Hartford’s housing task force, formed earlier this year, is tackling landlords the city deems negligent.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam plans to increase fines and building and health code enforcements for four apartment building owners, who are all based out of state.
“You can think of this as we approach the holidays as a kind of naughty list, but instead of coal, what these landlords should expect is increased enforcement and targeted, strategic enforcement on the very worst landlords across our city, across all properties,” Arulampalam said.
The building owners often operate under LLCs, but the city identified the individuals behind the organizations. Residents who live in the buildings flagged by the city are living in unacceptable conditions, Arulampalam said.
“Places where there are rodent infestations, where walls and ceilings are leaking, where there's inadequate insulation for the winter, places with mold, places with boilers that are out time and time again, instances of deplorable standards,” Arulampalam said.
The city will be increasing fines and code violation enforcement, Arulampalam said. One of the four landlords, Greyhill Group based out of New York, was recommended to the state Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
In early August a fire damaged the Concord Hills apartment complex, owned by Greyhill Group. More than one hundred residents were displaced.
Greyhill Group, will be referred to the state’s attorney’s office for prosecution for violating city housing ordinances, according to Arulampalam.
Among the four targeted landlords are hundreds of apartments and several foreclosed buildings.
Luke Melonakos-Harrison, vice president of the Connecticut Tenants Union, is glad the city is addressing absent landlords, but said there’s more to be done.
“It's the ones that the code enforcement has been the most aggressive towards so far,” Melonakos-Harrison said. “It's great that he's [Arulampalam’s] announcing a list. There's a lot of other names that will be added to it over time.”
In a statement from the city of Hartford, the list of landlords and the extent of code enforcement violations includes:
PAXE properties – Aron Puretz, Principal - NY
- 24 buildings totaling 357 residential units purchased between Sept. 2021 and Aug. 2022
- More than 50 notices of violation issued by Housing Code/Blight Remediation/Building Departments.
- Multiple properties vacated for unsafe conditions.
- City of Hartford made emergency repairs in multiple properties.
- Liens for relocations and repairs have been filed.
- 13 of the buildings are now in foreclosure and/or receivership due to enforcement by City of Hartford Blight, Housing Code and Building divisions.
Moshe Grossbard, Principal – NY
- Principal of the following properties:
- 1080 Broad Street LLC
- Brick Realty LLC
- Hartford Brick LLC
- 27 Edgewood LLC
- 44-46 Edgewood LLC
- Kenyon Realty LLC
- Martin Condos LLC
- 353 Sigourney LLC
- Standish Realty LLC
- 221 Ward LLC
- Notices of Violations for Housing and Building Codes including work without permits /issued citations and liens filed for unpaid fines on multiple properties for non-compliance
Whitehead Estates LLC – Lamor Whitehead, Principal – NJ
- 150-160 and 170-180 Earle Street (48 residential units)
- Condemnation of 24 units with relocation by Hartford for lack of heat or water
- Bank in process of foreclosure since 2022 due to two filings of bankruptcy by the owner, both of which have been dismissed.
- Receiver in place by court order on behalf of the bank
- Lomar Whitehead is serving a 9-year sentence in the New Jersey federal system after conviction on multiple counts of fraud.
- Whitehead Estates recently declared bankruptcy
