Thomas Breen file photo
LCI inspecting a Nash St. rental property in October.
Frustrations with ceiling mold, peeling vinyl siding, and unresponsive landlords prompted tenants and neighbors at the most recent East Rock Community Management Team meeting to try to figure out what can be done about deteriorating rental homes in East Rock.
The Zoom meeting, joined by 20 East Rock and Cedar Hill residents on Wednesday, started with updates from East Rock/Downtown Alder Eli Sabin, Sgt. Jarrell Lowery, and Cedar Hill resident Kenya Adams-Martin, before shifting to a broader discussion about negligent landlords.
One East Rock tenant, who asked to remain anonymous for this article out of a concern of potential retaliation by his landlord, opened the conversation about rental conditions by describing his experiences with exposed insulation and a broken toilet in his home. When he asked his landlord to make repairs, he said, they responded with either silence or a reminder that he had already accepted the house “as-is.”
“I’ve been facing a lot of real difficulties in getting them to make smaller repairs inside of the apartment,” he said.
He added that the building’s exterior shows clear signs of neglect. His neighbor Lisa Siedlarz agreed, adding that an even worse example can be found a few blocks away on State Street.
“It’s unfortunate that these landlords get to buy house after house after house and not have to take care of them,” said Siedlarz. “My big question is: Where is LCI in all of this?”
As the city’s main housing agency, LCI — the Livable City Initiative — investigates code violations and complaints related to blight.
Christine Kim, Ward 7 co-chair of the Democratic Town Committee, said LCI can address many issues facing East Rock renters and offered to connect tenants with more government agencies that can assist them.
East Rock CMT Chair Elena Grewal is a member of the Fair Rent Commission, and she noted that the commission can also intervene if living conditions are deemed unhealthy or unsafe.
In addition to reaching out to government agencies, the renter who initiated the East Rock rentals conversation Wednesday said he hopes to organize tenants across the city.
One attendee pointed him to the city’s existing tenants unions. Another, Tracey Funari, suggested bringing the issue to a central meeting of CMT leaders. If “small pockets of people in all the neighborhoods get together,” she explained, they can determine whether their experiences reflect isolated incidents or broader patterns of neglect.
While such central meetings do not currently take place, Grewal welcomed the idea of tenant coalition-building and offered to reach out to the other CMT chairs via email.