Northwest Bronx program assist on evictions, problems with landlords
Northwest Bronx residents with housing concerns can benefit this summer from a new pilot program.
The local community board has joined up with the West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center to offer housing assistance to the more than 140,000 people living in the area.
“We decided to partner with them because they needed space, and we needed to help residents,” said Fernando Tirado, district manager of Community Board 7, which covers Jerome Park, Norwood and University Heights.
“It’s to deal with the growing problem of tenants being forced out or not getting the appropriate amount of services from their landlord,” said Tirado.
The program will provide such services as help with filing government housing forms, assistance contacting city agencies with complaints, and mediation of disputes between landlords and tenants.
A representative from the resource center will be at the board’s office at 229-A E. 204th St. on the third Tuesday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to offer housing expertise.
Sandy Dunford, executive director of the resource center, said the board had been referring residents to her office for years, but it was difficult to get them to come in, which often had disastrous consequences.
“Then the problem deepens, and it may be too late by the time they come to us. If we can help earlier, there’s a lot of things we can do,” Dunford said.
“There’s nothing sadder than having someone come in a day before they are evicted or foreclosed on and knowing that if they had come in earlier, we might have been able to do something,” she added.
The first session took place on May 20, and the program is already having an impact.
Just a few people showed up, but several received guidance about how to organize a tenants’ association, and one woman facing foreclosure is receiving help with the problem.
“There’s no way she would have come in if not for this program,” Dunford said. “She didn’t know we existed, but she came to the board, and they said to come in when we were here the next day.”
The program is set to run through September, but if it is successful, it may be extended.
“We hope that people in the community will be supportive of it, so that we can continue our partnership on a permanent basis,” Tirado said.
SOURCE: NYDailyNews.com
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