Disclosure: Due to no access to directly interview Marlene, her story here is being told from the point-of-view of a friend and associate, Esdras Santana. Due to privacy, the building address could not be released. 

“Gentrification is happening everywhere to so many poor individuals of color,” says Esdras Santana, a young Dominican woman recently affected by gentrification in Washington Heights.  For many residents of Washington Heights, the phenomenon of gentrification is growing tremendously.

Washington Heights residents who have experienced gentrification have seen a great deal of emotional impact upon the quality of their lives.  It has resulted in the destroying of cultural traditions communities and the rise of tensions.

Beginning in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, there was an influx of Jewish refugees in Washington Heights.  Then later after WW2, an influx of African-Americans began flowing into the neighborhood from Southern states and parts of Harlem that were beginning to be significantly overcrowded.  In addition, an influx of Dominicans began migrating to the area in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s due to political instability and repression under the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina.  All of these influxes helped the neighborhood become more diverse and culturally vibrant. Washington Heights attracted quite a number of professional creative individuals such as actors, musical artists, and dancers, etc.

Esdras Santana, Marlene, and her husband are Latino residents who were displaced from their Washington Heights apartments.  Marlene, a teacher, and her fiancee at the time, who is a police officer, wanted to purchase an apartment in the neighborhood.  As Esdras explained, the couple went to check out the apartment and immediately recognized that the “kitchen sink needed repairs as it was in terrible condition and barely working.”  Marlene and her husband told the landlord, on countless occasions, that they would like the kitchen to be fixed and in good condition.  After some time, according to Esdras, “the landlord began to get annoyed as if they were being demanding and asking for things that any normal human being would not be asking for.”  Unfortunately, as a result, the landlord rejected selling the couple the apartment.  In fact, the landlord wanted more for the apartment and figured that the couple would not agree to paying more, decided to ignore their request to have the kitchen sink fixed.  This couple was essentially prevented and pushed away from renting the apartment space.

This situation is not particularly unique, as many of these landlords will reject renting/selling a living space to an individual or some individuals who can actually pay but are wise enough to not pay anything more than what it is worth.  So via hear-say, the landlord had a plan to increase rent prices and try to rent to others who are less qualified and possibly more vulnerable to have the space.  Santana reported that the couple “for some months was left frantically searching for another place to live.”  That experience and the process and struggle of searching for another location left the couple feeling emotionally stressed.  Santana added that having spoken with Marlene a couple weeks after she and her husband’s purchase was rejected, that she could “hear how unsure Marlene had now become about finding a decent and affordable place to live” and also how stressed she was about beginning again the entire process of securing a place to live by a certain time.  Santana shared that Marlene and her husband would have really wanted to live within a neighborhood that was predominantly Latino and where they be a part of and contribute to their cultural traditions.  Moreover, the emotional toll of gentrification on Marlene and her husband’s work life was significant. Having to balance going to work and keeping a job while having to constantly search for somewhere to live took immense work and sacrifice.

The story of Santana’s gentrification started with the owners sending a letter asking her to vacate the premises by a certain date; however, she added, “that date was within one month of receiving the letter.”  Santana and her family did not leave within the time-frame and decided to fight that displacement for three years.  “Though we fought hard to stay there, they wanted to really get us out and if we had ever felt into arrears with our rent, that would have given them an easier opportunity to do so.  The fact that they refused to leave, the owners refused to give them a lease which left Santana and her family with very little rights.

After Santana’s husband was harassed in the courts when they unfortunately fell into arrears with their rent, some time was given (about six months) for them to get out of arrears, but the fact that they did not possess a lease, made it much harder for them to stay.  Santana reflected that to live years of your life fighting daily to remain with a roof over your head takes a lot of strength and eventually becomes tiring and stressful.  It is important to note that Santana’s building was a coop with no ‘real’ board approval, that allowed the owners to do whatever they feel no matter the extent of the negative impact on the tenants.  For Santana and her family, those three years felt so much like a cat and mouse game, being constantly chased and not knowing when you could finally be kicked out and then having to quickly figure out where you would go, if a place to live had not yet been found.  Santana actually went to visit her old building some time ago and surprisingly, heard that most of the other tenants had to leave as well, when their rents were raised by a certain percentage and they could no longer afford to live there. Similar to Marlene and her husband, for Santana, having a tense fight with the owners many times and having the owners’ lawyers harass you is an extra added stress, that made her at one point quite depressed and physically sick at moments during the struggle.

