By TATYANA TURNER

Several  Decatur Ave. residents, Northeast Bronx Dawah and members of Community Board 7  gathered early in front of an unkempt building at 383 E. 198th St. to protest against a proposed shelter many believed was intended for military veterans.

The four-story building once contained apartments for single room occupancy, but plans showed the building would be a shelter despite Community Board 7 offering a recommendation that it’d to be designated to veterans.

“We need community accountability,” said Aldo Perez who is part of the Northeast Bronx Dawah. “ There is an issue of the quality of life. We have issues with shoplifting and the use of K2. These things are rapidly coming into our community, I hope that this new shelter will go to veterans instead.”

The owner of the building, Aaron Solomon has been evicting residents for over a year, residents say, with only Leo Thomas, 72, as the only tenant staying there. Thomas has had his door knocked down and his property thrown in the garbage by the owner, he said. Solomon would then lease the building to a veterans group called CORE, which leases single room occupancy (SRO), according to protesters. But these plans have not come to fruition.

The Norwood News tried reaching out to Aaron Solomon by phone and email but there was no response.

“They got rid of my stove and they took out the kitchen window by the fire escape, it’s illegal”, said Leo Thomas.

The proposed site is near Webster Avenue where New York City implemented the Webster Avenue Vision Plan that tries to make the 1.5 mile section a more valuable area. Residents believe it is unfair to have a shelter built when the neighborhood is in the process of bettering itself. “ I’m tired of having them dumping in the Bronx,” said Nilsa Cintron.

The issue of loose safety measures at the proposed site prompted many to think the building will be prone to issues of violence. Many referenced the shelter at 4380 Bronx Blvd. where shelter director, Ana Charle,  was killed by a former resident, West Spruill. She was killed outside a block away from the shelter.

“They killed a center director from an SRO which was a supervised facility,” said community advocate Sandra Pabon. “We are not upset over the shelters, we are upset that our veterans do not have a place to live, they can utilize this space better.”

esident Jorge Nieves who has lived in the area for 30 years said, “ There are a lot of people who are looking for housing, it’s ridiculous that people who need affordable housing have nowhere to go.”