A group of tenants from 2051 Webster Ave. held a Feb. 5 rally to demand immediate repairs to systems that have left them without cooking gas and inconsistent heat and hot water in an unusually cold New York City winter.
Residents have organized with help from the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) to pressure JLP Management into immediate repairs to more than 500 housing code violations, 125 of which are Class C, meaning “imminently hazardous” and requiring repair within 24 hours.
In addition to the heat, gas and hot water issues, the violations address infestations of mice and roaches, faulty self-closing doors, broken window guards and more.
The lack of consistent utilities affects not only residents of the 29-unit, rent-stabilized building but also its street-level commercial tenants, Tania Glam Supply nail and hair salon and Estrella Bronx Restaurant, according to NWBCCC.
Outside their building on Feb. 5, residents chanted, “No gas, no rent! You won’t get one cent!” — and some have begun withholding rent until their demands are met.
Residents said they are deeply concerned about major cracks in the walls and ceilings, bubbling plaster and uneven floors, along with the fact that some tenants have resorted to using space heaters and other temporary fixes that might unintentionally spark a fire.
The rally marked the latest chapter in the building’s troubled history. After it fell into foreclosure, a court-appointed receiver, Oshrie Zak, and JLP Metro Management took over in December 2025.
The Bronx Times spoke with property manager Louis Popovic with JLP Metro Management, who said he has been a court-appointed receiver and manager for 20 years.
He said he has managed to turn around buildings with more than 800 violations and vowed to do the same at 2051 Webster Ave.
“I have done my job, and I’ve done it right to where I continuously do get appointed [by the courts] because of the job that I do,” Popovic said.
Just days into his tenure as manager, Con Edison shut off the gas due to a potential leak, which cut off cooking gas and gas to the boiler, Popovic said. He said he converted the boiler to oil, which has been servicing the apartments since.
Restoring gas has been a complicated process that required multiple permits from the city, Popovic said. But he said he now has a plan to fix it and has hired a plumber to restore gas to the apartments, which he expects to take four to six weeks.
Popovic also said his job has been complicated by the fact that residents have not paid rent for two to three years, and neither have the commercial tenants.
But according to Attorney Sean Connolly with Bronx Legal Services, who has been working with the group, tenants have not been in arrears for nearly that long — more like a few months instead of years.
Connolly said in an email to the Bronx Times that tenants only stopped paying due recently to confusion and lack of communication over new leases and whom to pay after the court-appointed receiver took over.
Popovic said he will address issues of nonpayment but said tenants should call management to explain what work is needed in their units.
“If anybody needs repairs, we’re willing to do them immediately. We will send a licensed, insured contractor to handle these things,” Popovic said. “Tenants will get the service they deserve.”
Unsettled in their homes
The city has already taken notice of 2051 Webster. As of Feb. 2, the building was placed in the City Alternative Enforcement Program through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). This program allows the city to closely monitor and inspect buildings with many violations and take legal action if the operator fails to make repairs.
Thousands of taxpayer dollars have already been spent on emergency repairs, said Edward Garcia with NWBCCC.
He also clarified in a later email to the Bronx Times that while no organization has worked with tenants on a rent strike, there has been a lack of communication over several months about who was responsible for the building.
Ultimately, whether residents are paying rent or setting it aside, restoring the building to safe condition must be the first priority, Garcia said.
At the rally, frustrated tenants said they are prepared to further escalate if necessary.
Resident Jose Lora said his apartment had no hot water for nearly two months and that his family had to heat water separately in order to bathe. Cooking at home has also been a major problem, he said.
“Many of my neighbors are also spending much more money on food because they cannot cook for their children. Gas is an essential service — and we deserve to receive the basic services we pay for and that are required by law.”
Some residents also said they’ve been accused of owing money they say they do not owe.
Estefany Casilla, who has lived at 2051 Webster for 15 years, said at the press conference that when she tried to renew her lease, management told her she owed $7,000 in back rent.
She said she was threatened with additional fees, and the burden was on her to prove that she did not owe the money. The situation was “deeply unsettling,” Casilla said.
Angelette Waring has lived in apartment 1E since childhood, more than 57 years — long enough to know that these problems have not always existed.
Waring brought reporters into her home and demonstrated how her bedroom floor is so uneven that a set of dumbbells can roll several feet. She also pointed to plaster cracked and bubbling on the ceilings, holes underneath the radiators that she plugged with Brillo pads, and hot plates on top of the non-functioning stove.
Though her apartment was overheated, feeling over 80 degrees, the tap water that morning was still ice cold, Waring said.
She said she is currently withholding rent, saving it aside until the repairs are complete. Waring said her rent increased from $1,238 to $1,600 but still has no new lease.
“Our building is literally splitting apart at the seams,” Waring said at the press conference. “We cannot put our homes and lives in jeopardy one more day.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
