When Francisco Moran, owner of American Tires at 1331 Jerome Ave. in Mt. Eden, received notice that he had a new landlord, he had no idea he would be asked to close his business at the location by August so the property can be redeveloped.

The new property owner sees Moran as an impediment to his plans for a new 15-story building at the location. Peter Fine of Atlantic Development Group bought the property in May for $11.1 million and is the first developer to take advantage of the City Council’s rezoning laws for the neighborhood designating the properties as compliant for residential construction.

The new building will have a total space of 186,000 square feet with 98,000 square feet set aside for 255 residential units. There are 110 units designated as supportive housing.

Fine has partnered with the DOE Fund, a $61 million social service non-profit for the homeless, to develop the project. They believe that the recent rezoning will help create more affordable housing in the neighborhood.

In a statement to the Norwood News, John McDonald, COO of the DOE Fund, said, “We’re thrilled to partner with Atlantic Development Group in building 255 units of desperately needed affordable housing on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx.”

But Fine hasn’t been exactly a welcoming landlord to tenants.

He’s known to some Bedford Park residents for his aggressive year-long battle with the families at 267 E. 202nd St. Those residents eventually lost their home to a three-alarm fire and remember Fine as a combative landlord forcing them to go to Housing Court every other week to get repairs done before the fire. Tenants have since settled with Fine for an undisclosed amount of money and moved from the property.

Back at American Tires, Moran is inundated with piles of legal notices from Fine. Some days, Moran receives multiple envelopes from Fine’s attorney reminding him that he is expected to vacate the premises by the end of July.

When Fine bought the property he offered Moran $5,000, two months rent-free, and the return of $5,200 in security deposits. Moran did not seriously consider the offer because of the much higher cost of relocation. “I’d need four times as much to even think about moving. I don’t think he [Fine] knows how much it takes to move,” Moran said.

With Moran and the other tenants fighting for more time and considering legal options, Fine is now suing for non-payment of rent. As of press time he has informed Moran that his electricity will be turned off on July 20.

Last month, Fine showed up at American Tires with a translator letting Moran know that he did not want to go to court or have them go to the press with this matter. “Of course, I felt threatened,” said Moran.

For over a decade Pedro J. Estevez, president of the United Auto Merchants Association, has helped the automotive businesses throughout the city be in compliance with city regulations. “The problem facing many of these businesses is that they either operate without a lease or work on a month-to-month basis with their landlords,” Estevez said.  Moran had a one-year extension with the previous landlord, an entity that went by Drinks Galore.

Still, Estevez believes the city should have done a better job of preparing these mostly mom and pop shops as they faced possible eviction under the new zoning laws. “We did a study and found that 79 percent of the employees and business owners along Jerome Avenue live in the same neighborhood as they work.  The city doesn’t care what rezoning is going to do to these people,” Estevez said.

As for the $1.5 million the city offered businesses to relocate, Estevez divides that amount by the 200 shop owners along the rezoned area of Jerome Avenue between 167th and 184th streets. “That comes out to $7,500 per shop. That just isn’t enough to help them relocate,” Estevez said.

admin

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.