Back in 2009, Elaine Feder noticed a newly-erected scaffold hugging the perimeter of her east Bronx apartment building.
But the wooden platform, intended as an added protection during exterior renovations, still remains virtually abandoned and a firetrap, according to Feder.
She and hundreds of tenants living in 2100-10 Bronx Park East are still holding their breath for any exterior work to get done utilitzing the scaffold, long considered a black eye to the Pelham Parkway neighborhood.
“No one has seen any workers here doing work,” declared Feder, who’s lived in the six-story prewar building long enough to remember door and elevator men standing at their posts.
These days, they’ve been replaced by packs of pigeons perched on the scaffold’s metal tubes, fouling the scaffolding with their droppings.
“When you walk under the scaffold, it stinks!” said Feder, treasurer of the Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association and a frequent visitor of Community Board 11 and 49th Precinct Community Council gatherings.
On top of the overall look, tenants along the A line at 2100 Bronx Park East were forced to take a gamble with their lives after the hatch leaving room for the fire escapes was blocked. The Bronx Times gave a call to building managers, headed by 2100 Park Associates, who immediately removed the wooden planks hindering access to ground level.
But another fire hazard has forced a number of visits by local firefighters to extinguish small flames sparked by lit cigarettes tossed outside by tenants, just some of the garbage left on the scaffold, according to one resident who simply went by Natasha. “They just throw it right up top,” she said. “No one cleans it.”
Westchester-based realty firm 2100 Park Associates is operated by real estate mogul Stanley Wasserman, who’s overseen the 83-year-old building complex, four in all, for the past several years. Records from the city Buildings Department show property managers were hit with a $10,000 fine in August for failing to maintain the building’s facade.
Feder said she has taken her complaints to the PPNA, Councilman Jimmy Vacca and to the city by calling the 311 complaint line.
Building managers first green-lit the scaffold after deciding the building’s brick and mortar facade needed repairs. Feder was thrilled to see the scaffold come up, believing the work was long overdue.
But once workers erected the scaffold, they walked away. Workers finally did return following Hurricane Sandy, but it was simply to fix the scaffold.
But Jamie Van Bramer, a spokesman for the building owners, said the company admits “the work was unfortunately delayed.”
“Our architect is now working on drawings to file with the City in early 2013,” said Van Bramer, adding the scaffolding will be removed as soon as the repairs are completed.
Reach reporter David Cruz at 718-742-3383.
David Cruz can be reach via e-mail at DCruz@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 742-3383
