Adam Walker photos
Ocean’s Ken Rozich and Shmuel Aizenberg: These repairs will get done soon.
Hearing Officer Susan Metrick: Ocean remains responsible for addressing all exterior and common-area violations regardless of tenant cooperation.
Ocean Management has pledged to resolve a slate of outstanding housing code violations — including fire code breaches, structural damage, pest control concerns, and access issues related to allegedly uncooperative tenants — at two of its rental properties within the next two weeks to avoid potential city fines.
That commitment came during a housing code enforcement hearing held Wednesday in a second-floor meeting room at City Hall, where Ocean’s Shmuel Aizenberg and attorney Ken Rozich appeared on behalf of the company. Ocean is one of the city’s largest landlord-property management-real estate investment companies, and has been fined by LCI before.
The hearing was overseen by Hearing Officer Susan Metrick, with Assistant Corporation Counsel Sinclair Williams representing the city. Inspectors from the Livable City Initiative (LCI) presented a range of unresolved violations at both properties.
The hearing began with a focus on 617 Elm St., where LCI inspector Warren Murphy presented a documented list of persistent housing code violations. These included holes in the basement ceiling that compromise fire safety, structural damage to exterior doors and porch railings, rodent activity, exposed electrical wiring, and cluttered common areas.
Aizenberg acknowledged that many of the issues remained unaddressed. He said Ocean Management had attempted to access the third-floor unit on more than ten occasions but had been repeatedly denied entry by the tenant, who claimed he was in the process of moving out — a claim that had persisted for months.
Aizenberg submitted a letter indicating he had personally visited the property on July 29 but was again refused access. He also presented a call log showing multiple unanswered attempts to contact the tenant.
Attorney Rozich requested a 30-day extension to complete the repairs, but city attorney Williams pushed back, granting only two weeks to bring the property into compliance.
Despite the access difficulties, Hearing Officer Metrick emphasized that Ocean remains responsible for addressing all exterior and common-area violations — including installing smoke detectors, repairing rotted porch railings, and removing accumulated trash — regardless of tenant cooperation. She also reminded the company to notify the city promptly when access issues arise.
“Going forward, if you have issues getting into a unit, you have issues with the tenant, any reason why you’re not getting things done, you need to let the inspector know and be in touch with us immediately,” agreed Williams.
A follow-up hearing for 617 Elm St. is scheduled for Aug. 27. If the cited violations are resolved by then, the case may be dismissed without penalty.
LCI’s Williams, Murphy, and Metrick.
The second case focused on Ocean Management’s property at 22 Whittlesey Ave., where inspectors had issued two separate violation notices — the first in early February and the second in March — outlining a range of interior and exterior issues. These included concerns of kitchen appliances and general habitability.
At the hearing, Ocean representatives confirmed receipt of both citations and said that access had previously been an obstacle due to an uncooperative tenant. Aizenberg said the company had first attempted to begin remediation efforts on Feb. 10, including the installation of a replacement stove that the tenant allegedly refused to allow on Feb. 26.
According to Aizenberg, the tenant eventually moved out around June 19, allowing the company to proceed with repairs.
With the unit now vacant, Metrick accepted Ocean’s pledge to complete the remaining work within two weeks and noted that, if verified by inspectors, the case could be removed from the hearing-officer docket prior to the Aug. 27 follow-up hearing. If the violations remain unresolved, the city may consider imposing fines at that time.
City officials also reiterated a broader warning: tenants claiming they are “in the process of moving out” cannot indefinitely delay code enforcement. Landlords are expected to notify LCI promptly when access is denied so the city can assist with intervention.