Fines mounting for derelict Zerega property owner
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
The property owner of a
Zerega Avenue multi-family
home whose porch collapse
led to the death of an 8-year
old girl over the summer is
facing $11,250 in fi nes for failing
to adhere to city building
code and could face even heftier
fi nes if he doesn’t address
the violations soon.
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.
At a hearing for these four
violations at the Offi ce of Administrative
Trials and Hearings
(OATH) on Oct. 29., NYC
Department of Buildings offi -
cials issued three additional
follow-up violations to Mehraj
for failure to correct three of
the the aforementioned violations.
According to Andrew Rudansky,
press secretary for
the Department of Buildings
(DOB), the department will
continue to levy follow-up violations
until the issues have
been corrected.
A new hearing on the
fourth violation —working
on an illegal cellar apartment
without a permit — will be
held on Jan. 28, 2022, with a
maximum penalty of $25,000,
if the OATH board rules
against Tehraj.
Class of 2021
B.S. in Business
Online Info Session
Tue 12/14 – 6pm
Scan/click the QR code to RSVP:
BRONX TIMES R 10 EPORTER, DEC. 3-9, 2021 BTR
On Aug. 2, at 8 p.m., 8-yearold
Fatima Jannat Chowdhury
died after a marble
handrail outside her Zerega
Avenue 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
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.
Mehraj has been under
scrutiny by the Department
of Buildings dating back to
2016, having previously received
three citations on a
Westchester Square property.
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
August incident that killed
Chowdhury. The DOB issued
a partial vacation order of the
cellar, and all affected tenants
were offered emergency
relocation assistance by the
American Red Cross.
Mehraj received a coronavirus
related loan of $9,687
from the Small Business Administration
this March, according
to online records.
An 8-year-old girl was killed outside her Zerega Avenue home after a porch handrail collapsed on her on Aug.
2. Photo Adrian Childress
MORE DEGREE OPTIONS.
MORE CAREER
OPPORTUNITIES.
Online or in-person. You decide!
40+ Undergraduate programs
Save money via pathway
graduate programs
Mark B.
NYSCAS.touro.edu
212.463.0400
Touro is an equal opportunity institution. For Touro’s complete Non-Discrimination Statement, visit www.touro.edu
Any references to location, college experience and/or in-person opportunities herein are subject to change based on governmental or administrative directives.
SIRECI
Family Dental
Your Neighborhood Dentist Since 1983
GENERAL DENTISTRY
SPECIALTY CARE
FREE
CONSULTATIONS
COME VISIT US
IN OUR NEW
MODERN OFFICE
C A R I N G A F F O R D A B L E P A I N L E S S
2861 BRUCKNER BLVD. | 718-829-0455
/www.touro.edu
/NYSCAS.touro.edu
/www.touro.edu