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Read the press release here.

Tenants Urge Takeover of Bronx Building at Center of Illness Spread by Rats

By Eddie Small | February 16, 2017 9:59am
 Notorious landlord Ved Parkash, who runs a building where a tenant got sick from a rare disease transmitted by rat urine, defended himself at a raucous meeting at the building on Wednesday evening.
Notorious landlord Ved Parkash, who runs a building where a tenant got sick from a rare disease transmitted by rat urine, defended himself at a raucous meeting at the building on Wednesday evening.
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DNAinfo/Eddie Small

CONCOURSE — The city has pledged to help wrest control of the building where a person came down with a rare disease spread via rat urine from its current owner, notorious landlord Ved Parkash.

Officials from the Department of Health, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Mayor's Office held a meeting at 750 Grand Concourse on Wednesday evening to educate tenants about leptospirosis, a bacterial infection transmitted by rat urine that has recently sickened three people in the neighborhood, including a tenant at 750 Grand Concourse.

However, they quickly found that building residents were much more interested in figuring out how to remove Parkash, the current owner, than anything else, as speakers from the city were repeatedly talked over and tenants insisted that they already knew much of the information they were getting.

When Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett advised tenants against taking their trash out with bare feet to help avoid coming down with the disease, one audience member yelled out, "Who does that?"

The city agreed to help tenants with the process of getting a 7A administrator for 750 Grand Concourse, which would enable a court-appointed representative to take over operations at the building.

City Councilman Rafael Salamanca and Public Advocate Letitia James, both of whom attended the meeting, expressed strong support for the idea, and Mayor Bill de Blasio released a statement later on Wednesday saying he too was behind it.

"We stand with the tenants," he said.

"After deploying numerous tools to address persistent problems at this building, we are working with housing advocates and tenants to lodge an action against the landlord to take over operations."
Three people in the Concourse neighborhood of the South Bronx recently fell ill from leptospirosis, a bacterial infection transmitted by rat urine that can cause headaches, vomiting, and fever and lead to life-threatening liver and kidney diseases in rare cases.

Of them, two — including the 750 Grand Concourse tenant — have since recovered, while the third victim passed away.

The city normally sees between one and three cases of the disease per year, but the Mayor's Office has called the Bronx cases the first cluster of leptospirosis ever in New York City.

Parkash defended himself when speaking to reporters before the meeting on Wednesday, saying he sends exterminators into 750 Grand Concourse every month.

"If there is some problem, I put more force. I put more treatment," he said. "I put more extermination."

He described himself as "a good landlord" who responds to tenant complaints about pests and is committed to improving 750 Grand Concourse.

"I am responsible if something happens in my building. I don’t deny that," he said.

"But I’m here to correct the problem."