MORRISANIA — Residents of a South Bronx homeless shelter and members of the advocacy group Picture the Homeless demanded better living conditions and called on staffers from the building's services provider to spend a night in one of their shelters during a Wednesday afternoon protest.
Demonstrators picketed in front of 976 Tinton Ave., a site run by Aguila Inc. where 4-year-old boy Juan Sanchez died last spring after possibly ingesting rat poison.
The shelter was also singled out for criticism in a Department of Investigation report released in March, which described it as "filthy, badly maintained and with garbage in the common areas" and noted that residents were chiefly concerned about a rat infestation.
"During its inspection, DOI observed a dead rat in an apartment," the report reads. "It was reported that it had been dead for two days and, indeed, DOI inspectors found that the decaying smell permeated into the hallway outside of the apartment."
The facility also owed the city $26,400 in outstanding fines for violations, according to the report, and it currently has 125 open violations with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
At the protest, people armed with rubber rats and posters called on staffers from Aguila to spend a night in one of the organization's shelters.
The director of the company made about $161,000 last year, while the director of finance made about $120,000 and the chief of staff each made about $119,000, according to tax documents.
"We want them to close this building down and make it affordable housing," said Lucinda Lewis, a volunteer worker with Picture the Homeless, who said that there was a greater need for permanent affordable housing in the city than for shelters.
Chants at the protest included "We're strong and homeless," "The system's broken" and "Aguila profit off our pain."
Aguila did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokeswoman from the Department of Homeless Services said the agency was "working diligently" to make sure that its shelters were safe and livable.
“We have made significant progress and will continue to work together going forward to monitor the conditions of our buildings,” she said in a statement.
Wilfedo Roman, 37, lives in the shelter with his grandparents and described it as a decrepit place with rat problems, drug dealers and an absentee landlord.
"We need a better building," he said. "Fix what has to be fixed here."
The protestors marched from the shelter to the office of Aguila, where they confronted a security guard who told them that staffers from the company were not available to speak with them.
Roman did not think the demands of the protestors were too extravagant.
"We'd like to live like humans," he said. "We are human."
