Concerns over growing piles of trash, suggestions for tenant education around fire safety, and the end of the eviction and foreclosure moratorium drew much of the attention at various community meetings held locally in January.

 

Bedford Mosholu Community Association (BMCA) addressed four sanitation issues that continue to plague the area at their latest meeting on Jan. 5. As previously reported, the underpass on Webster Avenue by the 52nd precinct in Norwood, on the Bedford Park border, has been used for years as an ad hoc parking lot for cars wrecked in vehicle collisions, which await further investigation by precinct officers.

 

Meanwhile, there are alternate side parking (ASP) signs on the west side of the street, but some residents have observed that the cars never move, and the street sweepers are, therefore, denied access to clean that section of the street. Barbara Stronczer, president of BMCA, said she saw a side effect of this inaction. “I’m talking now about Webster [Avenue] from Mosholu Parkway South to Bedford Park Boulevard,” she said. “The merchants don’t move the cars. They don’t sweep in the street, nothing seems to be enforced, and I’m sure the situation is the same on many of our side streets.”

Stronczer put the issue directly before Joe Ottomanelli, community affairs liaison at NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY), who attended the Zoom meeting. “We have field officers going out along that stretch, ticketing vehicles that aren’t moving [in response to street cleaning regulations],” he said.  “But as you alluded to, there’s only so much that we can do… because a lot of these people [are] getting ticketed, but the price of moving the car versus getting ticketed … there seems to be a disparity on that front.”

 

The fine for not moving a car while alternate side parking (ASP) street cleaning rules are in effect is $65. Both Stronczer and Ottomanelli acknowledge that the reduction of ASP regulations to just one day a week, in place since the pandemic started, further hampers the work of sanitation officers to clean streets and ticket violators.

 

The best solution offered by Ottomanelli was for neighbors to remind the vehicle owners of the problems they’re causing by not moving their cars. “Reiterate to local constituents of their responsibility to move these vehicles because that will amplify our efforts to improve the conditions,” he said.

 

On Saturday, Jan. 22, during a roundtable discussion on gun violence, chaired by Mayor Eric Adams, along with various elected officials and crisis management teams, including a number of gun violence interrupter groups at Bedford Park’s P.S. 46 Edgar Allan Poe, the topic of trash was also raised, but from a safety and security perspective.

 

The impromptu event was held in the local neighborhood after an 11-month-old baby called Catherine, was shot, as reported, on Wednesday, Jan. 19. One female cure violence group member in attendance at the roundtable discussion on Jan. 22, explained that gang members sometimes hid guns behind garbage bags. She said the cure violence groups are, therefore, used to insisting that the City’s sanitation department collect trash promptly.

 

The mayor responded to this point during a subsequent press conference, saying, “If my department of sanitation is not listening to the crisis management team on the ground, who say, ‘Hey, I need you to pick up this garbage,’ then they are actually in the way of what they’re [cure violence groups] doing on the ground.” He then vowed to ensure that, going forward, City agencies would provide a special liaison to support such cure violence groups with their day-to-day work in the community.

 

Twin Parks fire tragedy which took place at 333 East 181^st Street in Fordham Heights on Sunday, Jan. 9, stealing the lives of 17 people, including 8 children, heightened awareness among residents about what they could and should do to protect themselves in similar circumstances. Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7)’s Housing, Land Use & Economic Development committee considered various options to avert another such tragedy at their January 11th meeting.

 

One suggestion from an attendee who works at 7 World Trade Center was for residential buildings to have drills, similar to the type office buildings have, where employees are informed of safe routes to evacuation in response to a fire. Winifred Campbell, deputy director of the Bronx planning office for NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD), heard the suggestion and thought it was “a great idea,” along with other members of CB7. They agreed to pass it on to HPD for follow-up.

 

Jan. 15 marked the expiration of the latest extension of the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction & Foreclosure Prevention Act, also known as the eviction and foreclosure moratorium. The moratorium had protected tens of thousands of New Yorkers from losing their homes during the pandemic.

 

Originally passed into law by the New York State legislature in 2020, when many people were suddenly without work due to the economic shutdown arising from the pandemic, it suspended eviction and foreclosure proceedings to give renters and homeowners the opportunity to submit a hardship declaration. On September 2, 2021, as reported, New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a new State moratorium into law, when the previous one expired and as the coronavirus delta variant was causing many New Yorkers to fall ill.

 

Since the latest expiration, housing courts will now begin hearing cases from landlords seeking the eviction of tenants for the non-payment of rent. The main source of financial help available to New York City renters comes from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), a federally funded, assistance program administered through the State.

 

A statement on New York State’s ERAP website explains that “there is currently no federal funding available to assist residents in most areas of the State. Therefore, applications will only be reviewed and considered for funding if additional funds become available.” Five counties, outside of the City, are excluded from the funding limitations and there are still only limited amounts of state-funded emergency rental assistance available.

 

One possible, alternative source of relief for renters was communicated to residents recently by Northwest Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81). In his weekly email update, the assemblyman reminded renters of one important provision of ERAP. “The Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which recently had its application portal reopened, even though there is not money currently available to fund new applications, includes eviction protections while an application is pending, as well as for one year after the application is approved,” he wrote. “This means that you can submit an ERAP application and use that as a defense in an eviction proceeding in order to remain in your home.”

Meanwhile, for homeowners experiencing financial difficulties, some relief continues to be available. Known as the Homeowners Assistance Fund (HAF), the fund helps those living in co-ops and condos. Joshua Stephenson, executive director of West Bronx Housing, said the organization can assist with the process. “We have been helping homeowners with the [State’s] HAF application,” he said.  “It’s actually a lot easier and a lot better run, in my opinion, than the original rollout of the ERAP application…. It’s a very easy application process.”

 

One other topic of interest to residents in recent weeks is that the City has expanded the right to counsel, offering free, legal representation in housing court to all qualifying New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs. Qualifying factors include the number of people in a household and yearly income. As an example, according to information on NYCourts.gov, NYC’s housing court website, a household of three, with a yearly income of $43,920, would be eligible for free, legal representation, irrespective of immigration status. Tenants can find more information at: https://nycourts.gov/COURTS/nyc/housing/freeLawyerQualify.shtml.

 

The next meeting of the Bedford Mosholu Community Association is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m., via Zoom. The next meeting of Bronx CB7’s Housing, Land Use & Economic Development committee is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m., and will also be held via Zoom.

 

West Bronx Housing is located at 220 E. 204th Street, Suite A, in Jerome Park, and Joshua Stephenson can be reached at (718) 798-0929 or via email at jstephenson@bjcconline.org.

 

The Office of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is located at 3107 Kingsbridge Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463. He can be reached at (718) 796-5345 or via email at DinowitzJ@nyassembly.gov.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.