Tenants in a Fordham apartment building are so fed up with what they describe as years of neglect that they are asking a judge to take the property out of their landlord’s hands entirely. About a dozen residents have joined a Housing Court petition seeking a court-appointed administrator to run the building, handle repairs and manage its finances. Longtime tenant Diana Rodriguez says an April fire left her without a home, and she is now shuttling between family members while she waits for a safe, repaired apartment to return to.
Rodriguez, who has lived in the building for about 20 years, was forced out after an April fire on the top floor led to extensive water damage and a city vacate order for her apartment, according to News12 New York. She told the outlet she splits her time between her two daughters and makes regular trips back to check on belongings and medication. The disruption, she said, has taken a serious toll on her health: “Every day I cry. I want to come home. I want my own space to be my own house.” Tenants expect to return to Housing Court in August for further hearings.
Attorneys from the New York Legal Assistance Group, representing the tenants, have asked the court to appoint what is known as a 7A administrator. That person would collect rents and direct the money toward repairs, and the petition names the building’s owners as the Zar Brothers, according to News12 New York. “We’re asking the court to essentially take the building away from the landlord,” James Tourangeau, a senior coordinating attorney at NYLAG, told the outlet. Tenants say many of the building’s problems were there long before the blaze and amount to years of deferred maintenance.
How a 7A administrator works
Under the state’s Real Property Actions and Proceedings law, an Article 7-A case allows a court to appoint an independent administrator to receive and administer rent money, order repairs and use those funds to fix conditions that threaten tenants’ life, health or safety. The statute authorizes the administrator to demand and collect rents, prioritize and pay for specified repairs first and then file an accounting with the court once the work is complete.
The tool can pack a punch. The owner stays on the hook for taxes and liens, but control over management and repair funding shifts to the court-appointed administrator until a judge decides otherwise.
City enforcement and the bigger picture
City officials have leaned more heavily on court orders and financial penalties this year in some high-profile Bronx buildings. In May, the city secured roughly 31 million dollars in penalties and the appointment of an independent restructuring officer to oversee repairs at other troubled Bronx properties, according to an announcement from the Mayor’s Office. Tenant advocates say Article 7-A is an important backstop when traditional enforcement does not convince owners to maintain basic services.
What tenants say and what is next
Organizers and tenants involved in the Fordham case say their petition is aimed squarely at forcing long-delayed repairs and restoring stable housing for residents who report living with hazards and chronic maintenance problems for years. City Council documents and testimony show that Article 7-A remains relatively rare, with only a few dozen buildings in active 7-A proceedings in recent years, although lawmakers and advocates have pushed to make the remedy easier to use in the most severe cases.
The Fordham tenants are slated to return to Housing Court in August as the case moves forward. For now, they say the immediate goal is simple: get residents back into safe apartments as the necessary repairs are completed.
