By Hayley Camacho 

On his dining room table, Victor Rosario has six letters from the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Code Enforcement Division certifying the numerous violations in his apartment at 3540 Decatur Ave. Rosario has been fighting an uphill battle for the last several years to get the landlord, Bob-Al Management Corp, to make the necessary repairs. 

Not surprisingly, the landlord was on Public Advocate Letitia James’ list of worst New York City landlords released last week. The list works a public shaming by shifty landlords who balk at living conditions. In Norwood and Bedford Park, thirty-nine buildings were cited in the list.

“A lot of these landlords have been repeat offenders,” said James in a radio interview. “They have been on this list since its creation in 2010 and HPD really needs to be more aggressive in their enforcement mechanisms.”

For Rosario, condition at his unit range from leaky windows, a detiorating floor, mice infestation, and broken, defective plastered surfaces. The bathroom has a dropped ceiling over an open ceiling.

“It’s terrible, terrible,” he said, showing the violations.  “That’s why I’m planning on moving.”

The building racked up 327 violations this year, 26 more than in 2013. Eight percent are deemed Class C violations, considered the most hazardous and in need of immediate repair. They include inadequate fire exits, large rodents, lead-based paint, no heat or hot water, electricity, or gas. The bulk of the violations run into the Class B category, with some infractions ranging from self-closing public doors, dim lighting in public areas, lack of posted Certificate of Occupancy and an influx of vermin. Owners are given a month to make repairs. Class A violations are the less egregious, though they include floors that aren’t properly numbered.

Anthony Holmes has been a resident in the building for 25 years and said the building has been in decline for the last decade.

“There are problems with the boiler, the elevator,” he said. “About every two weeks, there’s no hot water. [The landlord] makes us wait a whole week for hot water.  Everybody had to call 311 so they could come investigate.”

Another resident, Marisol, who did not want to give her last name, cited the frustration of unclear communication with the landlord on getting repairs.  A four-year resident, Marison’s still waiting on a paint job and repairs for her apartment bathroom.

“When I call the office, they tell me to speak to the super.  Then I’ll tell the super ‘what’s taking you so long?’  And he’ll say I have to call the office.  There’s always this back and forth,” she said.
Cataloging Shady Landlords
The list began in 2010, created by Mayor Bill de Blasio during his days as Public Advocate. This year nearly 6800 buildings across the city made the list.  Brooklyn topped the list with close to 3,700 buildings, followed by Manhattan and the Bronx. According to James, the distinction for worst landlord in the city, belongs to Robin Shimoff, who owns 13 buildings throughout the Bronx totaling 778 units with more than 3,300 open violations in 2014.

One resident at 2830 Briggs Ave. was reluctant to discuss the conditions at her building owned by Maribel Martinez. There are 168 violations in all, mostly logged under class A.

“I’ve lived here 36 years and I don’t want to get involved in that,” she said in Spanish. “My apartment is fine.”

Six blocks away, 167 open violations remain at 3158 Perry Ave., a six-story apartment building. A call to 3156-58 Perry LLC, the management company, was not returned. 

At 2566 Bainbridge Ave., building owners have allowed 210 violations to accrue, with one resident who went by Douglas expressing shock the building made the worst landlord list.  “I’ve lived here for many years,” he said. “I have full confidence in the management. I see that they do send maintenance personnel. The inside of the building is kept quite clean, the door is locked and the building kept in good repair. For myself I’m happy living here.”

Currently, if an emergency condition is verified in an apartment by an HPD inspector, and the owner fails to make the necessary repairs in the timeframe for the violation, HPD’s Emergency Repair Program (ERP) may repair the conditions, later passing the costs to the owner.

James also called for greater legal resources for tenants. “When these tenants go to court, the landlords usually have a team of lawyers,” she said. “Most of these tenants are represented by themselves. Tenants need to be represented by council.”

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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.