Eventually, Santana and her family found a new place where they have been living for about  a year now.  She remarked how much more peace of mind and less stress she and her family now feel. She acknowledges that the conflict over gentrification in Washington Heights is definitely increasing, not only within the housing market, but also with neighborhood restaurants and chain stores leading the way.

The facade of the controversial Pelham Grand Building Credit: therealdeal.com

BY JENNA BAGCAL

The Pelham Grand lives up to its name in stature, its daunting exterior covering the entire corner of Pelham Parkway South and Saint Paul Avenue. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary apartment complex that houses families who live in the neighborhood. But residents and community activists have quite a different story to tell about the building, one that is not so “grand.”

Since 2006, when Moujan Vadhat purchased the Pelham Grand, which was formerly Our Lady of Mercy Hospital, there have been many heated debates concerning how the building should be used. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of senior citizens in Pelham Bay, Co-Op City and Schuylerville from 2010 to 2012 reached 22,591 individuals. The general consensus is that the neighborhood has a great need for housing senior citizens and retired veterans. But despite vehement protest, plans for senior and veteran housing have not materialized.

“There are things the community wants, and there are things the community has no real say over,” says Annie Boller, a Pelham Bay resident and current member of Community Board 10 in the Bronx. “The building is not city owned, it’s privately owned and as such, the owner can do, to a certain extent, whatever he wants with it,” she adds.

But the bigger problem at hand is that lack of information between people within the Pelham Bay community and developers of the building has left residents feeling blindsided by the developments in their community.

According to a Daily News article, Vadhat signed a deal to create low-cost housing for adults with “chronic diseases.” This plan for “transitional housing” has angered the residents of Pelham Bay, who said that these plans were made without notifying them first. The Pelham Grand is now being leased by a nonprofit organization called AIDS Service Center NYC, more commonly known by its acronym, ASCNYC. According to their website, their mission statement is “helping many, one by one by building community, connection and stability for New Yorkers living with, and at risk for HIV/AIDS.” After leasing the Pelham Grand for three years, the ASCNYC opened their doors to residents in mid-July of this year, with about a dozen people currently in residence there.

The Pelham Grand has seen many proposals and transformations before its current state, many of which did not have the funding to back them up. Some of the proposed ideas left residents wary of the legitimacy of the developers wishing to buy the property. Egidio Sementilli, a Pelham Bay resident who has been outspoken against this issue, calls what is currently being done with the Pelham Grand “fraudulent.” Sementilli says that residents and elected community officials have never seen a legitimate contract from the ASCNYC and do not know from where they received their funding. “It’s all a scam,” Sementilli says angrily, “nothing but a tax write-off for the land lord of the building.”

Sementilli and a large amount of Pelham Bay residents, who are against the transitional housing development, have held numerous rallies to protest the ASCNYC occupancy of the building. During the summer, Sementelli lead a rally, along with residents Patrick Stranzl and Lou Rocco. Hundreds of residents marched in front of the Pelham Grand, holding placards and chanting “Save Pelham Bay.” Sementelli says that everyone in the community came together in protest. A public meeting was also held back in August at Saint Theresa’s Church, where community members filled the church pews and voiced their concerns in a more organized forum.

In an article by the Bronx Chronicle, an online news publication, readers got an inside look at an apartment in the Pelham Grand building. The editorial, written by Lewis H. Goldstein is entitled “The Pelham Grand: Just The Facts, Please” and includes pictures of a current resident’s home, which look very different from the pictures provided on the website for the Pelham Grand “luxury apartments.” The building’s website, thepelhamgrand.com, shows  pictures of apartment buildings that appear more lavish than the pictures from the Bronx Chronicle piece. “The entire website is a lie,” says Sementilli, “the pictures were either from another property, or just gathered from the web, because what’s in the pictures was never actually there.”

