Third World Lifestyle Forced on Park Street Residents by Slumlord?
Degrasa said he recognized the children as occupants of 1220 Park Street, a couple of houses from his house. It was an eerie reminder of scenes he had seen in movies and documentaries depicting life in villages in Africa and other Third World countries where, people had to travel long distances to rivers and lakes to bring water back home to use for the day. It also brought back real life memories when Degrasa did the same thing as a kid back in Morocco where he grew up. He and his parents made such trips "to the river early morning and returned home with buckets of water we would use for the day." It was the only way for the community to gain access to water Witnessing a similar activity on Park Street forty years later shocked, amazed, mystified and horrified him to the degree that he just stood there and watched, wondering what was going on. Supposing one of the kids fell? Why would rent paying occupants have to go to their neighbors for their daily supply of water? He was still trying to figure out why this was happening the next day, when he saw the scenario reenacted. At about the same time as the previous day, the kids came out of the house with buckets and containers. One of them walked up to him and asked: "Sir, can we get some water from your house?" Asking the reason was Degrasa's natural reaction. Why do you need water from my house? "Because we have no water at our house," was the answer. According to Degrasa, he knew at that moment that something was not right. Either, the people or the landlord had not paid the water bill and had the water supply shut down by city, or the landlord had rented the property to them without the water supply. DeGrasa said it was wrong and illegal regardless of the reason. He decided to investigate to find out if the occupants of 1220 Park Street were just taking advantage of their neighbors or being exploited by an unscrupulous landlord. "First
of all, I knew something that the people probably didn't know," he said. Having lived in the neighborhood for more than seven years, Degrasa is seen by many as something of neighborhood watch and busybody and concerned citizen all rolled into one. "John looks out for everyone. He will tell you when you're parked on the wrong side of the road so you don't get a ticket, and makes sure kids do the right things" said Annette Bonner, another neighborhood resident. CNY VISION investigated and found out that the landlord had rented the property while the water supply was shut down. Question was; why would anyone rent a house and pay rent when there is no water supply? Degrasa had an explanation. It is quite possible, he said, that the people decided they had no choice in the matter. Coming from a different culture and a country where the lifestyle is characterized by the lack of basic amenities such as water, they were ready to settle for anything. "That's all I can say. They're used to hardship and probably have gone through a similar experience back home." Did they make any attempt to report the landlord to the authorities? Probably not. Degrasa said it was likely they didn't notify anyone of the problem they were dealing with. According to him, foreigners don't like to deal with the law enforcement or bureaucratic agencies and would shy way from them, if they could figure out a way to get around it. He added that the landlord wouldn't dare rent such substandard quarters to an American, no matter how poor they are or even if they are on public assistance. City Hall records indicate that the building is owned by Onondaga Properties Inc. It has a Brooklyn address. According to an official of the Department of Finance, the water bills have been submitted to another address in Richmond Hill, NY, provided by the owners of the property. CNY VISION made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the owner of the property. Occupants of the property also didn't seem to be eager to talk to the media about the problem. "You know why? Because they don't want anybody getting involved. All they want is water by any means they can find," said Degrasa. |
Park
Street resident John Degrasa said he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw neighborhood
kids walking down the street one early morning with buckets and other containers,
literally 'begging' their neighbors to allow them to fill the containers and buckets
with water. The reason was obvious he said: they needed the water back at the
house in which they lived.