The longtime home of the Throggs Neck Volunteer Ambulance Corps on East Tremont Avenue is drawing concern as the inactive property has become increasingly overgrown.
Arlene Colon, who lives next to the property at 3955 E. Tremont Ave., said weeds and vegetation have grown onto her property and damaged her fence. She also said the condition of the site has attracted rodents, pests, trash and vandalism.
“Weeds from the property have grown onto my property, damaging my fence and creating what I believe is a health hazard,” Colon said. “It’s an eyesore that attracts rodents and other pests and because the building appears neglected, people feel free to vandalize it and leave trash behind. These are all things you don’t want from a neighbor, especially from a property that was once home to an organization dedicated to the health and safety of the community.”
The current condition is unusual compared to the property’s long history of serving the neighborhood.
The Throggs Neck Volunteer Ambulance Corps was established in 1979 by prominent community members who saw a need for local emergency medical services. The organization eventually made 3955 E. Tremont Ave. its permanent headquarters after the property was donated by the Rudin family.
For decades, volunteers signed up and operated from the building, responded to emergencies throughout Throggs Neck and surrounding East Bronx communities.
Throggs Neck Business Improvement District Executive Director Bob Jaen said he is planning on how the BID can help address the current condition.
“As executive director of the Throggs Neck Business Improvement District, I feel a situation has developed through no fault of any one person,” Jaen said. “But now we have a jungle growing and a situation brewing. I’m doing my best to see how we can assist and help clean up the property.”
Ruth Leitch, a lifetime member of the Throggs Neck Volunteer Ambulance Corps, said it has been difficult watching the condition of the former headquarters change.
“As a lifetime member of TNVAC, it saddens me to see the property in such disarray as I pass by each day,” Leitch said. “Our property was always kept up when we were an active part of the community. We are hoping that we can continue our magic with the community in the near future.”
Today, the building no longer has the activity it once did, leaving concerns about what continued inactivity could mean for the property and those living around it.
Despite its current condition, there are community members who have not given up on the site and hope attention can eventually return to a property that served the neighborhood for decades.
For Colon, the immediate concern is much simpler. She wants the property maintained so that the overgrowth and deterioration no longer affect her home and property.
The future of the former ambulance corps property remains uncertain, but after decades of serving its neighbors, its current condition has left those in the community asking for attention to return to the site and for its operations to return.
