Members of a tenants union in Bloomfield are seeing results following a call to action last week.
The Manor House Tenants Union formed in July, six months after the complex was purchased by , which owns several apartment buildings throughout 黑料吃瓜网.
Last week, residents gathered at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford to draw public attention to living conditions at the Manor House apartments and seek a meeting with property management.
Before the event concluded, Navarino鈥檚 head, Justin Goldberg, agreed to meet with the group, according to Luke Melonakos-Harrison, vice president of the 黑料吃瓜网 Tenants Union. A date for the meeting is still pending, Melonakos-Harrison said.
Manor House consists of 120 apartments and 80% of residents are members of the tenants union. Julian Alleyne, vice president of the group, said Navarino has done a poor job communicating with residents.
鈥淚f you're a great landlord, you would value your tenants. Who's telling you what's wrong with your property?鈥� Alleyne said. 鈥淚t wouldn't be a culture of, I'm telling you your hair is on fire, and all of a sudden we're the bad guys for that. But that's what's happening.鈥�
Trash pickup is insufficient and some apartments are contaminated with mold. Due to the building's age, mold is an expected issue, but the lack of remediation is a concern, Alleyne said.
鈥淭his is just a little snapshot of what Bloomfield has been going through, but it's a snapshot of what the state is going through," he said. "It just appeared in Bloomfield and we sound the alarm."
There were concerns under the previous ownership, but issues with inconsistent heat, hot water and trash only began under Navarino, Alleyne said. With smaller trash receptacles, garbage is piling up around the apartments, he said.
鈥淭hey [Navarino] reduced the sizes of the dumpsters to fit whatever budget they have. However, it's not conducive to Manor House," Alleyne said. "Now, trash is being left on the ground because the dumpsters are smaller, inadequate sizes."
Navarino Property Group didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment.
The tenants union previously tried to come to an agreement with Navarino on housing conditions, but Navarino backed away from the bargaining table over a discussion of limiting rent hikes, Alleyne said.
State Rep. Bobby Gibson, a Democrat who represents Bloomfield, said he has spoken with Goldberg about the residents鈥� concerns.
鈥淗e said that he and Navarino are going to try to make this right," Gibson said. "So I'm going to hold him to that. Make it right. He said he wants to be a good landlord. Navarino wants to be a good landlord."
