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<\/a>THE SUPER OF 2995 Botanical Square sweeps up debris after part of the building\u2019s fa\u00e7ade came crashing down onto the sidewalk on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.Photo by David Greene<\/p>\n
Bronx residents of four apartment buildings at Botanical Square in Bedford Park have been without a gas service for over a year since a Webster Avenue water main<\/a> on Dec. 16, 2024, caused havoc in the local area, as reported<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On Saturday, Jan. 31, David Ruiz, a resident of 2985 Botanical Square told Norwood News, \u201cWe still don\u2019t have gas and it\u2019s going on for the whole 13 months.\u201d Besides preparing meals on a hot plate, provided by the management company, Residential Management, for his wife, mother, and himself, due to the ongoing gas outage, Ruiz alleged the building\u2019s new oil-fueled boiler heating system, installed in the building\u2019s basement in December 2025, is not doing the job.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey put in this new boiler, but the apartments are cold,\u201d Ruiz said. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s not heating the apartment. It\u2019ll come up for a little while and then it will turn off. Like right now, there\u2019s no heat on and the apartment is getting cold because the temperature outside is dropping down. On top of that, like I said, we have no gas, so we have to use a rotisserie to cook with or a hotplate to cook with, and that\u2019s more electricity we\u2019re using.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ruiz said prior to the installation of the new oil boiler in December 2025, two tractor trailers containing portable oil boilers had been stationed outside 2985 and 2995 Botanical Square for around a year and had been supplying heat and hot water to the buildings as a temporary measure. Norwood News had also witnessed them. Ruiz did not say whether those boilers had been good or bad.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s unknown how many apartments across the four buildings comprising 2958, 2965, 2985 and 2995 Botanical Square, managed by Residential Management with a Brooklyn address, are impacted but the super for 2985 and 2995 Botanical Square confirmed at least these two buildings were entirely without gas service. Asked what the problem was, the super said, \u201cThe problem is the flooding from last year [2024].\u201d He said a new boiler was installed at 2985 Botanical Square on Dec. 15, 2025, and that everyone in the building has heat.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n When told of Ruiz\u2019s claim of little or no heat in that same building, the super said, \u201cIt\u2019s working. What do you mean? It\u2019s a new boiler there.\u201d He affirmed, \u201cThey have heat, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The super also said the gas piping in the basement had been fixed and that they were currently waiting on Con Edison to turn on the service. \u201cCon Edison doesn\u2019t give anybody an answer,\u201d he said. \u201cThey say next week, two weeks, next three weeks, next month. They do whatever they want.\u201d He added, \u201cIt\u2019s fixed, but they don\u2019t come to open (the gas lines). I don\u2019t know why they take so long.\u201d<\/p>\n A search by Norwood News of NYC Department of Buildings (DOB)\u2019 records show 2985 Botanical Square owes $9,000 in DOB fines. Asked for a comment, the super replied, \u201cI have no idea about that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n DOB records also show 13 total violations for the same building, including 4 active violations, three for issues with the elevator and one for issues with \u201cgas piping.\u201d The fines totaling $9,000 related to the three elevator violations.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) listed 109 complaints for the property in the last two years, two currently open, 74 violations of varying classes, 73 Work Orders, and 37 closed litigation cases filed by tenants (with no harassment findings).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A Google review of Residential Management gave the property manager a rating of 2.5 out of 5. One review, posted by Monica Ramirez, read, \u201cDo not rent from them, they are the worst.\u201d Meanwhile, Matthew wrote, \u201cMy living conditions have been a living nightmare for the past several years.\u201d Summer added, \u201cWorst people in the world. Worst management team. Worst leasing agents. Terrible people,\u201d and Ashley Abercrombie added, \u201cThey did not disclose there was no gas in the building. Lived (there) six months while pregnant with no gas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Better Business Bureau gave Residential Management an \u201cF\u201d rating \u201cfor failure to reply\u201d to three complaints against the management company.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The property is owned by GL Botanical LLC, with an address at 1651 Coney Island, the same address as for Residential Management. The landlord is not listed on the landlord watchdog list of worst landlords, compiled by NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.<\/p>\n Norwood News was at 2995 Botanical Square on Saturday, Jan. 31, after a piece of the building\u2019s facade came crashing down onto the pavement and the fire department was called. FDNY officials reported that \u201cpartial debris fell from building\u201d at 2.48 p.m. There were no injuries reported and fire officials roped off the area with yellow caution tape.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The building\u2019s super was observed sweeping up the debris, and DOB was called to the building to inspect its fa\u00e7ade. Norwood News has reached out to DOB for comment on the incident and will share any feedback we receive.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n David Maggiotto, DOB deputy press secretary said that on the afternoon of Jan. 31, DOB inspectors were called to 2995 Botanical Square following reports of debris falling from a roof. \u201cAt the premises, a 6-story, mixed-use building, inspectors observed the exterior walls in disrepair with a section cement stucco measuring approximately 2 X 5 feet having fallen from the 5th floor level,\u201d he said. \u201cNo injuries reported. Area below the damaged section was cordoned-off with caution tape at time of inspection, and egress to building was not compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Maggiotto continued, \u201cDOB issued an OATH\/ECB violation to the building owner for failure to maintain the exterior of the building, and ordered the building owner to provide a Professional Engineer\u2019s report to the Department on the building\u2019s structural stability. DOB also ordered the owner to construct approximately 40 linear feet of sidewalk shed to provide overhead protection for the area below the damaged fa\u00e7ade.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As reported, the New York City Council announced on June 20, 2024, the passage of the Billingsley Terrace Structural Integrity Act<\/a>, sponsored by City Council Member Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14), which is designed to establish a first-of-its-kind, proactive inspection program at NYC Department of Buildings (DOB). The bill was in response to the partial building collapse that occurred at 1915 Billingsley Terrace in Morris Heights on Dec. 11, 2023, forcing over 150 tenants to lose their homes, as reported. DOB later released its report findings<\/a> on the incident.<\/p>\n Norwood News also attempted to reach Residential Management several times to ask questions about the gas service, complaints about lack of heat and hot water, as well as the four DOB violations, and the $9,000 in civil penalty fines it has incurred, but no one answered the phone at the Brooklyn office, and the answering machine was full.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The super had provided a phone number for the property agent \u201cManny,\u201d but he did not pick up either and his answering machine was also full. Manny did mention a contact email address on his voicemail but didn\u2019t spell it out and it was inaudible.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It is not the first time we have had difficulty connecting to property owners based in Brooklyn. As reported<\/a>, after the commercial fire<\/a> on Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood in 2023, Norwood News attempted unsuccessfully to reach the owner of the affected lot, Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC, for comment on several occasions and in different ways. Eventually, in 2025, we visited the owner\u2019s physical office, also based in Brooklyn, at 1122 Avenue J. No contact information or indication that the business was located at the address could be found, as reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>FIRE OFFICIALS ROPE off 2995 Botanical Square after part of its fa\u00e7ade came crashing to the pavement on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.
Photo by David Greene<\/p>\n<\/a>CARS ARE SEEN semi-submerged in flood waters along Webster Avenue in Norwood, as seen from the Mosholu Parkway overpass, on Monday night, Dec. 16, 2024, after a water mains burst.
Photo courtesy of Erik Gonzalez<\/p>\n<\/a>AN UNKNOWN NUMBER of residents in four buildings at Botanical Square in Bedford Park have been without gas since a watermain break on Webster Avenue and Mosholu Parkway North in Bedford took place, as seen in this photo dated Dec. 17, 2024, when workers were seen making repairs.
Photo by David Greene<\/p>\n