Tag Archives: valley national bank

Bathroom Mold, March 2012

Last night, tenants at 553 E. 169th St. had an important meeting to talk about the fact that their building will be going to auction on April 15th.  Auctions are breeding grounds for speculation – the whole style of an auction is designed to drive up price – and they are pretty much worst thing for distressed affordable housing.  Rather than take time to look at a building, calculate its repair needs and meet with tenants, auction-goers are usually looking to buy up housing and make a quick buck.

The tenants at 553 E. 169th St. have been organizing for almost two years to improve conditions in their apartments and find a preservation outcome for their building.  They met with their receiver, Miriam Breier, to address immediate health concerns, including heat and hot water.  They tirelessly called 3-11.  They opened their doors to good developers, none of whom were able to meet Valley National Bank’s inflated asking price. (The bank refused to lower it.) They met with Councilwoman Helen Foster’s office, and they attended tenant meeting after tenant meeting.

This year, the building was entered into HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program, and the city so has more power to control the repairs in the property. While the management company has made many repairs, the building continues to have over 150 violations in 18 units.

A key component of the Alternative Enforcement Program is the costly liens that are assigned to the property by HPD. These liens will not go away when the building is sold, and any purchaser must incorporate the cost of correcting violations and removing the building from the AEP program into the cost of acquisition. We suspect that most auction-goers on April 15th will not be prepared to do this for 553 E. 169th Street, of if they are even aware of the program at all.

Tenants will be at the auction on April 15th to show speculators that they are organized, that they know their rights, and that they won’t back down!