More than five months after a fire broke out at 1235 Woodycrest Ave., some residents have been unable to return home, and tenants there have organized to advocate on their behalf and for management to properly maintain the building.
A group of 20 residents held a Feb. 10 press conference in connection with Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA)-New Settlement, calling for faster repairs to the damaged apartments, clear communication about the timeline, and ongoing protections for those forced to live in temporary accommodations.
The residents rallied outside their front door, where signs of damage from the two-alarm blaze on Aug. 24 remain obvious today. The 58-unit Highbridge building, operated by Wavecrest Management, has a partial vacate order on the door and some upper-floor windows are still boarded.
At the rally, tenants expressed concern over the fire repairs but also addressed issues within the property’s 173 housing code violations, some of which pertain to fire damage but also roaches, mice, mold, broken plaster and more.
Though the majority of residents were not forced to evacuate from the fire, those who were have little choice but to couch-surf or stay in hotels while they wait on repairs.
Part of the issue is that tenants’ rental assistance is attached to the Woodycrest building. It is part of the HUD project-based Section 8 program, meaning government subsidies are attached to the property, not the tenants. So even if displaced tenants found permanent housing elsewhere, their assistance would not transfer.
Resident Pamela Ward said at the press conference that problems at 1235 Woodycrest began well before the fire and have worsened since.
They have lived with mold, pests, water damage, broken laundry facilities, sometimes-broken elevators and other issues, yet are still paying rent and “following the rules,” Ward said.
“This is not care. This is cruelty,” she said. “We are tired of watching our residents suffer.”
One major sticking point between the tenant association and Wavecrest Management was the company’s coverage of hotel stays for displaced residents, who received a notice that coverage would expire on Feb. 13. This deadline was a major impetus for the press conference.
However, a Wavecrest spokesperson told the Bronx Times later that afternoon that coverage would continue beyond the 13th until all units are safe to inhabit.
In the months since the fire, coordinating with insurance agencies, architects, contractors and other parties has taken longer than expected, the representative said. However, a contractor will be appointed this week to expedite apartment repairs and resolve violations, according to the spokesperson.
The spokesperson also said a manager called all affected residents the afternoon after the press conference to explain that their temporary housing coverage will not be cut off.
In response, the tenants’ association issued a statement of cautious relief.
“We are heartened by Wavecrest’s commitment to extend temporary accommodations. We hope Wavecrest demonstrates this same level of commitment in providing and following a timeline for repairs and ensuring all displaced tenants can return safely to their homes.”
A ‘horrific’ emotional toll
Most 1235 Woodycrest residents who spoke at the rally were not displaced from their apartments but stood in solidarity with neighbors who were.
Beyond the fire, they said other unsafe conditions in the building have gone unaddressed by management and have worsened as hollowed-out units remain unoccupied.
Ward said she had to take her complaints to housing court in 2023. “I begged for repairs. Nothing happened,” she said. “No tenant should have to go to court just to live safely. That is the reality in our building.”
Wavecrest Management is one of the city’s largest property management companies, overseeing more than 30,000 units and has a notorious reputation for housing code violations across its portfolio.
Though Wavecrest pledged to continue supporting the displaced Woodycrest residents, their stress and sense of loss remain.
Among them is Doreen Cruz, who has lived in the building for 33 years. Her home is two doors down from the fifth-floor apartment where the fire originated.
Most of Cruz’s apartment, including the bedroom, currently has no ceiling and wiring and beams are exposed. Her belongings are stacked in the living room, which appears intact.
Despite living so close to where the fire started, Doreen’s son, Daniel Cruz, who accompanied her at the rally, said it took a battle with management for her to be included under the vacate order and her hotel stay to be covered.
In the months since the fire, Doreen Cruz said she has stayed with two different friends, with her son, and finally at a hotel in the Bronx.
She was in tears after the press conference — not just for the loss of her apartment but the loss of community and sense of security.
Moving from place to place and living out of suitcases has taken a “horrific” emotional toll, she said.
Though she had not yet heard from Wavecrest about ongoing coverage for her hotel stay, she recently received a notice saying that repairs are expected to take at least until May 1.
“Where do I go now? How do I deal with this now?” she said. “It’s been a long journey with no knowing what’s gonna happen.”
Daniel Cruz said communication with management has been challenging. He and his mother have often been unable to reach anyone by phone, and when they do, staff have no straight answers about the delays, he said.
“It’s hard to just communicate with them. It’s not like we get clear answers,” Cruz said.
So many Bronx fires
Experiences like Doreen Cruz’s are not uncommon in the Bronx, where a high number of residential fires leave residents waiting in limbo for months or even years during repairs.
For instance, residents of 2910 Wallace Ave. in the Allerton neighborhood have rallied multiple times to demand speedier repairs and increased housing assistance after a Jan. 2025 fire. Today, more than a year later, residents remain displaced, with some even staying in city shelters, tenant Anthony Randolph told the Bronx Times.
In the midst of an unusually cold New York City winter, an alarmingly high number of Bronx fires have left hundreds displaced and a few injured or killed.
Between Feb. 2 and 8 alone, the Red Cross said it provided assistance to 179 individuals following seven different fires in the Bronx. Among them was at 1215 Grand Concourse — only a half-mile walk from 1235 Woodycrest — where the Red Cross provided emergency assistance to nearly 100 people.
In response to the high number of fires, South Bronx Council Member Justin Sanchez is advocating for the borough to adopt a recommendation by the firefighters’ union to add a fifth firefighter to every engine.
Adding just one more person per unit would make a big difference, freeing up units to respond to other emergencies and speeding up response times, Sanchez said in a Feb. 2 op-ed. FDNY already has the personnel to make the change immediately, he said.
In the op-ed, Sanchez called for prioritizing the Bronx to test the strategy.
“The Bronx is ready to pilot a solution that can start and save lives as soon as tomorrow, if given the okay from Headquarters,” he said.
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!
