22
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 8-14, 2022 BXR
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA & SARAH BELLE LIN
In a closed access meeting between
city partners and affected tenants of the
Twin Parks North West apartments, city
agencies revealed that dozens of families
were overcrowded or “doubled up” prior
to the Jan. 9 fire that killed 17 and displaced
roughly 170 households, in audio
obtained by the Bronx Times.
Accounting for aid for those households
is on a “case-by-case basis,” a city
spokesperson told the Bronx Times on
Friday, April 1, and that previous night’s
meeting was limited to city partners and
affected tenants due to the nature of information
being disclosed.
“Also, as for our records, there are
about 44 families in the building who
were doubled up or overcrowded before
the fire,” said Jessica Katz, New York
City’s chief housing officer, in a recording
obtained from the meeting. “And
for those families, we’re allowing folks
to split (relocation) vouchers and move
to two separate apartments if you so
choose.”
Each household affected by the tragic
Twin Parks North West high-rise fire
will receive $10,000 in gift card benefits,
city partners told tenants at the meeting
held at Lehman College’s Longevier Theater.
City partners also announced that
hotel and food accommodations for those
still displaced by the fire, will extend until
May 7. After cards are distributed,
city partners said priority will be given
to individual case management — which
local leaders said overwhelmed city partner
BronxWorks after the fire.
For two months, concerns have been
raised by affected tenants and community
organizations that cash and voucher
benefits from city agencies had stalled
and some say were disproportionately
disbursed among current and relocated
tenants of the Fordham Heights highrise
apartments. City officials ensured
that this direct donation from the Mayor’s
Fund to Advance New York City —
two months overdue in the eyes of those
still struggling with rehousing — will
go to each household with proof of residency.
“Now we’re providing about $10,000
to each household,” said Julie Spitzer,
a department director for BronxWorks.
“Now, as long as people can establish
proof that they lived in the apartment,
we are providing non-lease holders, as
well as lease holders, with $10,000 in
funding.”
Spitzer also laid out how payment
would be received. “They’re going to receive
$1,000 on a debit card. And then
NYPD check access to a closed meeting limited to victims of the Twin Parks North West fire and city
partners on Thursday, April 1, at Lehman College. Photo | Sarah Belle Lin
we’re going to load that card with an
additional $9,000. Everyone on our roster
is going to receive $10,000,” she informed
tenants at the meeting.
Some tenants, particularly those
in overcrowded apartments, may find
themselves unable to meet federal proof
of residency clearances required by the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) to be eligible for
certain long-term assistance — separate
from the city’s financial assistance. Relocation
services are available and covered
by the city for all displaced by the
fire, city partners said.
Since the Jan. 9 fire, the Mayor’s Fund
to Advance New York City has raised a
total of $4.4 million between monetary
and in-kind donations, approximately
$937,000 of which has been spent so far
on cash assistance, food, burial services
and more, the mayor’s office revealed
earlier this month — the first public comments
on the fund’s total since Jan. 19.
Local organizations, displaced tenants
and the Bronx Times had been pressing
the administration for weeks to release
up-to-date numbers.
Families wishing to relocate to La
Central in the Melrose section or move
back into Twin Parks are being provided
financial assistance in the form of moving
credits and furniture credits, according
to the mayor’s office.
Spitzer also said that Thursday’s
meeting was restricted due to concerns
over granting anyone not affected Jan.
9 blaze potential access to Bronx relief
funds.
“We don’t want a large number of people
coming in to get that kind of money.
We want to think about your safety,”
Spitzer said. “That’s why we make that
decision to only allow a certain amount
of people at a time and allow you to get
home.”
Katz noted that the city has learned
many lessons from the Jan. 9 fire.
“We learned many lessons from this
tragedy that will help improve our future
needs for emergency housing,” Katz
said. “We have a long road ahead.”
But the city’s response still isn’t
enough for some tenants, as tensions elevated
during portions of the hour-anda
half meeting, with one tenant being
directed by city partners to stick to the
meeting’s agenda. Additionally, despite
their attendance in Thursday’s meeting,
representatives from building co-managers
Camber Property Group — co-defendants
in four lawsuits alleging property
mismanagement, including a $3 billion
class action lawsuit — were attendance
but did not issue comment.
At the time of the Twin Parks fire
that killed 17 and displaced more than
100 families, the 52-year-old building had
been flagged with 18 open violations, and
174 total violations since new ownership
consortium Bronx Park Phase III Preservation
LLC took over in 2020, records
filed with the city Department of Housing
Preservation and Development show.
City reveals 44 families ‘overcrowded’
prior to Twin Parks fire
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