Councilman Jimmy Vacca identified six different properties containing more than 400 units for the Cyclical Enforcement Program, which will provide additional inspections to apartment buildings already identified as being in poor repair.
At the suggestion of his constituents, Vacca chose 750 Pelham Parkway South, 2100 Wallace Avenue, 2507 Cruger Avenue, 2528 Cruger Avenue, 3130 Buhre Avenue and 187 City Island Avenue for review.
“When I first got elected, I made a commitment to address the issue of housing on Pelham Parkway, even though the district never has had very serious problems,” Vacca said. “I got the district involved for the first time in the Cyclical Enforcement Program and have worked with NIDC, a non-profit group on Pelham Parkway, to address issues from the community.”
Vacca explained the two worst buildings in the group are 750 Pelham Parkway South and 2100 Wallace Avenue. He confidentially stated he’s making sure legal action is taken against each of the building’s landlords.
Both facilities are located in the Pelham Parkway South area, and as of April 24, had more than 600 total open violations each.
The other four buildings being tracked by DHP, since the program began on July of 2006, just a few months after Councilman Vacca took office, have been less problematic but are still warranting inspection.
“In the four other buildings,” Vacca stated, “We are going to give the landlords the opportunity to correct the situation.”
He added that he personally visited 750 Pelham Parkway South recently, and noted the smell of garbage permeating through the hallways with several broken locks on the building’s doors.
This is especially problematic since the facility and its counterpart at 2100 Wallace Avenue have 136 and 148 units, respectively.
The two buildings on Cruger Avenue are in the Allerton Avenue area, and have a total of just over 100 units.
The building at 3130 Buhre Avenue has seen services decrease since January 2007, when the owner, TVA Realty, began reducing sanitary pickups. Mounds of garbage subsequently built up in the small, six-unit apartment building’s courtyard.
Tenants also complained that there was an illegal basement apartment and construction work sending fumes throughout the building.
The City Island apartment building contains only five units, and while considerable, the problems don’t appear as severe as the others.
“We are monitoring that building, and want to make sure violations there don’t become more serious,” Vacca noted. “if they do, we’ll be ready.”
