In the nearly three months since more than 100 people were displaced from their Hartford apartments due to a minor fire, tenants say they’ve received little support from the city, and even less from their landlord.
Residents of the Concord Hills apartments, on Sherbrooke Avenue, gathered Monday outside the complex to condemn the landlord and city leaders.
Dave Richardson has lived in Concord Hills for more than three years. But, for the last three months, Richardson said he’s lived in hotels, while fighting with building management to access his home.
Richardson, and other residents displaced by the fire, must schedule appointments with building management to access their apartments and belongings, while construction is ongoing, leading to tense moments as Richardson was temporarily barred from entering the building with guests.
“You can see what we're dealing with, right? There's no transparency. It's all about abusing and disrespecting the residents of this great building,” Richardson said.
Fifty apartments suffered water damage as a result of the fire forcing residents to relocate to local hotels. For the first month of displacement, residents were moved to hotel rooms without access to kitchen services.
Now, most displaced residents are in a local hotel with kitchenettes, but none have been able to move back into their apartments, and they say no timeline has been given as to when they may return to their apartments.
The apartments were burglarized several times since rehabilitation work began. Residents believe the contractors are involved, however this is unconfirmed and they haven’t received any updates from police.
Renters are currently struggling to either identify a new place to live, or push the Greyhill Group to speed up the repairs, as the city’s agreed to pay for temporary hotel lodging through Dec. 8.
After the December deadline, residents are left to find their own accommodations, whether or not repairs are complete.
Richardson called out Hartford’s Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, saying he should offer tenants more support.
“As for him not showing up here in the time of the residents' need is showing that he's neglecting this, the citizens and residents of Hartford,” Richardson said.
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Residents said the landlord and property owner, New York-based Greyhill Group, haven’t met with them or tenants union members.
Marisol Navarro, a displaced Concord Hills resident, said Greyhill has been unresponsive to residents.
“They don't want to talk to us. But yet, we still have no apartments. We still continue to get violated because our apartments are still being robbed,” Navarro said.
Greyhill Group did not respond to Connecticut Public’s request for comment.
However, the Greyhill Group sent an email to the Connecticut Tenants Union (CTTU), which was shared with Connecticut Public. The email stated that members of the Greyhill Group would hold a virtual meeting with the CTTU sometime this week.
Arunan Arulampalam's father-in-law is Gregory B. Butler, who is a member of the Board of Trustees of Connecticut Public.