Local elected officials have also expressed empathy toward the residents of Pelham Bay who objected to the ASCNYC housing project. In a Bronx Times article, Senator James Vacca and Jeff Klein were advocating for senior housing to be built at the Pelham Grand. “This [senior housing] is what the neighborhood expected when the hospital closed,” Vacca said in the article. In the same article, the CEO of the ASCNYC, Sharen Duke said that she believed the housing was a “win-win” for everyone involved. “It is a win for the community, it is a win for local businesses, and it is a win for the recipients of services,” said Duke. Residents do not share the same sentiments.

The neighborhood debate over the Pelham Grand is one that is ongoing. Lack of communication has ignited massive tensions within the community, who cannot do more than protest for their cause. “The people have been getting frustrated because we were told we cannot do anything since it’s private property,” said Sementilli. “But when an organization gets involved, it becomes a public matter.”

On a cold December night on the corner of Willow Avenue and 135th Street in the Bronx, there is a line of men who all want one thing, a bed to sleep in and a cooked meal. As the dozens of men impatiently wait to be called to be checked in and receive their linen, there is a sense of desperation in the air and loud bantering that echoes through the walls. For the workers, it is just another long night of keeping their patience, filling out paperwork, and making sure the men have a bed to sleep in.

On a frigid night, a homeless man stands outside the Willow Avenue Shelter.

Being homeless is difficult, especially with the holidays approaching. But it is also hard for the shelters that house the homeless. Like the rest of New York City, Willow Shelter is struggling with the dramatic increase of the homeless population. The homeless population is nearly at 60,000 and continues to escalate. Of this population, Willow Shelter serves 169 men who come from all walks of life, all different races, criminal backgrounds, history of drug addictions, psychological problems, and the list goes on and on. While all odds are against shelters like Willow including lack of resources, funds, and not knowing who comes walking through their doors, the question is how are they still able to serve the men who are sent to them by the Department of Homeless Shelters?

One of the major catalysts for homelessness is the lack of funds provided. This creates a whole bunch of problems, including insufficient staffing. A House Manager at the shelter explains that staffing can get low and this can affect the way they service their residents. Randy Caro stated, “Even though we serve the residents to the best of our ability, it can be difficult to keep up with the amount of work, including the physical and psychological exhaustion that we go through.”

The scarcity of staff causes a bigger problem when Willow is faced with residents who are using drugs and display very aggressive and violent behavior. Residents do not like to follow any of the rules and regulations implemented in the shelter system. They feel that they should be allowed to do what they want. As a result, when they are re-directed, they become angry and get aggressive with staff, especially when under the influence of narcotics.

Troy Martin, a worker at the shelter, explained how the staff deals with these types of problems. “We are well trained to intervene. In addition, we must be firm in the way we intervene and be accurate in documentation to avoid any punitive litigation,” he said. The reason why Martin and the staff must avoid any punitive litigation is because the Department of Homeless Shelters contracts agencies including Willow Shelter, to provide services for them which come with guidelines that they must abide by. As a result, agencies cannot implement their own plan of action. This results into staff having to be hands off. “Since we are hands off, clients are allowed to evade discipline and cause disturbance in the operations of services through a coalition team formulated to advocate for them,” he said.

The coalition team mentioned above is part of the Department of Homeless Shelters. Each shelter is given a Program Analyst and a Program Administrator, who both function as a liaison between the DHS and the shelters. One of the Associate Directors from a local shelter who decided to be off the record because of the sensitivity of the situation stated, “The shelter’s relationship with DHS is positive and productive, but meetings can sometimes become intense. They also change leaders quite often, and with new leadership, most of the time comes new ideas and constant changes. I would like to see more assessment though before changes are implemented.”

