BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY December 23, 2018 8
Demolition underway at troublesome Schley Ave. property
BY ALEX MITCHELL
A longtime Throggs Neck eyesore
is fi nally headed for a landfi
ll.
The decrepit one-family home
at 3011 Schley Avenue, which has
been housing rats and mosquitoes,
will soon be replaced by a brand
new 2-family brick house
The current delapidated frame
structure, which was condemned
by the NYC Department of Buildings,
began deteriorating 10 years
ago under James Mau’s ownership.
Mau, an absentee owner, fought
an uphill battle to maintain the
home on the below-grade parcel despite
enduring chronic fl ooding,
which resulted in a basement and
backyard that was reminescent of
the Louisiana bayou.
According to neighbors the
property’s basement and backyard
often sat under at least a foot of water
and emitted a foul odor, while
also serving as a mosquito breeding
ground.
“It languished for years as an
eyesore to the community,” said
Lynn Gerbino of the Throggs Neck
Homeowners association. “Neighbors
couldn’t even use their backyards
because it was like a swamp
back there,” Gerbino added, mentioning
that because of the property’s
low grade water would inadvertently
run off onto neighboring
properties.
The weed-infested backyard
needed a sump pump running 24/7
to drain the swamp-like fi eld, she
said.
While that sparsely developed
portion of Schley Avenue doesn’t
have too many homes, the homeowners
on adjacent Hollywood and
Logan avenues, felt the ramifi cations
of the property’s demise.
“The property faced trespassing
too,” said Community Board
10 district manager Matt Cruz. He,
along with the area’s elected offi -
cials, had been working with the
city to devise a plan to rehabilitate
the property.
The foreclosure process on the
property was a lengthy one because
it was diffi cult to track down
the last owner. Besides, there was
little left to salvage, Cruz said.
“After some years we realized
(the house) was beyond rehabbing,”
Cruz added.
It was around that time when
Eric Totaram purchased the Fannie
Mae mortgaged property in a
foreclosure auction.
Having purchased 3011 Schley
Avenue at the end of 2017, sight unseen,
he was unaware of its poor
condition or the neighbors’ ongoing
frustrations.
Totaram immediately fenced
off the property to prevent trespassing.
Totaram started razing the offensive
structure as soon as he acquired
a demolition permit.
He estimates the property to
be fully demolished by Christmas
the absolute latest.
“I’m not going to let it sit like
other property owners (did),” Totaram
said.
His plan is to replace the eyesore
with a two-family home.
Plans for the new detached brick
house are still in the approval
process, but Totaram has high
hopes.
“This is the most progress that
neighbors have seen in a decade
down here,” he said. “We hope to
have earned their trust and give
the area something nice and give
these neighbors their backyards
back too,” the responsible property
owner added.
As far as winning over the
community goes, Gerbino is fully
on board with the plan. “This
would be wonderful for the neighborhood,”
she said.
The house at 3011 Schley Avenue was demolished on Tuesday, December 4. Schneps Community News Group/ Alex Mitchell
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