Bronx Tenants, NYLAG, Elected Officials, Advocates Rallied for Critical Home Repairs & to Stop Landlord Harassment w/ 3rd Party 7A Administrator

Bronx Tenants, NYLAG, Elected Officials, Advocates Rallied for Critical Home Repairs & to Stop Landlord Harassment w/ 3rd Party 7A Administrator

• September 17, 2026
• 10:25 am

The Bronx, NY - On Tuesday, tenants at 2440 Walton Ave rallied with Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia, City Council Member Pierina Sanchez, Deputy Public Advocate for Housing Equity Julissa González, their legal team at the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), and the West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center outside of their hazardous building one week ahead of the tenants' next scheduled appearance in Bronx Housing Court, where it will be determined whether or not to go to trial to appoint a third party administrator, known as a 7A, to take over operations of the building. Photos and video from the event available here.

"All I want is to be able to go back home to the apartment where I raised my children that I called home for 25 years, but thanks to the Zar brothers' inaction and indifference, right now there's nothing left to go home to," said tenant Diana Rodriguez, whose apartment has been unlivable for months due to extensive damage following an April building fire. "At my age I never thought I'd find myself homeless, bouncing between staying with my daughters and returning every few days to check on my belongings and pick up medication and clothes. Despite dutifully paying my rent each month for the past two decades and continuing to pay even now despite the vacate order, I'm stuck in this exhausting purgatory of waiting in vain for the promised repairs that would allow me to return home that never come."

"This lawsuit is not simply about a disagreement with a landlord; it is about having a safe, secure place to live, and about every tenant's right to be treated with dignity and respect," said tenant Quasar Garcia, who has been forced to live in a shelter since October 2025 after flooding and gaping floor holes forced him to vacate his basement apartment and the Zar brothers illegally locked him out in retaliation for reporting the violations to the City. "Despite the Zar brothers' persistent threats, intimidation, and retaliation against me and my fellow tenants in this building, we are coming together and speaking out because we hope by telling our story we can demand they finally address the buildings problems, take our concerns seriously, and make the needed fixes to allow us to return home. And if the Zars aren't able to make it happen, we call on the City and the courts to bring in someone who will."

"The residents of 2440 Walton Ave have been at the mercy of their greedy slumlord, the Zar brothers, who harass and intimidate their tenants with impunity, refuse to make necessary repairs, and force the residents of their building to endure squalid, unlivable conditions," said James Tourangeau, senior coordinating attorney with New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)'s Tenants Rights Unit in the Bronx. "In the three months since we filed this case, the only thing the Zar brothers have been able to demonstrate is their ability to rack up an additional 40 active housing code violations, while still refusing to address the existing 118 open violations they started with, rather than provide a safe, habitable environment. The Zar brothers' persistent unwillingness or inability to fulfill their bare minimum obligations as building owners makes clear that the residents of 2440 Walton Avenue will not see justice without swift judicial intervention to remove these bad landlords and appoint a 7A administrator that would allow their safe return home."

In June, NYLAG filed a filed a 7A petition on behalf of 10 tenant households urging the court to appoint a third-party administrator to take over day-to-day management of the building from its slumlord owners, Bradley and Ryan Zar of Point 2440 Realty LLC. Extensive water damage in late 2025 and a devastating fire in April forced tenants from six units to vacate their homes. To this day, the Zar brothers and their superintendent persistently harass the tenants and refuse to make critical repairs to address the ever-growing list of more than 150 housing code violations. Unless the landlord makes significant progress on repairs, tenants and NYLAG will likely take the property owner to trial, seeking to make use of the new Housing Court fast track for 7A cases to address immediately hazardous conditions under Mayor Mamdani's Block by Block housing plan.

An Article 7A proceeding is a special legal process under the New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) that allows tenants to seek court intervention where building conditions are dangerous to a tenants' life and safety and persist for more than five days; essential services are non-existent in a building; or the owner or their agents harass, illegal evict, or deprive services or commit acts that are dangerous to life, health or safety. Once in the 7A program, a New York City Department of Housing Development and Preservation (HPD)-approved administrator is appointed by the court to take over rent collection and can use the collected rents to make necessary repairs. A 7A administrator can also access City capital to make repairs if rents do not cover the cost. Very few 7A cases are filed, and even fewer are supported by the City, resulting in only about two dozen buildings in New York City that currently have a 7A administrator.

