Scattered Budweiser cans, shabby clothes, and pieces belonging to a worn out cabinet lay strewn about the front lawn of a two-family home at 290 Reservoir Pl. near East Gun Hill Road. For all intents and purposes, the property appears vacant from the outside. Inside, squatters had invaded, creating an unsettling feeling shared by longtime residents.

Things reached a tipping point on Dec. 2 when a shootout happened inside the property, sending officers to the home. Near a second-floor window of the house, multiple bullet holes can be spotted from the shots fired following the nighttime dispute that led to 11 arrests, according to eyewitnesses. Patrol and field intelligence officers from the 52nd Precinct responded to shots fired. Two guns were also retrieved from the crime scene.

For three longtime Norwood residents, who all requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, the shooters and subsequent arrests is unprecedented for their neighborhood.

“It was more than five shots, about eight or nine shots. I’ve never seen so many police on that block in the 40 years I have lived on and off in this area. That’s how quiet it is,” said the first Norwood resident.

The trio of residents are claiming a small victory nonetheless, after maintaining vigilance towards the home. They first noticed squatters occupying the home in early spring, but despite numerous complaints to 311, the city Department of Buildings (DOB), and Police Department, the squatters were left to drift in and out of the home for months. Residents also brushed up on their knowledge of squatters rights, where state law allows squatters to become temporary tenants 30 days from the time they’ve settled in a home unreported.

“[The property’s] a real sore eye and you can’t get anyone to help. I mean the neighborhood was never like this. How can you come in and take over someone’s house? And talk about squatters rights. We pay taxes; we vote. Meanwhile, they’re treating the house like a pit stop,” said a second resident who has lived in Norwood for 45 years.

The house has had complaints, according to DOB records. The first complaint was filed in November 2018 after pizza boxes were found on the property, attracting rodents. The second complaint that was reported in July claimed squatters had been causing havoc at the unoccupied home.

“Right next door there used to be a nursery, but these dingbats come in and decided to have a shootout. That’s how innocent people get killed,” said a third Norwood resident who has lived in the area since 1980.

Residents who first noticed the house being occupied by squatters slowly built a case against the property, which included a better understanding of squatters rights through research.

“We exhausted 311, they diverted us to [the Department of Buildings]. [Department of] Buildings said we had to make a report and they would send somebody, which I did, and I have the email to confirm. They said they would send somebody out. That never panned out,” said the first resident.

State law defines a squatter as someone who does not pay rent nor own the property that they’re currently living in. The law also states that if a squatter or trespasser has been on the property for 30 days, they are automatically considered a legal tenant that could only be removed through a court-ordered eviction.

“They’re like cockroaches: when the lights are on then everybody is scattered. But once the light starts to dim, which it will, they start to trickle back. The scary thing is, it was over 20-odd people next to 30 people who got arrested that night [of the shootout] and they were back the following morning, or at least a few who got away or released,” said the first Norwood resident of 40 years.

Such a law appears to work unfavorably toward landlords, said the tenants, who expressed frustration with the law’s current language.

“We don’t agree with the squatter’s rights and the way its written up, it’s too vague. We have families, we pay bills, taxes, and it’s unfair how these people can come in and occupy these homes under law,” said the resident who has lived in Norwood since 1980.

A deeper dive into public records from the DOB also shows that a boiler was replaced and some plumbing work was performed on the seven-bedroom, four-bathroom property back in 2017. It’s unclear who was living in the house when this took place. Tracy Daniels O’Connell, a real estate lawyer linked to the property, did not respond to phone calls from the Norwood News.

For now, residents remain satisfied with the recent police activity the 3,324-square-foot home has attracted, hoping resolve is permanent.

“That’s what I’m worried about. It took something drastic, luckily no one died. I was afraid, I was thinking more about a fire and the way those row houses are set up,” said the first unnamed Norwood resident of 40 years.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.