a Thanksgiving dinner on a hot plate with two coils [burners]?” she said, when asked how she coped with the situation last year.

 

Speaking in Spanish to the Norwood News, Gonzalez expressed her frustration with the slow pace at which Stellar Management was addressing the gas service restoration, along with other unresolved issues related to infestation and maintenance. She shared a video clip with the Norwood News of a mouse in the lobby of the building, and said she had others of roaches.

 

The gas service problems started on Nov. 22, 2019 when Con Ed filed a complaint with the Department of Buildings (DOB), after their inspectors discovered “illegal plumbing work and theft of service issues.” This usually refers to a situation where unauthorized pipework is installed to steal gas.

 

The gas was immediately shut off for the entire building including the gas for Millie Peartree Fish Fry & Soul Food, an eatery located on the ground floor of the building which opened in 2017.

 

According to news reports at the time the gas was shut off, Peartree was told the repairs could take six to eight months. Without any assurance that the situation would be resolved in the foreseeable future, Peartree went back to working as a private chef in the catering world, eventually launching Full Heart Full Bellies, a catering service providing prepared meals to school-aged children and nursing homes across the Bronx. To achieve this, she partnered with other entities, including Audi, her delivery partner, and Amazon which donated kitchen space.

 

The sign for Peartree’s Fish Fry & Soul Food business is still displayed at 2558 Grand Concourse but the metal gate is pulled down, and there is no indication as to whether the restaurant has been closed temporarily, permanently or if it has been sold. Norwood News reached out to Peartree for comment. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

Meanwhile, a group of tenants living in the building have tried to organize to get the landlord to address a growing number of complaints beyond the lack of gas supply. Alvaro Franco is an organizer with the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) and has been helping the tenants resolve the gas situation, among other issues.

 

He said the process has seen many setbacks, both on site and in the courts. “Both parties are [currently] in court, with the tenants represented by The Legal Aid Society,” he said. Norwood News reached out to The Legal Aid Society for a status update, and Benjamin Seibel said the tenants filed a case in early June, but the landlord never showed up to court.

 

In the meantime, a judge issued an order instructing Stellar Management to correct, by specific dates, all of the conditions and violations raised, depending on their severity. The landlord has since “lawyered up,” and that’s where things stand right now.

 

In fact, it was not until NWBCCC and the Legal Aid Society got involved that the tenants realized the other issues like the unfinished repair work and the infestation, which pre-dated the gas cut-off, were already valid reasons for taking the landlord to Housing Court.

 

“Restoring gas and addressing the other outstanding conditions in the building are the landlord’s responsibility and we intend to use all available legal avenues to hold the landlord to their obligations,” said Seibel.

 

“This particular landlord is a sophisticated actor that owns/manages properties throughout the city and it is unacceptable that these tenants have been forced to live without cooking gas for eleven months and counting. ​​These tenants deserve better.”

 

Meanwhile, Franco said, “Repairs are happening but in a haphazard way.” He added that some tenants, however, have not complained even when they’ve had repair issues. He said they have felt intimidated and harassed by certain responses they received from the building’s Super. According to both Franco and Gonzalez, the Super told some of the residents, “If you don’t like it here, you can move.”

 

A tenants’ meeting was held inside the building on Sept. 3, during which organizing efforts were discussed. The Super was not present. In the days that followed, Gonzalez alleges the Super confronted some of those in attendance and reminded them that he was watching them organize through surveillance cameras and said there would be reprisals.

 

Franco and Gonzalez said they feel the Super’s attitude has hampered and delayed their efforts at organizing the tenants. Norwood News reached out to the Super for comment and did not receive an immediate response.

 

Compounding the stress of having to cook without a stove are the monthly electric bills which have ballooned. In contrast to the stoves, which run on a gas service, the hot plates are electrical devices that need to be plugged into a wall socket.

 

Gonzalez said her electric bill is four times what she used to pay. “I can show [monthly] statements where they say I owe $700, and one of $900,” she said.

 

She disputed some of the amounts initially but has since spread her payments out over the course of the year. Nonetheless, she said the constant disputes over bills have left her stressed and exhausted.

 

Franco became aware of the tenants’ complaints primarily because of the gas cut-off. The restoration of the gas service appeared to evolve into a frustrating blame game among the various parties involved. Gonzalez said the landlord told her it was a Con Ed issue, while Con Ed said they needed the work inspected by DOB. Meanwhile, DOB said the landlord needed to fix the issue.

 

When contacted for comment by Norwood News, a spokeswoman for Stellar Management said in a written statement, “2558 Grand Concourse just underwent a full gas inspection and has passed. It is now in the hands of Con Edison to restore the property’s gas. We apologize for any inconvenience to our valued residents, as we await their final determination.”

 

Norwood News checked the status with Con Ed. On Oct. 20, Jamie McShane said Con Ed did have an open case on the issue in April. However, after several unsuccessful attempts to address it with the customer, the case was closed. McShane added that “the customer” later contacted Con Ed on Oct. 19 and so, they opened a new case.

 

In response to this update, the Stellar Management representative said on Oct. 20, “2558 Grand Concourse just underwent a full gas inspection and has passed. This is a matter that we have been awaiting a response on from ConEdison for several months. We’ve made all efforts possible to remedy the situation.”

 

Meanwhile, McShane said, “Once the necessary repairs are safely completed and approved by the New York City Department of Buildings, and our inspectors, we will restore the gas service.” McShane added that his colleagues told him that the repair work needed in the building was not light.

 

Norwood News, therefore, contacted DOB for an update and was told that Stellar Management currently has active plumbing permits to repair the gas plumbing system in the building and restore cooking gas to the building’s residential units.

 

Andrew Rudansky from DOB added that the most recent DOB inspection of the gas repair work was on Oct. 14. During this inspection, he said the plumber was unable to provide DOB with access to all of the apartments in the building to check the gas cooking appliance hook-ups, which is required as part of DOB’s inspection.

 

It is our understanding that the plumber is hired by Stellar Management. Rudansky added that on Oct. 19, the plumber reached back out to DOB and requested a new inspection of the remaining apartments on Thursday, Oct. 22.

“Once the inspection is passed, the plumber can request ‘Gas Authorization’ from the Department,” Rudansky said. “Gas Authorization is the final approval from DOB for gas plumbing jobs, and it is what Con Ed requires from a plumber before they will turn the gas service back on.”

 

Meanwhile, Gonzalez and her fellow tenants said they expect yet another visit from Con Ed before they will be able to cook a Thanksgiving dinner next month on their own stoves. “All we want is healthy living conditions, but we just don’t know what progress is being made,” she said.