4th Tenants Union Presses Ocean

Lenox Street residents said they couldn’t get through to their landlord to report rodents, water damage and trash pile-up — so they formed a union and pasted their collective complaints to Ocean Management’s front door.

Members of New Haven’s fourth formally recognized tenants union made their debut protest Tuesday afternoon outside the offices of local mega landlord Ocean Management at 101 Whitney Ave.

Ocean owns hundreds of apartments across New Haven, many of which it’s trying to sell.

199 and 195 Lenox St. in Fair Haven Heights has 11 apartments across those two buildings, 10 of which are home to renters who have joined the tenants union to combat substandard living conditions and unstable leases. (The secretary of the state’s office reported that it has revoked the license of the limited liability corporation Ocean formed to own this complex because of a failure to file an annual report.)

After forming that union back in November, the residents gathered on Tuesday to deliver a petition to Ocean demanding a meeting with their landlord to request better property maintenance and annual rather than month-to-month leases.

“We want a real conversation so we can have real fixes,” said union leader Alisha Moore into a microphone outside those offices at the gathering. She was backed by her neighbors, housing advocates with the Connecticut Tenants Union and Mayor Justin Elicker, all of whom also spoke out against negligent landlords.

No one from Ocean Management responded to requests for comment from the New Haven Independent by the time of this article’s publication. Principal Shmuel Aizenberg last appeared in court in January, when a judge granted him accelerated rehabilitation for a housing code violation after he promised to stop breaking the city’s housing code. 

That lack of response was the primary complaint of those living in the Lenox Street apartments.

“I have to pay my rent late every month,” tenant Chris Collet said, not because he doesn’t have the money, but because ​“it’s the only way someone will get in touch with me.”

Each month, he said, the phone numbers and email addresses he attempts to use in order to contact his landlord seem to change, and he only receives new contact information when a representative reaches out to make sure he pays his rent. He said that when he requests repairs, whoever is on the other end of the line simply says, ​“We’ll get back to you.”

They rarely do. And the 31-year-old has lived at 199 Lenox St. for four years.

When Collet first moved to Lenox Street, he said, he chose a first-floor apartment. He said that over the ensuing months, his apartment flooded three different times, an issue he chalked up to faulty storm water management around the building. He complained to management to no avail, until one day he woke up and put his feet into an inch of cold water.

“I thought my dog had peed on the ground,” he said, until he realized a storm had sent water from the nearby river rushing through his home.

All of his furniture was ruined, he said. His landlord finally offered him a third floor apartment, which he said he’s invested thousands of dollars to fix up with fresh paint and new light fixtures.

He also rakes the leaves and shovels snow year round because property management never does. 

“I work 16 hours a day,” he said, ​“and then come home and have to do that.”

Collet said he hasn’t moved because his rent of $1,100 is cheaper than any other apartment he can find in the area.

In November, he said, he got a call from Ocean asking if the company could show his room to a potential buyer — at which point Collet said he realized his landlords were trying to sell his home (which Ocean has yet to confirm). 

Around the same time, a housing organizer knocked on his door.

“I thought she was a Jehovah’s Witness, but she turned out to be a godsend,” he said. Together, they started reaching out to other tenants — all of whom checked their leases and found out they were on month-to-month agreements, despite the fact that they had recalled previously signing annual agreements.

“That’s what prompted us to come together and unionize,” Moore stated. 

Tenants said they want Ocean to renew their annual leases rather than forcing them to question their housing fate each month. 

They also want safer living conditions and regular maintenance. 

The third floor is better than the first, Collet said, but still, ​“When I shower it goes into my downstairs’ neighbor’s shower — and I feel bad!”

The hot water goes out several times a month. Several apartments have back doors that don’t lock. Windows are broken. Water damage and mold are rampant, according to tenants who spoke with the Independent on Tuesday. 

In the meantime, as tenants wait for Ocean’s response, Collet said: ​“I’m just waiting for a note on the door saying you’re evicted.”