Tenants at 126 W. 83rd St. on New York's Upper West Side say they are living in fear after their landlord entered into an agreement with the city to house homeless individuals and former convicts in their building. The deal, which was not disclosed to current residents, allows up to 30% of the 72 rent-stabilized units to be occupied by adults deemed "hard-to-place," including those with active drug use and mental health issues.
The Tenant Association at the building stated that many residents fear for their safety, citing incidents of open-air drug use, trespassing, and suspected prostitution. "We don’t want to be a shelter. We don’t want to be program housing," one resident told The Post. Tenants also reported smelling potent fumes from crack cocaine and meth through vents and hearing unstable residents screaming obscenities at all hours.
Adding to residents' anxieties is the building's history. In 2023, a neighbor, Maria Hernandez, 74, was murdered by the building's former superintendent, who had been hired without a background check. The current influx of residents, sourced from programs like The Fortune Society, allegedly comes without on-site social workers or oversight, according to tenants.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that many tenants are living in fear for their safety," the Tenant Association said in a statement. Multiple tenants reported that one individual placed in the building in 2024 has been arrested three times since moving in, including twice for stabbings.
The building's ownership history is complex. It was previously owned by a defunct church, St. Timothy’s and St. Matthews Housing Corporation, which accrued over $2.3 million in property tax debt. In 2023, the deed was transferred to a Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC), canceling the debt. That same day, the HDFC entered into a supportive housing agreement with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) without informing current tenants.
Residents charge that the agreement incentivizes the landlord to make living conditions unbearable for current tenants, potentially driving them out. "We know that as we are rent-stabilized tenants, we know that they can’t kick us out, but they could make our living conditions so horrendous that we just choose to leave," said one tenant who has lived in the building for over a decade.
While HPD officials and the prospective new owner, Sisters of Charity, have stated that placements would be capped at eight units, the building's 40-year agreement permits up to 30% of units, or approximately 23 apartments, for alternative placements. An Article XI contract, approved by the New York City Council in 2024, subsidizes landlords for these placements with payments up to $6,000 per month.
New York City typically utilizes congregate housing or scattered-site housing models for supportive housing. The scattered-site model, which this building appears to follow, usually involves regular visits from social workers or crisis teams. However, tenants claim they have never seen any support staff at the building.
A spokesperson for HPD stated that the department is "listening to the residents’ concerns" and working with elected officials to address them. They added that a new property management company has been appointed to strengthen the building's stability and that HPD is exploring a transfer to a nonprofit owner with greater capacity to manage the situation. "As always, our top priority is to ensure the safety and stability of all tenants and their building, preserving much-needed affordable housing in a neighborhood with too little of it," the spokesperson said.