Eleven of the 254 displaced residents from 2910 Wallace Ave. in the Allerton neighborhood convened at City Hall on May 8 for another rally demanding housing assistance—four months after the fire that destroyed their rent-stabilized building.
The tenants, who last rallied outside the damaged apartments in March, said they still have not received meaningful support from the city as they’ve been staying in shelters that are often far from home, in poor condition and subject to change at any time.
Although turnout at the rally was smaller than expected, tenants said they felt strong solidarity despite being displaced all over the city.
“I’m part of the 2910 Wallace family,” said Anthony Randolph, who lived at the building for 10 years. “2910 for life!”
Randolph, who previously shared photos of a broken door lock and dirty conditions in his current shelter, told the Bronx Times that nothing has improved since the last rally. He also said he was recently hospitalized with a blood clot in his left ventricle and has struggled to function in his current five-floor walkup, where he shares a bathroom and kitchen with a dozen others.
After the fire, Randolph said he expected life would be tough — “We gotta do what we gotta do” — but he didn’t expect his neighbors, many of whom lived at 2910 Wallace for decades, to be forced to leave New York altogether.
“We were such a tight community,” he said.
During the rally, several tenants blasted property owner Ved Parkash, a notorious landlord who has seen fires at at least two of his Bronx apartment buildings in recent years. FDNY determined in late January that the Wallace Ave. fire, which started on the top floor of the six-story building, was caused by faulty electrical wiring.
Parkash’s office declined to comment, and a timeline for reconstructing the building is unclear.
As frustrated as residents are with their landlord, they voiced equal frustration with the city and its housing policies they say are letting them fall through the cracks.
Barbara Grullar, a displaced resident, told the Bronx Times that she and her 10-year-old daughter are staying in a family shelter in Hunts Point. Social workers there are well-meaning but intrusive, asking her to turn over bank statements to prove that she’s saving money, and the place is infested with roaches and rats. “It’s disgusting,” Grullar said.
Ricardine Verdiner-Bernard, who is also staying at a family shelter with her son and husband, said at the rally that being displaced is having a drastic impact on her young child.
The shelter is all “rules, lines and silence,” and her son has continually asked, “‘Mommy, when will we have a home again?’” Verdiner-Bernard said.
Yolanda Richardson, who leads the building’s tenant association, spoke of the “urgent need for legislative change” to protect fire victims.
Richardson said that many of her fellow tenants earn slightly too much to qualify for the city’s low-income housing vouchers, such as CityFHEPS. “This leaves many of us, the working class, completely shut out.”
She called for legislation to expand housing income guidelines to accommodate those displaced by fires through no fault of their own, and for affected residents to receive priority placement in vacant units.
Council Member Kevin Riley, who represents the Allerton area, joined the tenants’ call for “common-sense policies” to help people in their situation.
He and Council Member Julie Won introduced a resolution to urge the state to pass a bill that would require negligent landlords like Parkash to cover the cost of temporary housing if a fire results in a vacate order for a building they own.
“I’m begging my colleagues, I’m begging the city” to do more, Riley said.
Without assistance, fewer than 10 residents have managed to find other housing on their own, tenants told the Bronx Times.
Nicolet Seymour, who spoke at the rally, is one of those few— but it took “lots of sleepless nights” and long days contacting landlords and viewing apartments after her overnight shifts with New York City Transit.
Even though Seymour has a place to live, her problems are far from over, as she still needs to afford daycare, furnishings and other necessities, she said. “I’m in a bind. We need help.”
The tenants already sent a letter to Mayor Eric Adams and plan to continue escalating actions until they get results.
Seymour said that even if she somehow got a mansion, she would continue to advocate for her neighbors and the many others who end up facing a situation they never imagined. “I’m never gonna stop the fight.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
