Police were called on members of East Hartford's first tenants union as they rallied outside their landlord鈥檚 leasing office calling for better living conditions.
Tenants union members stood on the steps of the leasing office on Park Avenue demanding willingness from the landlord to reach an agreement for better property maintenance and longer leases.
Leasing staff contacted East Hartford police for trespassing. Protesters were asked to move from the parking lot to the public sidewalk.
Gloria Escribano recently moved to the Orchard St. complex to care for her mother. Escribano said her mother鈥檚 dog died as a result of insufficient lighting on the property, making it unable to see a steep drop in the backyard.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 even call my mom to apologize about having no light in the back, no light on the stairs,鈥� Escribano said. 鈥淪he bought her own stove, with her own money because they didn鈥檛 even care to change her stove.鈥�
The 65 units at Orchard Street have complaints of mold, flooding, unsafe lighting and common areas.
The complex has a strong community, but struggles to maintain residents due to poor living conditions, 黑料吃瓜网 Tenants Union (CTTU) Secretary and Treasurer Peter Fousek said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an interesting mix of people that've been there for ten to twenty years and people who are high turnover because they get in, they see the conditions or they get a trove that doesn鈥檛 work or doesn鈥檛 get addressed and they leave,鈥� Fousek said.
The property owner, , is based out of New Jersey. They did not respond to CT Public鈥檚 request for comment. Stratus Equities owns at least 18 properties in East Hartford, according to CTTU.
Other tenants of Stratus Equities were recently housed temporarily in hotels on the city鈥檚 dime due a .
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the business of developing leaders and investing in organizers who are going to be able to go out to their neighbors and start organizing their own complexes following that same model,鈥� Fousek said.
