Bronx Tenants of 2205 Davidson Ave Celebrate Major Milestones in Campaign to Take Collective Ownership of their Building

Accomplishments Include Entry into the City’s Third Party Transfer Program and Securing 80% Tenant Household Support for Coop Conversion

Bronx, NY—Tenants of 2205 Davidson Avenue held a press conference today to celebrate major milestones in their campaign to take collective ownership of their building. After a decade-long battle over control of the building with their landlord David Kornitzer of New Day Housing Corp., who owes over $25 million in property taxes, tenants say they are closer than ever before to securing the future of their homes through resident ownership and governance.

“We the tenants are declaring our interest in turning into a co-op after a long process of trying to be reinstated into the Third Party Transfer Program,” said Arturo Miranda, a tenant at 2205 Davidson Ave. “We are gathering as a tenant association today to celebrate what a great victory this is.”

Joined by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), Legal Aid Society, a representative from the office of Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, and community residents; tenants announced their building’s entry into the City’s Third Party Transfer (TPT) Program to remove their absentee landlord. They also announced their collection of signatures of support from 80% of tenant households and say they have made progress to secure the partnership of a Pre-Qualified Sponsor—both requirements of the NYC Department of Housing and Preservation for co-op conversion.

“Organizing with my building and the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition has allowed me to reach the desired goals that we have been working so hard for,” said tenant Maria Toussiant. “We have been able to get signatures from 80% of tenants who want to convert our building into a co-op, which makes me really happy.”

In March 2024, the Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit on behalf of the tenants of 2205 Davidson Ave. The building has over 800 open violations, 412 of which are class C violations, considered “immediately hazardous.” Tenants have endured pests, mold, collapsing ceilings and walls, and a broken elevator in a six-story building with many seniors. HPD has issued the landlord $75,900 in fines through its Alternative Enforcement Program. The City has spent $1.4 million dollars in emergency repairs, inspections and building-wide services such as extermination, according to the NYC Department of Finance.

“We applaud our clients at 2201-05 Davidson Avenue for their steadfast perseverance through decades of neglectful ownership by various landlords, and through a thicket of legal proceedings, to finally realize their goal of becoming owners of their own homes,” said Russell Crane of the Legal Aid Society. “We proudly stand with them as they come even closer to that goal. Their efforts demonstrate what can be achieved when a tenant association of working-class New Yorkers strive together with a singular focus on improving their living conditions and community.”

In addition to celebrating, the tenants and volunteers from NWBCCC organized a cleaning of the building, providing a much-needed service that their landlord has neglected. They hung colorful banners from the stairs and windows that read, “The tenants know what responsible ownership looks like. We have evicted the landlord. We are in control now.” Tenants believe that when they co-own their building, they will be able to ensure responsible management and preserve its affordability for the future.

“To this day I have a bad leak in my bathroom,” said tenant Veronica Arellano. “If we had a responsible landlord, they would come fix it quickly, knowing that it's going to affect other apartments. When the tenants finally start managing the building, these will be issues that will be handled quickly because we all live here and know that all repair issues affect everyone.”

NWBCCC and Councilmember Sanchez have supported the tenants’ efforts in hopes that their success will offer a model for how a reformed TPT Program can work in service of deeply affordable housing. In 2019, the City suspended the TPT Program for unfairly targeting owners who are people of color in financial hardship. Councilmember Sanchez has drafted a bill to reform the program to more carefully target the most negligent landlords and most distressed properties, without taking equity from small homeowners, while also clarifying the pathway to tenant ownership via co-ops.

“For decades, tenants of 2201-05 Davidson Ave fought deplorable conditions by criminally negligent owners: pests, mold, climbing over trash to get in and out of their own building, cave-ins and other structural issues,” said Councilmember Sanchez. “Since taking office, I have supported this fight as the Council’s chair for Housing and Buildings, and most importantly, as their local representative. The city failed to protect these tenants over the years, despite numerous enforcement attempts, and I am proud to have joined these tenants to demand immediate action. Today, the City has finally restarted foreclosure proceedings, and tenants have met initial criteria to secure tenant ownership of the building, organizing, and reclaiming their right to a safe, sustainable and fair living environment. I applaud the tenants of 2201-2205 Davidson for their perseverance, thank Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and Legal Aid Society for their ongoing support, and look forward to supporting them as 2201-2205 tenants finally turn theirs into a success story of resident power and ownership, and become a model for our city.”

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The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) is a 5,000+ member-led, grassroots organization fighting for racial justice and economic democracy to transform the Bronx and beyond. In 2024, we celebrate 50 years of Building Our Bronx Future.

Bronx Tenants of 2205 Davidson Ave Celebrate Major Milestones in Campaign to Take Collective Ownership of their Building

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