After years of complaints about a Norwood home allegedly taken over by a local gang, the NY Joint Firearms Task Force of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) was joined by members of the NYPD in executing a search warrant and raid of the dilapidated building located at 3267 Decatur Avenue at 6 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 4.

 

The NYPD initially directed inquiries into the incident to the DEA on Nov. 4, but after several follow-up emails and calls amid no response, on Nov. 12, the NYPD confirmed the incident, telling Norwood News, “A search warrant was executed at the aforementioned location. Alleged narcotics were found. There were no persons present at the time of the search.” [As per the below editor’s note, the raid was actually coordinated by ATF, not DEA.]

 

One resident of the block told Norwood News how the raid unfolded, saying, “I woke up to the ATF officers in my backyard looking for the squatters who fled the house with a firearm.” Although the claim could not be confirmed, Citizens App video did show members of law enforcement searching the rear yard.

A visit to the home on Friday, Nov. 8, found the front of the home had several broken windows. The garage door was open, and piles of plastic bags and car tires were stacked three-feet high. A large tarp was erected over the driveway and a scooter was chained to the front gate of the neighboring home. Two surveillance cameras hung over the front door that was slightly ajar.

 

Asked about the home and the police raid, one next door neighbor said, “Talking to you can get me in trouble. I don’t want to get involved.”

 

On Saturday, Nov. 9, Norwood contacted a man who had previously lived in the two-story home. He declined to be identified for fear of his safety and alleged the building was left to him in 2020 by a former female owner, Mary McCaffrey, when she died.

 

He also alleged he was the legal owner of the home around 2020/2021 when he allowed a pregnant woman and her boyfriend to stay in it rent-free. We have the man for legal evidence of his claims and will share any updates we receive. The man also alleged a local gang took over the home after that.

He recalled, “I left like a year ago,” [while the gang were still there according to him]. “A bunch of Bloods were hurting me,” he said. “I had to leave out of there because they were hurting me, you know, selling drugs and all that.”

 

The man continued, “They were trying to [expletive] kill me and all that, so I had to get out of there, and I left them [the gang] in there because they came in and took over the place, and then they were kicking me out and hurting me.”

 

He then claimed he had filed several police reports, stating, “I was reporting them and all that, but nobody, the police never did anything.” Norwood News asked for evidence of the report numbers to follow up. We will share any updates we receive.

 

The man added, “They [police] should have raided the house a long time ago because I was trying to let the cops know what was going on, and they told me they can’t do anything,” because of “squatters rights’ laws.”

 

Two residents of the block confirmed that a gang had indeed moved into the building. One male resident also produced at least one 311 complaint report from June 2022 about alleged illegal use of the building for business purposes by the gang, as well as letters to at least one elected official, Assemblyman George Alvarez (A.D. 78). The male resident who did not wish to be named either who contacted the elected officials showed Norwood News an autoreply he received from the office of the assemblyman, advising that they were working their way through several community requests and would get back to him.

 

Norwood News has contacted the assemblyman’s office for comment. We returned to the home again on Sunday, Nov. 10, and found a new lock installed on the front door and a woman living on the top floor. When asked, the woman, who said she was not in the home at the time of the raid, explained that she had answered an ad for the apartment at that address.

 

We are following up with her to ask who placed the ad and will share any updates we receive. In reference to the drama surrounding the building and popping her head out from behind a curtain, the woman said, “This is not what I expected; I have to get out of here.”

 

Norwood News asked both the NYPD and the DEA about the former resident’s claims that he filed police reports regarding being assaulted by the gang at the home, as well as the gang’s alleged illegal activity in the building. Both agencies were also asked if they had secured the front door of the home after the Nov. 4 raid. Neither agency immediately responded to our request.

The home in question is located half a block away from P.S. 56 on East 207th Street in Norwood. Norwood News will continue to monitor the situation at the home and will update this story accordingly.

 

When contacted, a DOB official said the agency had not been involved in the enforcement operation and the property had no open OATH/ECB violations issued by DOB. ECB stands for the Environmental Control Board.

 

The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is an administrative tribunal that provides hearings on notices of violation issued by City agencies.

 

According to City records, the owner of the property is Mary McCaffrey.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.

 

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story reported incorrectly that the raid was led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as that is the agency we were referred to by the NYPD when we sent our initial inquiry. However, it was later clarified by ATF that the raid was actually led by ATF, not DEA. We apologize for this error.