A spokesperson for DHS explained their mission and stated, “The mission of DHS is to prevent homelessness when possible and to provide short-term, emergency shelter for individuals and families who have no other housing options available to them.” DHS is an agency comprised of 2,000 employees and has an annual budget of approximately $1 billion. In 2014, the agency implemented a new commissioner,Gilbert Taylor. In partnership with the new mayor, Bill de Blasio, they are trying to focus in on the city’s increasing homeless population that has faced a 13% surge, according to the mayor’s office.

Before most of these problems erupted, Palladia Inc., the agency Willow Shelter is part of, was founded in 1970. It is one of the largest non-profit multi-service agencies of its kind in NYC. It is an agency that serves both families and individuals who are struggling with substance abuse, homelessness, mental illness, trauma, domestic violence, issues of behavioral health, and transitioning from the criminal justice system. According to Palladia’s 2013 Annual Report, 17,500 New Yorkers received Palladia services and 1,560 people sleep each night in Palladia residential programs or housing units. It can be hard to support these individuals, especially when the total expenses for the services they offer sits at $50,004,187 for 2013. While the total support and revenue they received sits under their expenses at $44,045,893. There is clearly a lack of funds and this in turn affects the services Palladia offers, including the Willow Avenue Shelter.

Although there is a lack of funds, staff continues to strive to serve their residents and to try to find them permanent housing outside of the shelter system. A Case Manager at the shelter who is one of the individuals in charge of trying to find housing for the residents reflected on her experiences at the shelter. Roberta White stated, “As a Case Manager, I witness people come into the shelter system believing there is housing. But once they are assessed and meet with a Case Manager, they become informed that there is limited housing for them. As a Case Manager, I understand their frustration. However, I try and find other housing for them. This entails seeking employment to move into a room, residential treatment, or returning them back home to their families.”

With all these problems that are against shelters like Willow Avenue Shelter, there is a puzzle that needs to be solved regarding where the future lies for housing the homeless in New York City. One of the possible pieces that might complete the puzzle is opening new shelters across the city. As reported by Mayor de Blasio’s office, the mayor has opened 23 new shelters in 11 months. But will opening shelters really solve the problem? Troy Martin, a worker at the shelter, doesn’t believe so. “I don’t think opening 11 shelters will solve the problem. However, it will give more beds to house people who need the services. The primary goal is to get them housing. They need more transitional places to provide housing. For example, an apartment building designed to house residents from shelters. This will not only provide more jobs but residents will also have supervision, which will help them avoid returning to shelters and relapsing from addiction.”

A resident of the shelter, Joseph Brown, agrees that more housing needs to be developed. “The city needs to build new and better housing instead of building new shelters. I always wanted my own apartment, but I can’t afford it,” he said.

February 9^th 2014, 6:30 P.M. Lilia Naydensky, had just received a distressing phone call-one of her dear friends had passed away. She left work, emotionally wrecked and began walking to her car parked on Brighton Beach. Her head-dazed, heart-broken, vision-blurred from the tears running down her face, legs-struggling to move, with keys in hand and a purse around her wrist, Naydensky trudged through the dark streets. Suddenly she felt a sharp blow to her skull, followed by a tall man attempting to grab her purse. The bag was a precious gift from her daughter so she held on. The stranger repeatedly continued hitting her until she was forced to let go, leaving the man victorious and her defeated on the cold cement.

Five months after filing her report, Naydensky, a middle aged hair dresser, called the 60^th Precinct in hopes of receiving a positive update on her case. Instead she was told some startling information.

“The officer informed me, that between February and July alone, 60 more women had filed robbery reports similar to mine. He said that most of the incidents happened around Brighton Beach.”

Brighton Beach, a predominantly Russian community located in the southern region of Brooklyn New York, is commonly associated with ethnic stores selling Russian trinkets such as Cheburashka cartoons and beautiful gzhel-style ceramics, a genuine boardwalk and crowded beaches. There is indeed one more unmentioned aspect,that is quite often ignored or even unknown. Brighton’s streets are crawling with unforeseen dangers, lurking criminals and a high crime rate, all of which make it difficult for woman of all ages to feel safe.

