May 12, 2015
To Horing, Welikson & Rosen, PC 11 Hillside
Avenue, Williston Park, New York
My mother, Carmen Aponte, a senior citizen who resides
at 540 Southern Blvd, apt 8B,receives hand delivered rent receipts monthly but
never did she get a lease renewal for her rent controlled apartment She was
offered a cash incentive of S500 and, later, larger amounts to move to other
apartments within the building and to another building on Burnside Avenue in
The South Bronx.
Prior to that, her mailbox was violated. It was wrenched
halfway out of the wall.
No mail service meant we were cut off from Social
Security. That meant no medicine, no food, no Health Care notifications, no
money to pay Con Edison and the rent. I reported the crime to the police
station on Longwood Avenue and went on to again complain to the
superintendent.
A US letter carrier suggested the superintendent give my
mother one of the mailboxes that survived the vandalism that occurred two days
after my mother was paid a visit by New York City housing inspectors that
warned Richard Liriario, a managing agent of the building, not to interfere
with an investigation when he tried to talk to me. He left apt 8B with several
Dominicans. Two days later, the mailbox was mutilated as if by an explosive. I
took pictures of the damage with a friend’s cell phone.
Later on, the
superintendent gave us mailbox keys to an apartment that Paradise Management
wanted us to move into without a lease (but forthcoming as promised by Richard
Liriario.)
I was told to move into an apartment that wasn’t fully
renovated and lacked refrigerator and stove.
Several weeks later, I talked to a Hasidim named Jacob on the lease, an
important document necessary in renewing State ID, health coverage etc, etc for
my mother and myself.
Jacob heard my concerns while an employee spoke in
Spanish on his cell phone several feet away.
About 18 minutes later, Mr. Liriario got out of his car
and surprised Jacob when he hand delivered to me a lease he wanted my mother to
sign right away. I took the lease to Housing Court where a female clerk advised
me against my mother signing.
After informing me of my mother’s rights and legal
services, she went to get the names of the owner of the building and the
managing company of building 540.
Following the advice of a staff member at the office of Senator Ruben
Diaz, I asked Mr. Liriario to get my name on the lease.
Apt unit 35c was given to a Mexican family that changed
the lock on the mailbox.
We were back to waiting for the post carrier to hand
-deliver our mail until she decided to give us a spare mailbox on the other
side of the building. But when she when she took vacations or became sick, mail
was misplaced by other mail carriers.
In one instance, a Social Security check was misplaced
in the office that overlooks the affairs of families taken out of homeless
shelters and into building 540. I was told by personnel that since my mother
and I are not part of the program they had nothing to do with our mail. I
caught up with the new letter carrier and he went into the office to retrieve
the check.
It was back to Mr. Liriario wanting us to consider other
apartments with the promise of free cash in the thousands of dollars. Mr.
Liriario talked long distance to Carmen Aponte’s brother, who served as a
correction officer in Arizona. Mr. Liriario tried to convince my uncle to
convince his sister to sign.
Mr. Liriario was asked to fax a copy of the lease for my
uncle’s lawyer to examine in Arizona. The conversation between Mr. Liriario and
my uncle took place several months ago.
As of this date, Mr Liriario has failed to comply with
the request to fax the lease.
It was back to being put through hell by Paradise
Management It’s back to been distressed by the sight of my mother act like Anne
Frank in the attic in Nazi Germany. We were made homeless in our home.
My mother is like a child. Every morning, she’s on her
knees praying to God to help us.
She has a bedroom corner view of the funeral parlor. I
want her last days to be peaceful. Instead, the Fire Department arrived after
midnight to see water coming down heavily into the bathroom.
This is not the first time 311 sent the NYFD for water
running down to the bathroom and kitchen ceiling with weaken cabinets, the
floor and my clothes in the closet were soaked. Part of the ceiling fell over
the entrance of the bathroom. Mr. Liriario saw the hole but it took nearly a
month to get it repaired.
The third time was the worse and NYFD couldn’t do anything
about the busted water pipe they found in an apartment above ours. The water
came down for hours.
Mr. Liriario got his workers to start repairs that have
not been completed as of this date.
To make things worse, my mother suffered a fracture to her
arm when she slipped on a rusted shower rod in the kitchen that should have
been discarded by workmen. NYFD medics to took us to Lincoln Hospital. I became
health care attendant 24/7 for 4 months helping her get out of bed slowly.
A week and some
days later, the stress got to me.
I approached two police officers in their squad car. One
of them asked what was wrong.
I coughed blood into the respirator mask in the ambulance
on the way to the ER at Lincoln Hospital.
I spent nearly 12 hours in a gurney in the time of the
Ebola scare in New York City.
I can’t die.
My mother is like a child. Every morning, she’s on her
knees praying to God to help us.
I request Mr. Lirario send one of his employees to
hand-deliver the lease and fix apt 8B.
It would be a belated Mother’s Day gift for Carmen Aponte,
my mother.
Thank you
Sincerely,
Daniel Angel Aponte
Danapontedaad@gmail.com
