Bronx journal: Banding together for better housing
A group of Bronx residents who say their apartments are infested with rodents and roaches and that their ovens were their main source of heat this winter have banded together in a rare class-action lawsuit against their landlord.
Residents of 1849 Sedgwick Ave. are asking the Bronx Housing Court to appoint an independent administrator to take over the building, receive the rents, and repair hundreds of alleged building-code violations, according to the Urban Justice Center, the nonprofit legal organization that is representing them.
This is the second suit the tenants have filed against the landlords, Mario and Lucia Milevoi. The first, filed last August, was to compel them to make repairs to hundreds of violations. The landlords agreed to do this on four occasions, but according to the tenants and attorneys, more than 400 violations still remain.
The Milevois did not return calls requesting comment.
In addition to the rodents, roaches and lack of heat, problems in the 15-story building included broken doors and windows, water damage and mold, said attorney Garrett Wright, who is working on the case.
Isaac Agyemang, 60, who has lived in the building for 12 years, said he and his family had to wear winter jackets inside in order to keep warm throughout the winter. Three of his four children have asthma because of the rodents that always “run back and forth” in his apartment, he said; rodent droppings are well established as asthma triggers.
Ernestine Bonilla, 68, echoed this, saying that “rats have been running wild” and that the electric heater she has had to use to heat her apartment has led to an exorbitant electricity bill. Bonilla, who has lived in the building for 32 years, said she was taken to court in November because she owed $3,000 on that bill, an amount she is still unable to pay.
Many residents contend that the problems began when the building, formerly Mitchell Lama housing, was sold to the current landlord in 2002.
“This was once a beautiful property that many tenants have very fond memories of,” said Wright.
Estelle Rollins, who has been living in the building for 21 years, said it took her eight years to move in because of the waiting list. “It was a wonderful building,” she said. “It’s not the building it used to be.”
-- Mathilde Piard
Comments (1)
Thank you very much for your article. We were about to take a leasse in 1849 sedwick Ave. Thank you again.