Saturday, June 09, 2012

Dozens Of Bronx Tenants Get Temporary Boot On 2 Days Notice, Then Get Stiffed On 'Alternate-Digs' Hotel Cash After Fire Escape Removal Rehab Screw-Up

In The Bronx, New York, the New York Post reports:
  • They’re getting screwed again. Displaced Bronx residents whose fire escapes were mistakenly removed by construction workers say they’re receiving a paltry sum for alternate accommodations. “The money that they’re giving is for hotels for people living in the streets,” said Yadia Molina, 32, of the $120 per night she is being offered by the University Heights building’s owner, Goldfarb Properties.

  • I am paying a lot of rent here because I wanted my daughter to be in a safe place,” said Iliana Pena, 31, who has three daughters, one with severe asthma. “Now all of a sudden I have to pack and go to a motel where it smells like smoke and dust. It’s frustrating.”

  • The project’s engineer, Roland Draper, didn’t file the proper paperwork with the Department of Buildings, a DOB spokesman said. DOB is investigating Draper’s incorrect application, as well as the other 48 active projects where he’s involved. Draper did not return a call for comment. His state license was suspended for one month in 2005 after he was convicted of restraint of trade, records show.

  • On Monday, the nearly 200 residents of 2400 Webb Ave. were given 48 hours to find temporary digs after Colgate Restoration Corp. of Brooklyn, doing facade repairs, foolishly removed all fire escapes.

  • Some of the hotels available for $120 like the Concourse Hotel at $65 a bed a night are home to bedbugs, rats and malfunctioning toilets, according to online reviews.