Milbank Tenants Still Waiting for Repair $; HPD Plans to Take Action

Milbank's portfolio of Bronx properties have been in varying states of decline since foreclosure started in 2009.  (File photo by Jeanmarie Evelly)

It's been nearly a month since a Bronx Supreme Court Judge ordered LNR Property Corp., the servicer that oversees a now infamous, dilapidated portfolio of foreclosed Bronx buildings, to start paying for repairs on the apartments (for some background, see here, here and here.)

But while LNR's 30-day deadline for making the payment approaches this week, they haven't put any no money into repairs so far, according to advocates working on the case.

"In a lot of ways, we're waiting, which is uncomfortable," said Dina Levy of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB). LNR's lawyers are preparing to appeal the judge's payment order, she said. 

LNR was told they had 30 days to fork over $2.5 million toward renovations--much less than what experts say the actual repairs will cost, but still a milestone victory for the tenants and housing advocates who had been fighting for months to get something done.

Meanwhile, a proposed deal to transfer the mortgage on ten of the properties to a mystery buyer--which Crain's identified as Riverdale-based Chestnut Holdings--has yet to close.