According to the 60^th Precinct- the police station which oversees Brighton’s affairs, between May 1^st 2014 through November 23, 2014 there have been a total of 2 rapes, 1 murder, 40 robberies, 32 felony assaults, 30 burglaries, 82 grand larcenies, and 5 grand larceny (auto). Of the crimes listed, 70 involved female victims.

Noticeably, the most common trend is grand larceny or theft, which when compared to similar offenses such as burglary, and robbery, is considered the least lethal because the perpetrator uses no force.

One example of an attempted theft happened in July 2013 at 3:00 am to then 19 year old Alena Meyerovich who was returning from a party in the city with a female friend. Meyerovich and company stepped off the train at Brighton Beach and began walking down the stairs leading to the station.

“ We knew someone had followed us off the train.”Meyerovich began. “We made sure to let him leave before us, while we waited inside the station.  But apparently as we were waiting upstairs he was waiting downstairs. After a few minutes we decided it was safe and began walking down the short block that leads to my house. Halfway there, I felt a hand on my bag. At some point my instincts just kicked in, I turned around looked him dead in the eyes and yelled NO! He got intimidated and began moving back, hands, together, saying I’m sorry, I’m sorry. My friend kept an eye on him as he walked away, while I opened the front door. Looking back, as scary as the incident was, I can only imagine how horribly different the whole scenario may have panned out. I consider us lucky.”

According to point2home.com, a website which outlines each neighborhood’s demographics including lifestyle, income and crime, reported that out of the national average risk of 100, Brighton Beach has a 185 risk  of personal crime, 258 risk of robbery, 207 risk of assault, and 111 risk of car theft. All of which are exceedingly higher than the national average.

“This year we definitely had a spike in crime”, declared Officer Darwiche, of the 60^th Precinct. “Last year’s crime rate was unusually below average, so I guess you can say this year made up for it. But whenever we see a specific trend, we immediately send out more policemen to cover the area with the most incidents. This year we’ve had about 80 cops patrolling the beaches. We believe that if someone sees a cop, the idea of doing something bad, won’t even cross their mind.”

Officer Darwiche recommends that if a woman believes something may happen, she should avoid hesitation and call the police.

“Often when we receive calls from people who have a feeling something may go wrong, they usually start by saying: sorry to bother you. But they forget we get paid to do this, it’s not like we’re sleeping and they tell us to jump out of bed.” Officer Darwiche said chuckling.

But not every women feels at ease about contacting the police. At times the police encounter may actually lead to an even more uncomfortable situation.

In the winter of 2012, a young lady, who has asked to remain anonymous, followed her gut instinct and decided to file a complaint with the police regarding a middle aged man who on sight would follow her. At first she figured the man was just deranged but harmless since he never attempted to touch her/talk to her. That was until one night when from the corner of her eye she saw him watching her. She crossed the road, and he followed, but this time he trailed behind all the way to her house. She made it inside without any altercations but was left traumatized and decided to file a report. Due to Sandy temporarily closing down the 60th Precinct, she had to go to the 61st^st Precinct. The officers wickedly smiled as she told her story, and mocked her with sarcastic comments such as “Wow that sounds like a nightmare!” and “ Brighton? Isn’t that the place where we found a head, a couple months back? Hmm hope you don’t end up like that!”

“Such a situation, should have received more sympathy.” Officer Darwiche commented. “But here’s the thing, many cops have seen such horrible crimes, that smaller incidents, such as a possible stalker, disappear into the background. It’s like this-if you live by a train your whole life, after a while do you still hear it?  No. But is the train still there? Yes, it just turns into white noise.”

To avoid any potential risk altogether the 60^th Precinct advises women of all ages to always be on their best guard. They insist on avoiding traveling alone, especially at night and avoid walking with headphones in ears and phone directly in hand. Also it is important to remember to always lock ones doors.

The 60^th precinct has also recently launched their own Twitter page, in hope of raising awareness, by providing safety tips for the general public. With an optimistic tone Officer Darwiche added, “It won’t eliminate crime altogether, but it is a step in the right direction.”