BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
NYC building offi cials
have issued a series of violations
against the property
owner of a Zerega Avenue
apartment after an investigation
found that his poor building
maintenance contributed
to a porch column collapse
that killed an eight-year-old
girl earlier this month.
Ahmed Mehraj, the property
owner of 1433 Zerega
Ave., is being cited for improper
building maintenance,
including three additional violations
for illegal occupancy
and improper egress of an unpermitted
cellar on the premises
and illegal piping and metering
on a faulty utility.
A hearing for these four violations
has been scheduled at
the Offi ce of Administrative
Trials and Hearings (OATH)
for Oct. 29.
On Aug. 2, at 8 p.m., 8-yearold
Fatima Jannat Chowdhury
died after a marble
handrail outside her 1433
Zerega Ave., home collapsed
on her while she played with
a friend, according to authorities.
Chowdhury was with a
friend on the front porch
and as the two attempted to
squeeze through the marble
columns, a 10-foot section of
granite balustrade fell off the
porch and struck the child.
Chowdhury was rushed to Jacobi
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Medical Center, where
she later succumbed to her injuries
at the hospital.
The girl’s aunt told investigators
that the family
only moved into the apartment
three or four months
ago. However, the family was
warned to be careful of the
loose banisters by the owner,
according to authorities.
Andrew Rudansky, spokesperson
for the NYC Department
of Buildings (DOB), told
the Bronx Times that their
preliminary investigation
found that an illegal apartment
had been constructed
in the cellar of the building,
without permits from the city
and without adequate egress
for the tenants.
Prior to the incident, the
DOB had not received any reports
of structural issues at
this building or with the front
porch.
However, this is not the
fi rst violation issued against
Mehraj, as there are three citations
on the Westchester
Square property dating back
to 2016. The three citations
include an illegal conversion
of a basement into an apartment,
illegal plastering in the
basement apartment, and a
complaint that the basement
window’S small size led to
fl ooding of the apartment in
May 2016.
According to the DOB’s
online records, the NYPD requested
a structural stability
inspection of the front porch
just two hours after the incident.
The DOB also issued a
partial vacation order of the
cellar, and all affected tenants
have been offered emergency
relocation assistance by the
American Red Cross.
Ahmed Mehraj, the property owner
of 1443 Zerega Ave., was issued an
order to vacate the premises by
the city Department of Buildings.
An 8-year-old was killed outside her Zerega Avenue home after a porch
handrail collapsed on her on Aug. 2, 2021. Photos Adrian Childress
Property owner facing
violations in child death
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