Mobile boiler leaves Pelham Gardens residents fuming
BY ALEX MITCHELL
A temporary mobile boiler
parked curbside in front of a group
home on 2225 Lodovick Avenue
has become an eyesore on a Pelham
Gardens residential street for
some years now, neighbors say.
The ‘boiler on wheels’, which
rivals the size of a pickup truck,
runs an overhead hot water line
from the street into the group
home.
The boiler’s outward appearance
is in a deteriorating condition
and is a ‘monstrosity’ to the
block, according to neighbor Mary
Colby.
“The insulation around the
boiler’s water line has been chipping
away for some time,” she
said.
Neighbors of the group home
are equally annoyed that the mechanical
eyesore has been hogging
a valuable parking space in
the tree-lined neighborhood not
far from Pelham Parkway, Colby
added.
The group home houses several
developmentally disabled adults.
The home’s only access to heat and
hot water is currently provided
via the portable furnace.
“We love having this home on
the block,” Colby said.
“It’s a huge eyesore on our
street that could end up becoming
a hazard - that’s our issue with
it,”, adding that those living in the
home deserve more reliable utilities.
The mobile boiler was found
to be in violation of the law by the
NYC Department of Buildings in
July, according to Councilman
Mark Gjonaj’s offi ce, which has
been working to resolve the longstanding
issue.
Since that time, the group
home which is run by Community
Action for Human Services has
obtained temporary permits for
the mobile boiler and is awaiting
further inspections, according to
Community Board 11’s records.
According to sources, the
2-story brick colonial located between
Astor and Stillwell avenues,
has been waiting for a licensed
plumber to secure the necessary
permits to install a replacement
boiler in the home since the fi rst
week of September.
After that, another round of
inspections by multiple city agencies
need to be conducted, before
the installation of the new boiler
can even begin.
There have not been many updates
as to the status of the project
since then, Gjonaj’s offi ce indicated.
His offi ce along with CB11 have
been in contact with the group
home’s sponsor, which expressed
agreement with the neighbors in
wanting the eyesore removed as
quickly as possible, according to
CB 11 records.
“It has been taking literally
years and nothing has changed,”
Colby said in frustration.
Besides the unsightly boiler,
Lodovick Avenue is also experiencing
an uptick in traffi c since
the construction of the northside
of Pelham Parkway began, with
residents saying that the boiler is
exasperating the situaution.
“We’ve gotten calls from people
on City Island that drove by saying
how inconvenient it is to drive
through this street,” Colby said.
“I don’t see how it’s possible to
have a ‘temporary’ mobile boiler
for literally years,” she added.
Gjonaj’s offi ce is awaiting
some good news from the group
home on what he hopes will be the
fi nal round of inspections and permits.
Calls from the Bronx Times
Reporter to Community Action
for Human Services were not returned
by press time.
BRONX WEEKLY S www.BXTimes.com eptember 29, 2019 10
The mobile boiler outside of 2225 Lodovick Avenue on Tuesday, September 24. Schneps Media/ Alex Mitchell
Hostos to honor Throggs Neck’s Latin
music artist manager, Richie Bonilla
The Hostos Center for
the Arts & Culture opens its
2019 Fall Season with ‘A Salute
to Richie Bonilla,’ the
long-time Latin Music Artist
Manager, with a selection
of artists he managed
paying tribute in a starstudded
concert on Saturday,
October 12 at 7:30 p.m.
in the Main Theater.
There will be performances
by the Puerto Rican
singer/ songwriter and former
Fania All-Star Ismael
Miranda, singer Joe Bataan
‘The King of Latin Soul,’ the
Grammy Winning Cuban
vocalist Albita, former Tito
Puente vocalist Frankie
Morales, timbalero Orlando
Marin, known as ‘the last
Mambo King,’ the highly
energetic instrumental and
vocal duo Los Hermanos
Moreno, virtuoso fl utist
Connie Grossman and the
Steven Oquendo Mambo Orchestra.
Noted broadcaster
Felipe Luciano will serve
as Master of Ceremonies.
A dance follows at 9:30 p.m.
in the Hostos Café with DJ
Brian Martínez spinning
Salsa favorites.
As a teenager growing up
in the Bronx, Richie Bonilla
organized concerts in basements
with doo-wop groups,
and later young Latin artists,
including a young Eddie
Palmieri, at various
venues including different
rooms at the Hunts Point
Palace.
After graduating from
Samuel Gompers High
School, and service in the
Navy, he continued to set
up concerts and organize
musicians. In the mid-60s,
he discovered and managed
the career of the Bronx
group Pete Rodríguez and
Su Cojunto who were pioneers
in the popular Latin
dance craze -- the Boogaloo
– of which their hit ‘I Like It
Like That’ was an anthem.
Another discovery was a
16-year old Willie Colón.
Over his career, Bonilla
has managed nearly 100 artists
including Héctor La-
Voe, Ray Barretto, Ismael
Rivera, Orquesta de La Luz,
Eddie Santiago, and Israel
‘Cachao’ López. In the late
60s and early 70s, Bonilla
was instrumental in bringing
salsa to new countries
especially Panama as well as
Venezuela, Curacao, Aruba,
Martinique, Guadalupe, St.
Thomas and St. Croix in addition
to Japan and Africa.
He is revered by the Latin
jazz community for all that
he did in caring for his longtime
client, the late fl utist
Dave Valentin after his two
strokes. At the age of 82, Bonilla
is still active in setting
up tours of Latin artists to
Japan, China, Ecuador and
Mexico, and co-producing
salsa concerts for the Hostos
Center. He lives with
his wife of 60 years, Ellie, in
Throggs Neck and they have
a son and two grandsons.
Tickets for the show are
$45 and $35, ($40 and $30 for
seniors) with $5 tickets for
students and are available
at www.hostoscenter.org
or by calling (718) 518-4455.
Tickets for the after-concert
dance, for concert ticket
holders only, are $10. Box offi
ce window hours are Monday
through Friday, 1 to 4
p.m., and two hours prior to
performance.
Latin music artist manager, Richie Bonilla.
Photo courtesy of Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture
/www.hostoscenter.org
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