Tenants of a veterans housing complex in Newington say they’re being treated unfairly by apartment management.
Residents of the Victory Gardens apartment complex say the Stamford-based landlord, New Neighborhoods, refused to reach an agreement with the tenants union after months of negotiation.
“We are gathered here today not because we want to be, but because we have to be,” tenants union leader Saray Chappell said. “Because despite months of good faith efforts, despite our patience and our willingness to negotiate, we have been met with nothing but broken promises and dead ends.”
The development, which is on land owned by the Veterans Affairs Hospital, has 74 apartments. The Connecticut Tenants Union estimates about 66% of the apartments are rented by veterans.
While the majority of Victory Gardens renters are veterans, many of the other tenants pay rent at an affordable rate, based on their income.
Residents want access to the community room and the basements attached to each apartment.
They also want a new property manager, Chappell said. Residents say the current property manager treats tenants poorly.
“After sacrificing so much for our nation, we find ourselves fighting once again, this time for the right to live in peace and we will not be ignored,” Chappell said.
While 80% of tenants signed a petition calling for a new property manager, New Neighborhoods shut down negotiations, Chappell said.
When the current management took over, they initiated a slew of groundless evictions, according to Gladys Silva-Perales, an army veteran and vice president of the Victory Gardens Tenants Union.
“Stupid reasons that you can just fix with conversation instead of paperwork, you're spending more money getting a lawyer to write up some paperwork than just knocking on someone's door and having a conversation with them,” Silva-Perales said.
Victory Gardens’ landlord, New Neighborhoods, did not respond to a request for comment.
