Housing

Bronx man falls to his death

A 35-year-old man fell to his death in an elevator shaft, while moving into an apartment building with his wife.

Open Vacant Buildings to Low-Income Families, Housing Advocates Urge

Community activists want the city to reconsider what it calls affordable housing.

The Soundview Tenants Who Fell Through the Cracks

In Soundview, a group of former Ocelot tenants are suing their new landlord.

Hope for the “Ocelot” Tenants?

Manida Street tenants gained new hope after a rehab company bought their buildings’ debt.

A Squatter’s Paradise?

Will the housing crisis in the Bronx lead to a rise in squatting?

Bronx Residents Protest Poor Living Conditions

Residents from six Ocelot buildings wage a protest at Dime Savings Bank.

1585-1589 E. 172nd St.

A company connected to Hunter Property Management purchased the two buildings, along with four other Ocelot properties, in May 2009. Since then, residents have been rebelling against their new landlords.

1744 Clay Ave.

by Sarah Omar Wali and Mustafa Mehdi Vural

Workmen with blue shirts labeled “JLP Home Imp. Inc” were a welcome sight for the tenants of 1744 Clay Ave. in East Tremont one fall week in October. Their 73-year-old building has been collapsing rapidly into disrepair for the last two years.  For many, the conditions have become unbearable.
The [...]

1528 Bryant Ave.

This 21-unit apartment building on Bryant Avenue in the South Bronx is one of several buildings formerly owned by Ocelot Capital Group and is in decrepit condition.

1269-1271 Morris Ave

Ocelot made 1269 and 1271 Morris Ave. in Morrisania virtually unlivable.

1512-1524 Leland Ave.

by Shefali Kulkarni and Leslie Minora
The super at four decrepit Leland Avenue apartment buildings is looking for a new job. Management gives him barely enough garbage bags to keep the residences tidy, he said, let alone materials to make even the simplest repairs.
“It’s like a captain and you give him a ship with a big [...]

422 East 178th St

By Fred Dreier
The facade of the four-story apartment building at 422 East 178th St. in the East Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx showcases recently painted brick and robust-looking windows that appear to be straight out of the box. The aesthetic improvements, however, hide a structure that racked up nearly 100 building code violations when a [...]

806 E. 175th St.

by Alec Johnson and Amanda Staab

Serious repairs are underway at the notoriously rundown apartment buildings at 806-808 E. 175th Street in the Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx. Earlier this year, a group of tenants convinced a Bronx judge to replace their negligent landlord with a new manager who would finally make the improvements.
The two adjoining brick structures [...]

1350 Martin Luther King Blvd

By Jose Leyva
The residents at 1350 Martin Luther King Blvd. in the South Bronx, are forming a tenants’ association to ensure that their landlord, Hunter Management, makes comprehensive improvements to the building.
More than anything, the tenants do not want to live through another winter without heat or hot water. Last year, tenants in the 13-unit [...]

4289,4301,4305 Park Ave.

By Mamta Badkar and Connor Boals
with additional reporting by Donal Griffin
Four buildings once owned by Ocelot loom over a very different Park Avenue in the central Bronx neighborhood of Tremont. The buildings until recently were ghost-like shells, but are now beginning to stir with the sounds of renovation. Their troubled past, however, still follows them.
The [...]

1804 Weeks Ave.

by Sarah Omar Wali and Mustafa Mehdi Vural

The newly painted pink and blue walls in apartment 52 in the building at 1804 Weeks Ave. give the illusion of a well-cared for living space.  But the bright colors provide only a thin cover for the vermin-infested apartment Fernando Diaz shares with his wife and two young [...]

1636-1640 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd

By Jose Leyva
The tenants at 1636 and 1640 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Morris Heights share the same architectural design and the same entrance, along with the same complaint about their landlord. They say the company connected to Hunter Property management that currently owns the buildings is neglecting maintenance of them.
Since November, 2008, the tenants of [...]

1663 Eastburn Ave.

Tenants suffered last winter when Ocelot owned 1665 Eastburn Ave.

2254 Crotona Ave.

By Maia Efrem
From a distance, the building at 2254 Crotona Ave. looks like all the other dwellings in the surrounding blocks. On closer inspection, however, the lock is knocked out on the front door, the windows on the first floor are boarded up and graffiti covers concrete slabs that block the entrance to many apartments in the building.
An Ocelot [...]

621-627 Manida St.

Manida Street residents live in ‘House of Horrors’