Dark mold covered parts of the walls and ceiling, he said, even after management scraped at it. Hernandez scrubbed the bathtub himself and tried to convince his girlfriend to stop using the bathroom altogether and use the one next to it instead.<\/p>\n
She refused in hopes the issue will soon be resolved. Hernandez said she has since developed breathing problems, particularly when she forgets to keep the bathroom door closed after using it. Now, when he asks her to go in quickly, come out as soon as she can and keep the door shut behind her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we have to keep these bathroom doors closed at all times in order for the breathing not to affect us,\u201d Hernandez said.\n<\/p>\n
The two buildings at 950<\/a> and\u00a0955<\/a> Evergreen Ave., contain 357 units and are operated by Nelson Management under city supervision. Hernandez is one of several residents who say the conditions cited in the audit persist make their apartments challenging to live in.<\/p>\n The audit documented exterior holes that could allow pests to enter the buildings, along with widespread water damage, cracked plaster and mold in apartments and common areas. Auditors also cited safety issues, including doors that did not self-close and smoke alarms in need of maintenance.<\/p>\n According to Hernandez, management responded to his girlfriend\u2019s complaints by scraping and plastering the bathroom walls, but the repairs did not last. \u201cThey scraped it off and then they plastered it and got like that again,\u201d he said. \u201cThat plaster just bubbled up as soon as that guy left.\u201d<\/p>\n Hernandez, who is HVAC certified, said he recognized the smell of mold immediately and worried about the effects of continued exposure.\n<\/p>\n Moving is not a realistic option, Hernandez explained. He is not on the lease, and relocating would be complicated and expensive.\n<\/p>\n Dee Clark, who has lived at Evergreen Gardens for about a decade, hasn\u2019t observed organic growth in his apartment, but said rats are a persistent problem around the property.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I say rats, I mean rats,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThey run around here like little puppies.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Mona Park, who has lived at Evergreen Gardens for nearly 50 years, said what troubles her the most about management is a lack of urgency and concern when residents report basic maintenance problems.<\/p>\n Park recently went nearly two weeks without a working refrigerator, even after repeatedly asking that the issue be treated as an emergency. During the same period, she was also waiting for repairs to a clogged bathroom drain.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018Please don\u2019t let me go through the weekend without a refrigerator,\u2019\u201d Park said. \u201cI asked them to treat it as an emergency, and no one got back to me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Under Nelson Management\u2019s ownership, tenants have to submit requests through an app, a system Park described as unreliable and stressful, particularly when staff fail to follow up.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t return phone calls, and they don\u2019t get back to you,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t have to respond, they won\u2019t.\u201d\n<\/p>\n After dumping her fridge contents, leaving some outside and trying to salvage what was left, Park was given an old working refrigerator by the building superintendent, a solution she appreciated but said should not have taken so long.<\/p>\n \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t take that much effort just to get basic help,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n Park wishes she could leave Evergreen Gardens but is afraid she cannot afford to do so.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here if I had the money to move,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m stuck.\u201d In a statement to the Bronx Times, a spokesperson for Nelson Management said the company has made \u201ctremendous progress on capital improvements\u201d since taking over the property in 2021, after what it described as years of neglect by prior owners.<\/p>\n The spokesperson said additional upgrades are planned, but that not all work can be completed at once.\n<\/p>\n The on-site property manager declined to comment. While reporting at the complex, a Bronx Times reporter was removed from the property multiple times by the property manager and was followed by security while attempting to speak with residents.<\/p>\n State Comptroller DiNapoli said resident accounts underscore why the audit focused on on-the-ground conditions.\n<\/p>\n \u201cEvery resident in a Mitchell-Lama home deserves a safe and habitable apartment,\u201d DiNapoli told the Bronx Times in a statement.\n<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the conditions we observed were hazardous. Poor oversight and management allowed these conditions to fester for too long and must be addressed promptly and responsibly.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The comptroller said his office has required the city\u2019s housing agency to report back within 180 days on how it plans to implement the audit\u2019s recommendations and that his office will return in about a year to assess whether conditions have improved.<\/p>\n Hernandez said he doesn\u2019t believe cosmetic repairs are enough.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThey have to find where the leak is coming from and fix everything \u2014 not just one apartment,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t, it\u2019s just going to keep happening.\u201d\n<\/p>\n After management\u2019s plaster repair bubbled, Hernandez said he has considered tearing out the damaged walls himself \u2014 not as a solution, but as a last resort to force more permanent repairs.\n<\/p>\n \u201cLife in the Bronx, man,\u201d he said. \u201cYou gotta be patient and you gotta be wary of how you live \u2014 because even if you have your own comfortable house, it can kill you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Kylie Clifton is a contributing writer at the Bronx Times and a data journalism student at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She can be reached at\u00a0kylie.clifton23@gmail.com<\/a>\u00a0or (269) 615-0800.\u00a0For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t
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Two bathrooms inside Eliezer Hernandez\u2019s apartment at Evergreen Gardens. Hernandez said he asks his girlfriend to avoid using one bathroom because of ongoing breathing issues. Photo by Kylie Clifton.
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Peeling and bubbling plaster in a bathroom inside Eliezer Hernandez\u2019s apartment at Evergreen Gardens. Hernandez said he tries to keep the door shut because the air in the room is affecting his girlfriend\u2019s breathing. Photo by Kylie Clifton.\n<\/p>\n
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Mona Parks, who has lived in the building since July 5, 1976, said brown water has come out of her faucet amid ongoing maintenance concerns in her apartment. Courtesy of Mona Parks\n<\/p>\n