Tenants of fi re fi le $3B lawsuit
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
Bronx Park Phase III
Preservation LLC, the property
owners of the Twin
Parks North West complex
that was ablaze on Sunday
— resulting in the deaths
of 17 people, including eight
children, and the displacement
of dozens of families —
are now defendants in a $3
billion class-action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, fi led on
Tuesday in Bronx Supreme
Court by two tenants of the
now-disarrayed Fordham
Heights apartment building,
alleges the owners did
not address “actual notice of
defective conditions” in the
high-rise building, and that
resulted in a malfunctioning
self-closing door that fi re
offi cials say exacerbated the
spread of the fi re.
The lead plaintiffs, husband
and wife Rosa Reyes
and Felix Martinez are seeking
$1 billion and compensatory
damages for alleged
negligence and another $2
billion in punitive damages
on behalf of themselves and
others affected by the fi re.
A related fi ling from the
plaintiffs’ lawyer, Robert
Vilensky, is a notice of claim
against various city offi cials
and agencies that include
former Democratic Mayor
Bill de Blasio, the Department
of Buildings, the Department
of Housing, Preservation
and Development,
and Housing Commissioner
Melanie La Rocca.
That suit states that everyone
who was affected by
Sunday’s fi re and joins in the
class action lawsuit should
be awarded “$1 billion each”
because city offi cials are also
“responsible” for the tragedy.
According to the notice
of claim, the shutting device
on the self-closing apartment
doors “become rusty over
time and the springs on the
door returns need to be replaced
over time.”
Furthermore, the notice
blames city offi cials for failing
to make sure that those
devices were replaced or
functional before the fi re.
Sunday’s fi re, which
broke out around 11 a.m. and
required the response of 200
fi refi ghters and emergency
personnel, was caused by a
space heater that had been
left on for far too long, fi re
offi cials say. However, various
STEP UP TO STOP
THE SPREAD, NYC!
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 8 JAN. 14-20, 2022 BTR
tenants have stated that
the building owners did not
address a backlog of residential
concerns including but
not limited to, lack of heat,
lack of hot water, and poor
qualitative conditions in the
building which led to common
usage of space heaters
throughout the complex.
Bronx Park Phase III Preservation
LLC is comprised of
a consortium of developers —
Belveron Partners, the LIHC
Investment Group and The
Camber Property Group.
Throughout its 123 building
portfolio, Bronx Park
Phase III Preservation LLC
has a total of 11,801 residential
units, but within just
the last three years had received
2,468 heat and hot water
complaints submitted to
the city’s 311 service, according
to NYC-based tenantorganizing
service JustFix
NYC. Before the Jan. 9 fi re,
there were 18 open violations
A $3 billion class action lawsuit was fi led on Tuesday against the property
owners of the Twin Parks North West complex in Fordham Heights.
The building was at the center of a fi re that claimed the lives of 17 people.
Photo | Dean Moses
against the property, with 174
total violations levied since
new ownership took over in
2020, records fi led with the
city Department of Housing
Preservation and Development
show.
The group purchased the
52-year-old property in 2020,
in a $160 million deal. The
deal included eight buildings
and a total of 1,200
units at an average price
of $133,300, and tax credits
from the state. Additionally,
one of the owners Rick Gropper
was a member of Mayor
Eric Adams’ transition team
for housing. Adams took offi
ce in January.
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