2899 Kingsbridge Terrace

by Erin Galloway and Alejandra Ibarra

The Bronx Ink has profiled buildings owned by Ved Parkash, who was until recently rated the worst landlord in New York by the Public Advocate’s office. The profiles form part of a wider investigation into housing conditions and tenant harassment in the Bronx. Find other buildings using the panel to the right.

On a quiet hill in the Kingsbridge neighborhood in the Bronx, sits the newest acquisition of one of the worst landlords in New York City.

Ved Parkash, ranked fifth worst landlord in New York City by Public Advocate Letitia James, bought two apartment buildings at 2899 and 2905-07 Kingsbridge Terrace on September 27, 2016, adding 162 units to his growing empire. He now owns approximately 70 buildings across the Bronx and Queens.

2899 Kingsbridge Terrace, a two-tower building, is located across the street from Bronx Public School 360 near Jerome Park Reservoir. The building, bought for $14 million, was sold by Isidoros Sfikas of the 172 Audubon Corporation.

With this building, Parkash inherits three active Department of Building violations and 19 open Department of Housing Preservation and Development complaints.

Residents who were home on Oct. 15 and willing to talk about their building had never heard of Parkash until they got a letter in the mail instructing them to change the recipient of the rent checks.

Opinions on its condition ran a subtle gamut from mildly frustrating to slightly concerning. Ghanaian Phylis Appiah, who has lived in the building for the last 17 years, pointed to a patch of ceiling in her bedroom that is now dangerously lower than the rest of it. Other residents had more typical complaints about clean hallways and the schedule for repainting apartments.

The super, Calixto Chavez, was unfazed by the shift in management. Having been in his post for a decade, he said he knows how to work with the tenants and reach compromises.

“No bad problems,” said Chavez in Spanish when asked about the condition of the building.

“Not like the buildings in the news.”