Bella Vista Tenants Still Displaced

Three days after the lights went out at a Bella Vista high rise, dozens of displaced tenants remain in area hotel rooms and at family members’ homes as the apartment complex’s managers try to figure out what caused the power outage — and how to fix it.

That’s the latest development with the blackout at Building E of the 1,413-unit Bella Vista apartment complex on Eastern Street for low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

At around 11 a.m. on Friday, 171 apartments in one half of Building E suddenly lost power.

The complex is owned and managed by the Meriden-based landlord Carabetta.

By Monday morning, according to Carabetta Senior Vice President of Management Operations William Stetson and Mayor Justin Elicker, the lights are still out — and the displaced tenants will likely have to continue staying at hotels and with family for at least a few more days.

“Our electrical engineers and the equipment manufacturer are now trying to determine both the cause and the extent of the damage,” Stetson told the Independent.

He said that one of the ​“electrical feeders” that run through the high-rise building ​“failed at a lower level. At this point, we don’t know the cause.” He said Carabetta is confident that the cause was not a fire, but rather an ​“equipment failure.”

“We’re trying to determine if there is a temporary fix that could be made,” Stetson said, ​“that would enable us to get the residents back into their homes. We won’t know for a few days whether that is possible.”

What does that mean for the tenants who have been displaced?

Stetson said that roughly 100 units’ worth of tenants have been relocated to area hotels, while the remaining 70 units’ worth of tenants are staying with family members. (He did not have an exact count on Monday morning as to how many individual tenants have been displaced from their Bella Vista homes due to the blackout. He did say that most of these units are occupied by one individual each.)

Mayor Elicker said that Carabetta initially relocated displaced tenants to seven area hotels. As of Sunday, all of the displaced tenants who have not been able to stay with family members have been relocated to just two hotels: the Extended Stay in Meriden, and the La Quinta on Long Wharf.

Elicker said that between 22 and 25 rooms at the Extended Stay in Meriden are currently rented out for displaced Bella Vista tenants, while between 68 and 70 rooms at La Quinta are rented out to Bella Vista tenants. (He said those hotel room numbers have changed a little bit each day, as some displaced tenants who started out in hotels have subsequently found family members to stay with.)

“Carabetta has instituted wellness checks in the afternoon for everyone,” Elicker said. The management company also has a system in place to make sure everyone has access to breakfast, lunch and dinner. He and Stetson both said that Carabetta has a residents’ coordinator on site at each of the two hotel locations for displaced tenants to check in with.

Elicker said that the city’s Livable City Initiative (LCI) and Elderly Services division facilitated the tenant relocation to La Quinta on Sunday, and have played major roles in making sure displaced tenants are doing OK during this power outage.

Elicker said he was at Bella Vista for around four hours on Friday, and that city staff had multiple Zoom meetings with Carabetta over the weekend. He said LCI and Elderly Services city staffers ​“were working all weekend long, checking on residents, setting up transportation,” and tending to a variety of other needs of the uniquely vulnerable displaced tenant population.

Stetson also praised the city’s fire department and various emergency response teams for doing a ​“tremendous” job in responding to Bella Vista on Friday and helping with tenant relocations over the weekend.

See below for a previous version of this article.

Bella Vista Blackout Displaces 200 Tenants

Alice Selbe had just gotten home from visiting her daughter when, feeling a little warm, she tried to turn on the air conditioner in her 10th-floor apartment. Nothing doing.

She walked over to her kitchen to try a different outlet. Still nothing.

Come to think of it, all of the lights in her apartment were now off. And the refrigerator had stopped humming …

Selbe told that story Friday afternoon while sitting on a bench outside of Building E at the Bella Vista apartment complex on the far east side of town.

That’s the 1,413-unit complex on Eastern Street reserved for low-income seniors and people with disabilities. The property is owned and managed by the Meriden-based landlord Carabetta.

Selbe’s was one of 171 apartments in one half of Building E to suddenly lose power at around 11 a.m. Friday.

According to Carabetta Director of Field Operations William Johnson, roughly 200 tenants will be displaced from their apartments this week.

For those who can’t stay with relatives or friends, Carabetta has agreed to foot the bill for hotel rooms in New Haven, East Haven, Branford, and Milford as the landlord figures out what caused the blackout, and how to get the lights back on. Johnson said Carabetta will also cover the costs of food and transportation for the displaced tenants.

City staffers from the Livable City Initiative (LCI) and the elderly services department were on scene Friday as dozens of elderly residents, many in wheelchairs and with walkers, sat in benches in the shade, waiting to find out where they’d be spending the next few nights.

Viola Dukes said she was out getting a coffee when the blackout happened. She came home to hear an alarm bell ringing, and to find out that her half of the building had lost power.

Barry Bimonte said he was in his living room, talking on the phone and watching ​“The Price Is Right,” when the TV suddenly turned off.

“When it happens, it happens,” the five-year Bella Vista resident said. ​“You’ve got to go with the flow.”

Sonia Alvarez said she too was caught off guard by the sudden mid-day darkness in her apartment. ​“I thought I had too many things plugged in,” she said. Then she said to herself, ​“Wait a minute. The whole place is dark.”

Wallace Spellman was less sanguine about the power outage.

“It’s a good day outside, but it’s not a good day in the apartment,” he said. He predicted the food in his refrigerator will spoil. Sitting in his wheelchair, he spoke of waiting in line to use the one working elevator as he sought to get down from his 15th-floor apartment.

Tomas Robles held Griselle Crespo by the arm as he sought to find out more about where his elderly and blind relative would be spending the night. She lives in the side of Building E that lost power, Robles said in English. ​“The elevators are not working,” Crespo said in Spanish, with Robles translating for her. She said she didn’t know whether she’d be spending the night at a hotel or with a family member.

Selbe also wasn’t exactly sure where she’d be spending the next night or two. She was still waiting to hear from management about her hotel assignment.

She recalled getting back to her apartment after a morning visit with her daughter. She said she also thought she had overloaded an outlet when her air conditioner didn’t turn on. Then she noticed the lights, and the fridge.

“They all didn’t work,” she said.

City Building Official Jim Turcio went to the scene and reported that one of the two main conduits for electricity in the building had gone out of service.