Tenants in
eviction limbo
ask landlord for
lease extensions Est. 1940
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BRONX TIMES R 24 EPORTER, MAY 21-27, 2021 BTR
Dugeidy Ortiz speaks about the housing situation. Photo by Jason Cohen
BY JASON COHEN
As a developer plans to renovate coops
in seven buildings and put them
on the market, more than 200 families
will be left in eviction limbo at the expiration
of the eviction moratorium.
Facing desperation and despair,
families then reached out to West
Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource
Center (WBHNRC) among several
other organizations and elected
offi cials. While some tenants were
able to negotiate buyout offers and
temporary lease extensions, many are
frustrated and are not sure what to do.
“It is encouraging that the developer
has agreed to give time or extensions,
offers in some cases, has offered
the opportunity to purchase and
has agreed to meet with tenants,” said
West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood
Resource Center Executive Director
Joshua Stephenson. “But at the
end of the day, those tenants who cannot
afford to purchase will eventually
be displaced.”
On May 13, tenants were joined by
elected offi cials as they gathered outside
the offi ce of West Bronx Housing
and Neighborhood Resource Center,
Inc. to ask their new landlord for more
time on their leases.
The portfolio consists of the following
buildings: 85 McClellan Street,
2265 University Avenue, 2420 Morris
Avenue, 2530 Independence Avenue,
2830 Briggs Avenue, 57 Park Terrace
West, 3000 Valentine and 3245 Perry
Avenue.
Among the people who will be affected
are husband and wife Mohamed
Shahin and Wedad Elshinnawi, who
reside at 3000 Valentine. Their son,
Haythem Shahin, spoke on behalf of
his elderly parents. Shahin noted they
always pay rent on time and to push
them out is just wrong.
“We were astonished to receive a
note that we had to leave,” he stated.
“There isn’t a good time to be asked to
leave your home, but during COVID
seriously. It’s quite punitive. We’re
simply asking for more time until this
world is safer.”
Among the leaders at the rally were
elected offi cials Assemblyman Jeffrey
Dinowitz, Councilman Eric Dinowitz
and Council Candidates Ischia Bravo
and Pierina Sanchez.
Sanchez spoke about how several
of her neighbors live in buildings now
owned by Myles Horn of Glacier Equities.
These tenants are essential workers,
parents and many have resided in
the community for 20 or more years.
She recalled that in January they
came crying to her when they received
the letter from Horn.
“Our ask is clear,” Sanchez exclaimed.
“We don’t want to be displaced.
Every single one of us is a person
with dignity and deserves to be
treated with respect.”
Dinowitz, a former teacher, knows
how moving can affect children. This
is a time when people with power
should have empathy for those who are
struggling, he said.
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