Damaged wall causes Throggs Neck neighbors to clash
BY ALEX MITCHELL
It doesn’t exactly exude
the same drama being experienced
at the U.S. and Mexico
border, but two Throggs Neck
properties are having a dispute
over a wall.
A chain link fence atop a
3-foot cinder block wall separates
1049 and 1053 Huntington
Avenue; and had not been
an issue between the neighbors
until a bad storm caused
it to tumble onto 1049 Huntington
Avenue on Wednesday,
At 1049 resides 95-year-old
Josefa Abreu, who’s called
Huntington Avenue her home
since 1969. Her neighbor’s
property at 1053 is a rental,
with absentee landlords that
live in Brooklyn.
In the time since the storm
damage, the neighbors have
been clashing over whose responsibility
it is to foot the bill
for to clean up the debris and
make the necessary repairs to
the fence and cinderblock wall.
Josepha’s daughter and
trustee to the property, Leticia
Abreu has been handling
the ongoing debacle for her elderly
She admits that the wall
The collapsed wall in dispute. Couresty of Leticia Abreu
was fi rst erected when her
parents moved to Throggs
Neck in 1969.
However, since that time
Leticia says that the various
owners of 1053 have modifi ed
the wall.
Thus, she and her mother
don’t believe its their responsiblity
to cover the costly repairs.
“I have dated photos of the
original wall, it’s hardly even
a wall, just a little cinderblock
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mother.
line that we installed,” Leticia
said.
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At that time, 1053 Huntington
Avenue was still an undeveloped
lot. Leticia says it was
when the house was built that
the cinderblock wall was modifi
ed and raised to meet the
new property’s higher grade.
When the NYC Department
of Buildings got involved
this summer, they inspected
the collapsed wall two times,
when an inspector found the
wall to be “not maintained in
a code-compliant manner and
issued violations.” Those violations
were issued to Leticia
and her mother.
While DOB “does not comment
on disputes or litigation
between property owners,” the
agency’s summons included a
$1,250 fi ne to a nonagenarian
who never laid a fi nger on the
modifi ed property divider, according
to Leticia.
Evan Chen along with two
colleagues purchased 1053
Huntington Avenue in December
of 2017. He explained
to the Bronx Times that he is
unfamiliar with the wall’s history
of changes.
“When we purchased the
property there was no mention
of a modifi cation to the
wall,” Chen said. “We were
told the wall isn’t part of the
property,” he added.
Meanwhile, Leticia continues
to fi ght the DOB’s fi ne
tooth and nail while trying to
obtain accurate answers on
the issues.
“We can’t get a straight answer
on this. Some architects
and contractors say that it belongs
to (1053 Huntington Avenue)
and others say that it belongs
to us,” Leticia said. “Yet,
I was never given any valid
proof that it’s our wall,” she
added.
Leticia has reached out to
Councilman Mark Gjonaj regarding
the wall while she
awaits the results of a DOB
hearing held on Friday, November
2.
While Gjonaj’s offi ce continues
an investigation into
the wall dispute, Letica and Josefa
Abreu seek pro bono legal
assistance with the matter.
marc linold - lenny