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Maria Gonzalez, tenant at Jerome Avenue apartment, fights for better living conditions

A Bronx tenant who reported living in squalid conditions is continuing her fight for a better apartment. Maria Gonzalez, a mother of five, moved into her Jerome Avenue apartment on March 1. She claims

News 12 Staff

Jun 27, 2014, 8:14 PM

Updated 3,819 days ago

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A Bronx tenant who reported living in squalid conditions is continuing her fight for a better apartment.
Maria Gonzalez, a mother of five, moved into her Jerome Avenue apartment on March 1. She claims that when she first went to look at the place, it was not in the best of conditions.
Gonzalez says her landlord, Mohammed Ahsanuddin, from Hafeeza Realty, promised to fix the apartment, but nothing had changed when she moved in.
When News 12 first visited the Section 8-approved apartment on May 29, it had holes in its walls and floor, lead paint and roaches. Days after the story aired, the New York City Housing Authority, which runs Section 8, inspected the place, which failed to pass.
This past Monday, 21 days after the NYCHA inspection, there were still holes in the walls and dead rats littered about. Some repairs have been made, such as the removal of lead paint and filling of some holes with foam.
Gonzalez filed complaints with 311 and has been asking for a transfer for months, but has been denied. NYCHA policy states that transfers may be requested after one year of living in an apartment.
News 12 reached out to NYCHA several times for comment, but no response was given.
The chair of the Committee on Public Housing says Gonzalez can ask for another transfer, which will be approved.
Now that the paperwork has been submitted, Gonzalez is waiting for a response.
Gonzalez's landlord issued a statement saying the problems were not present before she moved in, and she has been uncooperative in helping to maintain the apartment.