Parking, heating, infestation of animals, plumbing and
communication problems were some of the problems that 30 residents of the
Bayview Gardens apartment complex on Bayview Ave. between Sheridan Boulevard
and St. George Place in Inwood spoke about at a meeting at a private home, also
in Inwood on Sept. 21. It was the third such meeting within the past year.
County Legislator Carrié Solages (D-Elmont) attended the
meeting to learn about the residents’ concerns as well as mediate the
proceedings as Daniel Goldstein, a principal of Brooklyn-based E&M Property
Management, also attended the meeting. The company that took over managing the
apartment complex last June.
“Many of these residents are hard-working people who are
complaining about issues that show that they are facing a constructive
eviction,” Solages said. “The landlord is doing things that is in essence is
forcing them to leave.”
Residents said that in addition to the rent they pay for
their apartment, E&M added charges for lighting and gas to their rent
bills.
Brooklyn-based New York Communities for Change, an
organization that strives to achieve social and economic justice for low and
moderate-income communities of working families, also attended the meeting at
Solages invitation. Representatives took notes and will review the residents
concerns.
Delorise Robinson has lived in an apartment at 385 Bayview
Ave. since the buildings opened in 1971. She brought with her to the meeting a
hospital report stating that she contracted cellulitis from reaching into her
toilet in an attempt to repair it since the management did not respond to her
repair request in a timely fashion. “We can’t take a shower because the water
comes down through the ceiling in the living room,” she said, of her recent
plumbing issues within the last week.
Eric Robinson, 47, Delorise’s son who has lived in the
apartments for his entire life, said people couldn’t afford it anymore. “He
[Goldstein] wants us to pay for everything and that’s not what Section 8 is
for, it’s to help the people that are less fortunate,” Eric added. Section 8 is
a federal program that provides assistance to eligible low- and moderate-income
families to rent housing in the private market.
In response to resident complaints, Goldstein, who lives in
Lawrence and serves as a village trustee said: “This is your place to stay and
don’t let anyone tell you any different.”
However, to the residents’ dismay, the property management
company installed a gate on the side of the apartments near Sheridan Boulevard
that restricts parking on the property to only tenants. But he plans to charge
residents to park in the complex.
The St. George Place side of the complex is a public street,
so E&M cannot install gate on that side, Goldstein said he spoke to the
Town of Hempstead to acquire tags for the residents’ cars to allow them to park
in the designated spots and put up tow away signs for anyone without a tag.
“Ever since they took over this place, it went downhill,”
Doris Green, a resident for 45 years, said. She has seen three management
companies since she has lived there, E&M being the third and “worst.”
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