With Live-in Super, Stagg Tenants Scratch Off Major Grievance

By JOSE A. GIRALT

After an unrelenting pressure campaign on the owner of 2985, 2987, and 2999 Webster avenues to provide a live-in super to respond to complaints quickly, tenants finally got one, rectifying one of their biggest complaints spoken about over the last few months. In a growing list of grievances by tenants against the Stagg Group, owner of the three-building complex, collectively known as Bedford Park Manor, many of those revolved around the lack of an on-site super to attend to maintenance and repair issues in a timely manner. Austin Graham, director of business development at the Stagg Group, said, “We want

Snow Postpones Stagg Meeting at Community Board 7

By JOSE A. GIRALT

After mounting pressure on the owner of 2985, 2987, and 2999 Webster avenues to provide an on-site super, tenants will have one within the next 30 days, according to an email announcement by the Stagg Group, which owns the properties. In a growing list of complaints by tenants against the Stagg Group, many of them revolved around the lack of an on-site super to attend to maintenance and repair issues in a timely manner, the announcement by the Stagg Group addresses the issue directly. “It is our goal that with a live-in super, your apartment repairs will be tended to

With New York Governor Andrew Cuomo making the legalization of recreational marijuana one of his top priorities for 2019, lots of questions remain about the specifics of the law and its implications for communities across the state. It’s one reason why the Norwood News, in partnership with BronxNet Television and WFUV Public Radio have organized a forum around this topic dubbed, “Bronx Connections: The Impact of Legal Weed,” which will be presented and televised live on March 21 at 6:30 p.m. Concerns still loom over the impact of the bill. Some want to make sure those incarcerated for the sale

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s sixth edition of the Norwood News with plenty of community news you can use. We’ve packed 20 pages full of great stories impacting the Bronx. As usual, we’ll begin with page one! Our front-page story brings you to Williamsbridge Oval Park where the Bronx Buccaneers have reclaimed their practice spot just in time for spring. The Bucs nearly lost their spot after the team parted ways with the permit holder. Martika Ornella reports on who the team is tipping its helmet for the good news. Inside the cover you’ll find a follow-up piece what exactly

Stagg Group, and its Tenants, Make Their Case Before Community Board 7

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

In a packed, standing room only office of Community Board 7, the Housing, Land Use, & Zoning Committee heard heated arguments about the lack of repair and maintenance services for tenants of 2985, 2987, and 2999 Webster avenues. It was the result of a long-awaited meeting between tenants and representatives from the Stagg Group. The realty firm’s representatives were present defending their recent actions in improving response time to complaints about repairs and maintenance work. The buildings, collectively making up The Bedford Park Manor, opened in 2015, the first such properties to open following the 2011 rezoning of a large

Report: Majority of Kingsbridge Road Merchants Rent Burdened (Picture)

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

Evy Viruet started to think something was up when she kept getting phone calls from business owners on Kingsbridge Road about people coming around and taking pictures. “We figured they were up to something,” said Viruet, a small business organizer for Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC). Owners of Kingsbridge corridor businesses soon found ads on the real estate listing site Loopnet.com that offered 2 through 12 W. Kingsbridge Rd. and 2647 through 2659 Jerome Ave. up for sale, specifying that “existing tenants are month to month.” Many tenants in those buildings also have no commercial leases at all.

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Heating Assistance Applications for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) for older adults and low- and middle-income New Yorkers will be accepted by local departments of social services. Eligibility is based on income, household size and how the home is heated. Residents can apply online at https://on.ny. gov/2Fn062M and mail it to NYC DSS/HRA/ HEAP, P.O. Box 1401, Church Street Station, New York, NY 10008. For more information, call (212) 331-3126. Free Tax Prep Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 DeKalb Ave. offers free tax return service Mondays through Fridays from 4 p.m. Those who made $54,000 or less in 2018

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

Almost eight years ago, Norwood resident Iris Vega-Ortiz was reportedly awarded $33,000 after the state housing agency found her landlord had overcharged her by $400 a month on rent for several years. A new bill proposed by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz might make Vega-Ortiz’s case more of a common occurrence. Dinowitz, a Democrat who represents Norwood, Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Wakefield and Woodlawn, has introduced a bill to change the state law when it comes to tenants who wish to file a rent overcharge complaint. Currently, tenants can request their rent history from the state Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) and

CB7, Serving as Mediator, Looks for Resolve in Stagg/Tenants Feud

By JOSE A. GIRALT

Community Board 7 is finding itself in the middle of a tug-of-war between tenants from 2985, 2987, and 2999 Webster avenues, collectively named The Bedford Park Manor, and its buildings’ owner, the Stagg Group. At issue are conditions inside the properties that opened four years ago, leading the recent trend of major development for the Norwood/Bedford Park area. At the last meeting of CB7’s Housing, Land Use, & Zoning Committee meeting on Feb. 21, chairman John Snider made clear that tenants from the buildings have been heard from but representatives from the Stagg Group have yet to appear in person.