Tenants at 3322 Decatur Avenue in Norwood gathered in the first-floor reception area of their building on June 19 to discuss forming a tenants’ association and possible avenues to tackle what they said were “poor conditions” in the 122-unit building.

 

Madeline Olmeda, who led the meeting and has lived in the building for 13 years, said, “The main purpose of this meeting is to establish the tenants’ association because if everybody here is not involved, it’s not going to happen.”

 

Tenants alleged they’d witnessed prostitution and drug use by people experiencing homelessness inside the building and said Wavecrest, the building’s management team, were slow to fix and repair reported issues. “We’re not asking for anything unreasonable and we’re not asking for anything we don’t deserve,” Omeda said.

She continued “We know that homelessness is a big issue in this city and everywhere else, so if there is a way we can help these individuals, then we are going to try to help these individuals. They just can’t live on our roof. They just can’t live in our stairways. They just can’t urinate and defecate in our hallways. It just can’t happen anymore.”

 

Norwood News was shown where one of the walls in a stairway had urine stains, and a resident also said urine had streamed down the steps of the stairway. We were also shown inside the apartment of one female resident which had damp moldy conditions in the bathroom.

 

A police officer from the local 52nd Precinct who was present at the meeting said of the prostitution and drug use issues, “The biggest thing I can say that you should talk to management about is getting the roof alarm fixed. If that roof alarm goes off, people get scared. They don’t want to hang out there. That’s a big safety thing I would talk to management about, because that door should be locked.”

 

Tenants also said people experiencing homelessness had been using unoccupied apartments to engage in illegal activities like prostitution and drug use. The officer advised tenants to report any illegal or suspicious activity by calling 911.

 

“If they are in apartments that are empty, that means they are trespassing,” the officer said of the visitors and their alleged illegal activities. “They’re not supposed to be there.”

Meanwhile, a representative from public defenders The Legal Aid Society who was present at the meeting explained to tenants the different approaches they could take to handle issues which remained unsolved by the management team. Some included filing complaints with state agencies like the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR).

 

“You can file complaints about all these issues together in one document and all of you can sign it,” the female representative said. “They will send inspectors out, look at the building, and if they find the conditions that you complained about on the day that they are here, they will issue an order that freezes your rent back one rent increase, and then it stays there until the landlord makes those repairs. So, it’s putting financial pressure on the landlord,” the representative added.

 

She continued, “Sometimes, landlords, when they see those complaints, they rush to fix things and since that’s your goal, that’s also a win.” The Legal Aid Society representative added, “One thing I want to underscore is that you have a right to organize as tenants. You have a right to use the common spaces as long as you are not blocking the safety exits. You have a right to hold your landlord accountable for these kinds of problems that you’re having.”

 

At the time of the June meeting, the tenants had yet to elect a president for the new tenants’ association, though another meeting was held in August, when Olmeda was elected president, Jose Rivera as vice president, Annette Morales as outreach coordinator, and Naomy Nunez as secretary.

One tenant expressed frustration with the building’s new super, who some tenants said has been difficult to contact. “The super has been here at least two months before any of us even knew he existed,” the tenant said.

 

One tenant, who asked to remain anonymous, made multiple allegations about the living conditions in the building. He said not all cameras captured all activity inside the building since he said they do not point in all directions. The tenant also alleged he was discriminated against for his sexual orientation by a prior employee of the building. He said he was also subjected to slurs by the same employee. Norwood News was unable to reach the employee in question for comment.

 

“I’ve been the subject of a big joke living here,” the tenant said. “The discrimination has been tolerated here for a lot of years since I’ve lived here.” The tenant also alleges that a previous employee also used a section of the building’s basement, meant for garbage disposal, as a bike and motorcycle repair business. Again, Norwood News was unable to reach the previous employee for comment.

 

We were shown an area which was filled with dozens of bikes while nearby, large trash items were blocking the entrance to the garage because there was apparently no space for them in the designated trash area. The tenant also said this meant tenants had to use another area of the building to dispose of garbage, which led to roaches and mice in the building.

When contacted for comment on the various allegations made by tenants, Wavecrest Management, the building’s management company, shared the following statement with Norwood News:

 

“At Wavecrest Management, our number one priority is to provide safe, clean homes for all our residents. We’re working closely with the NYPD to increase security measures at the site. All the cameras in the building are functioning properly and moving forward, the NYPD will have remote access to the footage to address trespassing.”

 

The statement continued, “When provided with timely notification and access to apartments, we work to resolve issues immediately, most within 48 hours. Consistent collaboration with residents is essential and we strive to build positive, open communication channels. We’re also working directly with the tenant association president to improve the site.”

 

It concluded, “We take discrimination allegations very seriously and do not tolerate harassment of any kind. All on-site staff have completed their sexual harassment training, as all Wavecrest employees are required to do every year.”