| Releases & Statements
Gotbaum,
Elected Officials, and Tenants Rally Against
Conditions
at Dilapidated Bronx Building
New York City Public Advocate Betsy
Gotbaum was joined by City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera,
Community Board 6 District Manager Ivine Galarza, and tenants
this afternoon to protest the conditions at 2082 Hughes Avenue
in the Bronx . This building has racked up over 1,700 violations
over the years, including nearly 300 Class violations C, the most
serious.
Recently, a female tenant was taking
a shower when a section of the bathroom ceiling fell on top of
her. Other hazardous conditions at 2082 Hughes include lead paint,
leaks, lack of electricity, blocked fire escapes, rats, broken
locks, scalding hot water, and defective doors.
“A lot of attention has been
focused recently on the dilapidated housing situation across this
city and for good reason. Conditions are outrageous and hazardous
in so many buildings across this city, and the message has not
gotten through to these landlords. We are here to say that this
is not acceptable and that the City has a responsibility to enforce
the housing laws,” said Gotbaum, who has recently toured
buildings in areas such as Central Brooklyn and Washington Heights
and seen similar dilapidated conditions.
"It is a tragic situation when
you see a building, which parents and children call home, in a
state of such gross disrepair. I want our message to be loud and
clear to HPD: we want this situation corrected because no one
should have to live like this," said Rivera.
“HPD desperately needs some
additional code enforcement inspectors to make sure these units
are being looked at. There are so many reasons for homelessness
in our community, and one of these reasons is that the City is
not keeping a watchful eye on how landlords are treating their
buildings. We need to preserve our affordable housing stock,”
said Ivine Galarza, Community Board 6’s District Manager.
Over the past four years, Gotbaum
has assisted countless tenants against landlords who have neglected
their buildings and been unresponsive. Her actions have resulted
in City agencies forcing landlords to fix these dilapidated buildings.
-#-
|
