Even as developers eye the Bronx, tenants continue to suffer in slums

The year 2011 saw many new affordable developments for the Bronx, but was marred by the unrelenting problem of slumlords, the New York Daily News reported. The city’s most beleaguered borough added Fordham Village, a house for veterans returning from war, as well as Serviam Gardens, a home for senior citizens in Bedford Park. New shopping developments such as Co-op City in Kingsbridge, were eyed by developers. However, as distressed properties were traded by banks, and defunct firms still sorted out the mess post-Lehman real estate crash, Bronx tenants often got the short end of the stick, the News said.

Mount Eden tenants — at 1520 Sheridan Avenue — suffered without cooking gas, and moved to sue a landlord they collectively refer to as “the Grinch,” and slumlord Luigi Capriglione had possession of a Belmont property — 4619 Park Avenue — summarily ended by a judge. Four people were killed in fires in apartment buildings that had illegal subdivisions in the Bronx last year, the News said.

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There is talk of new development in the borough — a hotel near Yankee Stadium, and the possible conversion of the Kingsbridge Armory to a velodrome. But fixing the Bronx’s endemic housing problems may be an uphill battle as city and federal investigations planned for the year could reveal systemic corruption, the News said. [NYDN]