CB11 opposes Williamsbridge Road rehab center
Victim’s gender identity questioned in Fordam Hill murder
BY MATT TRACY
An individual who was found
dead, tied up and with multiple
slash marks, in a Bronx apartment
on Friday, September 13
may have been transgender, according
to neighbors. The grisly
homicide case only emerged after
a foul stench permeated through
walls in the apartment house for
days.
Police have so far reported
that a man was found dead with
his ankles tied to his waist and
slash marks on his wrists and
torso at an apartment at 2323
Creston Avenue between Field
Place and East 183rd Street in
Fordham Heights.
But the case has been surrounded
by confusion over the
victim’s gender identity in the
wake of a neighbor speculating
to Spanish-language news outlet
Telemundo that the perpetrator
might have thought the victim
was a woman, but then learned
the victim was biologically male.
The Telemundo report concluded
that the victim was possibly
transgender and had been spotted
around the neighborhood by
residents.
Police would not verify the
victim’s gender.
On the same day the body
was found, cops questioned
37-year-old Charles Votaw, who
resides in the same building in
Apartment 11A, and on Saturday,
September 14 he was hit
with charges of tampering with
physical evidence, concealment
of a human corpse, and seconddegree
assault. The NYPD told
PIX 11 that Votaw was served
in a position with responsiblity
“over the building,” but would
not confi rm he was the super.
Police would not confi rm what,
if any, role Votaw played in overseeing
the building.
An NYPD spokesperson confi
rmed on Tuesday, September 17
that the victim did not reside in
that building, but police would
not provide further details because
the victim’s family had not
yet been contacted.
District Attorney Darcel
Clark’s offi ce did not immediately
respond to a request for further
details regarding the case,
including whether or not investigators
are looking into potential
hate crime charges if the victim
was indeed transgender.
The NYC Anti-Violence Project
said in a tweet on Monday,
September 16, “AVP has learned
of, and is looking into, a potential
homicide of a trans woman
in the Bronx.” Later that same
day, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project
also tweeted, saying, “We are
just learning that a trans woman
was found killed in an apartment
in the Bronx.”
Both AVP and the Sylvia Rivera
Law Project further suggested
that media reports have
misgendered the victim.
Less than an hour after its initial
tweet, the Sylvia Rivera Law
Project seemed to backtrack,
saying that it “shared information
as it was materializing and
wish to correct what we initially
posted in our fi rst tweet.” What
exactly was corrected is not
clear, but the organization stated
that the New York Post still must
be held accountable for misgendering
the victim “if indeed this
individual was a trans person.”
(The above article appeared on
the Gay City News website.)
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Pelham Parkway residents
are fi ghting a proposal to convert
2500 Williamsbridge Road into a
drug treatment facility on Monday,
September 16.
Carnegie Hill Institute presented
the proposal at Community
Board 11’s Health and Social
Services Committee regarding
their intention to open a drug
treatment center in the one-story
corner property between Hone
and Mace avenues on Tuesday,
September 10.
Just a week later, CB11 responded
to the proposal, airing a
laundry list of concerns with the
822-licensed, state-funded program.
First on the list was that the
proposed property is surrounded
by multiple schools. P.S. 89 is located
across the street on Mace
Avenue.
The school’s playground is directly
opposite the proposed site.
CB11 also listed Mazzei Playground,
St. Catharine Academy,
St. Lucy’s School, Christopher
Columbus High School, the New
York Institute For Special Education
as schools in the surrounding
area in a letter to the property’s
real estate brokers, in an
effort to discourage the project.
“Those in attendance felt that
the proposed program by Carnegie
Hill is unnecessary and a potential
threat to our community’s
welfare,” the letter stated.
CB11 chairman Al D’Angelo
also expressed his own concerns
regarding the proposal. “We already
have a number of treatment
facilities within the community
board,” said D’Angelo.
Specifi cally, CB 11 has nine
active and certifi ed chemical
dependence treatment centers
within its boundaries, with another
located just outside, according
to the chairman.
“Another issue that concerns
us is the poor transit in the area,”
D’Angelo said.
That portion of Allerton is
only serviced by the Bx 8 bus.
The nearest subway stop is the
#5 IRT Pelham Parkway station,
which D’Angelo fears will bring
unwanted, wandering interactions
with the bordering school
as well as other residents in the
area.
The property, which was originally
listed at $750,000 according
to CB 11 district manager Jeremy
Warneke, jumped to $1 million
when the treatment facility operators
showed an interest in purchasing
the vacant property.
Currently, Carnegie Hill Institute
operates two facilities in
Manhattan; one is listed as an
outpatient clinic while the other
is considered an opioid outpatient
clinic, according to the NYS Offi
ce of Alcoholism and Substance
Abuse Services.
The private company sought
to acquire 3134 E. Tremont Avenue
to expand its 822 program
into the Bronx earlier this summer,
but the property’s owner,
Dr. Owen Golden, under intense
community pressure, declined
the sale.
Similar dissent was expressed
by CB11 to Carnegie Hill Institute
as well.
“I highly expect a motion to
be made at CB11’s general board
meeting requesting that the
proper permitting to turn 2500
Williamsbridge Road into a drug
treatment facility be denied,” the
letter stated.
“Our concern is the placement
of these facilities near schools
and similar locations,” Councilman
Mark Gjonaj said, noting
that he isn’t opposed to treatment
centers in his district, rather
their placement.
That sentiment was reiterated
by Assemblywoman Nathalia
Fernandez.
“Obviously in this case the location
being across from a school
is the big issue,” she noted. East
Bronx activist Egidio Sementelli
has organized a protest in front
of 2500 Williamsbridge Road for
Saturday, September 21.
Calls to Carnegie Hill Institute
for comment were not returned
prior to press time.
BRONX WEEKLY S www.BXTimes.com eptember 22, 2019 2
2500 Williamsbridge Road. Schneps Media/ Alex Mitchell
Given the lack of a clear response from the NYPD, there is confusion over the
gender identity of a person found dead at this residence at 2323 Creston Avenue
in the Bronx on September 13.
Photo courtesy of Gay City News/Google Maps
/www.BXTimes.com