185 violations for Bx. ‘scald death’ nonprofit
The nonprofit that oversaw a Bronx apartment where two baby sisters were scalded to death has racked up a citywide high of 185 open violations at a site it manages for the homeless, according to a report.
Investigators for the state Senate Independent Democratic Conference found that 1055 University Ave. in Highbridge, The Bronx, had the most unresolved violations of the so-called cluster sites that the city leases for homeless families.
Units for the homeless in the building are supervised by the Bushwick Economic Development Corp, or BEDCO.
The Brooklyn-based nonprofit also oversees the Hunts Point Avenue apartment where the Ambrose sisters — Ibanez, 2, and Scylee, 1 — suffered lethal steam burns from a faulty radiator last month.
The violations at the University Avenue apartments include rodent and roach infestations, mold, lead paint in some apartments and no smoke and carbonmonoxide detectors, the report found.
BEDCO could not be reached for comment.
“[Homeless people] get sent to places that are so appalling and so deplorable that, if they could, the rats would put in a request for transfer,” said state Sen. Diane Savino (D-SI). “That is how bad our shelter system has gotten.”
The report found that 38 of the 41 cluster sites used by the city for the homeless had open violations. Six of the 10 worst are based in The Bronx.