by Kasia Romanowska 

After living for months without gas and an on-site super in case of emergencies, tenants of a historic building in Norwood are now demanding better quality of life as the wintry months loom.

Problems for tenants at the famous Pickwick Arms at 3224 Grand Concourse began in April after smelling a gas odor in the courtyard of the building. Crews soon shut down the gas, later doling out portable electric stoves to tenants, making it an impossible task to cook. In some cases, tenants just order takeout or have family members bring in hot food. But what was thought of as a temporary fix seems to have gone on too long for residents.

The lack of heat and the constant threat of a gas explosion caused “one frustration after another,” according to Helene Hartman-Kutnowsky, a Community Board 7 member who has been living in the building for 30 years.

No Super
On top of the lack of heat, the tenants of the Tudor-style building have been grappling with the absence of a super who quit just as the gas problem surfaced.

“We need someone who could be available to take care of [the building],” said Hartman-Kutnowsky. Charlie Fritsch, a fellow tenant who worked as a building manager for separate residences, has equally grown tired of seeing the custodial post vacant.

The pre-war walk-up building with 114 apartments is owned by 3224 Grand Concourse LLC with the head officer listed as Shaul Koplewitz and the managing agent identified as Simon Roseman. “The manager is polite with me, but he does nothing” said one of the tenants who tried to call the office, but was unsuccessful. Management didn’t return calls to the Norwood News seeking comment.

Tenants have also harangued 311, but their grievances have been overlooked.

Legal Troubles
The dwelling has 262 violations, among them 99 complaints regarding the lack of heat, according to the city Housing Preservation and Development agency. The majority, 148, are hazardous B violations. Up until Oct. 8, the building was not registered on the HPD website, a violation of the agency’s rules.

In addition, HPD and tenants have separate pending court cases against the building owners for lack of upkeep. HPD had to step in several times to make repairs, spending $5,472 of taxpayer money to perform emergency repairs the owner did not correct fast enough.

According to a new violation imposed on the management company, the workers making basic repairs are unskilled and have no license. The overall response from city agencies has largely been slow, according to Fritsch, who longed for the years when the city was more responsive. “Ten years ago if you said you had no heat, no hot water, you had inspectors crawling over the building,” said Fritsch. “It wouldn’t happen anymore.”

Although he has been dealing with all kinds of situations throughout his 30 years of living at the Pickwick Arms, he called this one “the most venal, avaricious, greedy, incompetent bunch without a shred of humanity.”

As October moves along, residents are beginning to worry about their fate when the colder months settle in or when the holidays roll in. Many can’t quite envision what Thanksgiving will look like, let alone the holiday bird.

“It would look bad and taste bad,” said Rafael Cestero, a retired resident living on the first floor.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.