"The level of neglect and sheer depravity the Zar brothers show toward the tenants of this building is like nothing I've seen in my more than a decade leading tenant organizing work in the Bronx," said the West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center Executive Director Joshua Stephenson. "The outright negligence and extremely offensive language of the landlords of 2440 Walton Avenue demonstrate their utter contempt for their tenants. I hope that this action sends a crystal-clear message to them and to any other bad actors who make the lives of New York tenants harder: when you treat your tenants this way you will be held accountable. We are proud to partner with NYLAG to support the tenant association at 2440 Walton, and we call on the courts, HPD and the City, to get these tenants the repairs they deserve."

"At a time when families across our borough are already navigating an affordability crisis, it is unacceptable for tenants to be forced to endure dangerous living conditions," said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. "We stand firmly with the tenants of 2440 Walton Avenue and will continue to take action to protect their health and safety. Thank you to NYLAG, the West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center, my colleagues in government, housing advocates, and the tenants who are with us today, fighting for fairness, transparency, accountability, and justice."

"My office spotlights our city's more egregious landlords, and it seems clear that the Zar brothers have no interest in maintaining their building living up to their most basic responsibilities of being a steward for the housing of renters who call New York home," said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "In violation after unchecked violation, come fire and flood, they have demonstrated an inability or an unwillingness to live up to their end of the bargain with their tenants. It's time for them to either finally make these repairs, or see the building taken over by someone who will."

"A few weeks ago, I proudly joined NYLAG, the West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center, and most importantly, the ten households at 2440 Walton to urge the court to appoint an article 7A administrator to address the unacceptable building conditions, including multiple housing code violations, and harassment by the owners and building management of Point 2440 Realty LLC," said New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera. "Today, my team was able to see the building and hear directly from the affected tenants. It became even clearer that this court decision is pivotal to hold bad landlords accountable for atrocious living conditions these tenants have been subjected to, while finally giving these families an opportunity to enjoy healthy, safe homes."

"Landlord harassment is unacceptable under any circumstance, but especially for residents who have already endured the trauma that comes with surviving a fire," said NYC Council Member Pierina Sanchez. "I thank NYLAG and West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center for helping organize residents at 2440 Walton to begin 7A proceedings. It is deeply unfortunate that this landlord has failed to make the repairs required by law, while also harassing tenants simply exercising their rights. A 7A proceeding allows the court to appoint an independent administrator to take over management of a building to protect the health and well-being of its residents. No one should have to live in a home with hundreds of hazardous, active violations, and no one should have to survive a tragedy before seeing responsible building management. That's why I introduced Int. 657, the SAFER Homes Act, which would strengthen the City's ability to remove the most negligent landlords from ownership and place buildings under responsible third-party administrators. I join the tenants of 2440 Walton and their advocates in calling for the appointment of a third-party administrator to achieve better conditions for these neighbors."

"The conditions at 2440 Walton Avenue are unacceptable, and the pattern of lockouts and intimidation demonstrates the landlord is more interested in avoiding accountability than housing their tenants safely," said New York State Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia. "I support NYLAG and the tenants of 2440 Walton Avenue in this 7A petition, and I will continue to stand with them as they fight for the safe, stable housing they deserve."

Currently, the tenants of 2440 Walton Avenue live in a building with hundreds of unresolved housing code violations, including a flooded basement with tenants on the same floor, live wires hanging from the basement ceiling, mold and broken flooring. In April 2026, a fire broke out in the building, which resulted in four units currently subject to vacate orders, bringing the total number of units with vacate orders to an astonishing six in this 17-unit building. Those units currently still have fire damage, leftover fire retardant, and water damage. The building owners also falsified certifications that they made repairs, for which HPD sued the Zar Brothers in housing court.

In addition to the hazardous conditions, building owners Bradley and Ryan Zar of Point 2440 Realty LLC, alongside their super and building manager consistently harass the tenants, including locking out tenants from their units and discouraging tenants from reporting conditions to government agencies. As an example, the building super repeatedly donned a neon yellow jacket labelled "Code Enforcement" in and around the building, misrepresenting himself as HPD inspector to tenants and even the police. This type of behavior already landed the Zar brothers on the certification watch list and made them the subject of multiple HPD lawsuits over the last two years.

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