A Fordham building’s residents are clashing with notorious landlord Ved Parkash over infestation and poor living conditions at 2454 Tiebout Avenue.
Residents of the 6-story, 71-unit elevatored building are “facing deplorable conditions including lack of heat and hot water, leaks, mold, inadequate appliances, unsatisfactory repairs and services, decrepit mail boxes, rodents, roaches, a negligent superintendent and repeated harassment by the landlord and superintendent. The building currently has 70 open violations registered to HPD with countless complaints reported,” said a statement released by Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition who is working with the building’s tenants.
“In many apartments tenants are forced to live with rats and mice in the walls and floor. With only an inch of wood or drywall acting as a barrier between rodents and tenants’ apartments – tenants face the grim reality of living in inhospitable conditions. Tenants have grown used to the noise of rats fighting and digging through the walls and floors,” the statement added.
The building’s management attended the tenants association meeting on Monday, April 16, in time to head off an organized rally planned for the next day to expose the building’s deplorable conditions.
“Mr. Parkash and his management team are puzzled by these allegations, particularly since neither tenants nor their representatives expressed any of these complaints Monday night (April 16) during a meeting at the building that was organized by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition,” said a spokesman for Parkash Management.
“Furthermore, a March 28, 2018 letter from the acting director of HPD’s Division of Neighborhood Preservation stated that ‘based on DNP’s survey [of 2454 Tiebout Avenue), the building was found to be in fair condition,’” the spokesman said.
The spokesman also cited an earlier correspondence from March that Parkash received from HPD, which indicated that DNP staff had visited the building and found it to be “fairly maintained overall,” with a “few” repair items that required attention.
Parkash was voted as the city’s worst landlord in 2015. Vermin and rodent infestation had been one of the largest grievances his tenants aired against him.
However, this time “rodent infestation was not among these ‘few’ items – and all of the items, ranging from broken plaster to a loose sink cabinet base – have either been repaired or are in the process of being repaired,” the Parkash spokesman said.
While the tenant leadership expressed satisfaction that Parkash sent representatives to the meeting, they are dissatisfied at his own absence.
“The tenants want to see Mr. Parkash face to face, they want him to hear their problems and see them too,” said Emmanuel Pardilla, housing organizer for Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition.
“Mr. Parkash and his management team were advised by tenants at the meeting on Monday night that they were pleased that Mr. Parkash’s management team attended the meeting…There was no shouting or threats, but rather productive civil discourse on issues and concerns,” the spokesman went on to say.
The Bronx Times Reporter reached out to the 2454 Tiebout Avenue Tennant Association but did not receive an immediate response.
