Tenants stuck in middle of management fight

While two sides of the Bronx Heights Neighborhood Community Corporation fight for control, residents say nearly 300 families are left with minimal housing services and a lack of leadership. "They are

News 12 Staff

May 21, 2008, 1:17 AM

Updated 6,045 days ago

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While two sides of the Bronx Heights Neighborhood Community Corporation fight for control, residents say nearly 300 families are left with minimal housing services and a lack of leadership. "They are concerned who to pay rent to, they don't know who is in charge," says Community Board 5 member Xavier Rodriguez. Workers and residents say the fight is between an existing board member and three new potential board members. Some say the current board member is accused of mismanaging funds and allowing the buildings to go into debt.Sources say that because of these problems, the organization's bank accounts have been frozen at Chase Bank. Those frozen funds have left the superintendents and other staff without a paycheck for nearly two months, causing a number of workers to consider a strike.Some say the ongoing disagreement has also led to neglect at the corporation's 10 buildings. The corporation is required to oversee the daily operations of the buildings which are owned by The Department of Housing Preservation and Developement. According to a report, one of the corporation's buildings owes more than $300,000 in water bills dating back to 2003. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development along with Community Board 5 plan to work to ease the situation.