Police were called on members of East Hartford's first tenants union as they rallied outside their landlord’s leasing office calling for better living conditions.
Tenants union members stood on the steps of the leasing office on Park Avenue demanding willingness from the landlord to reach an agreement for better property maintenance and longer leases.
Leasing staff contacted East Hartford police for trespassing. Protesters were asked to move from the parking lot to the public sidewalk.
Gloria Escribano recently moved to the Orchard St. complex to care for her mother. Escribano said her mother’s dog died as a result of insufficient lighting on the property, making it unable to see a steep drop in the backyard.
“They didn’t even call my mom to apologize about having no light in the back, no light on the stairs,” Escribano said. “She bought her own stove, with her own money because they didn’t even care to change her stove.”
The 65 units at Orchard Street have complaints of mold, flooding, unsafe lighting and common areas.
The complex has a strong community, but struggles to maintain residents due to poor living conditions, Connecticut Tenants Union (CTTU) Secretary and Treasurer Peter Fousek said.
“There’s an interesting mix of people that've been there for ten to twenty years and people who are high turnover because they get in, they see the conditions or they get a trove that doesn’t work or doesn’t get addressed and they leave,” Fousek said.
The property owner, Stratus Equities, is based out of New Jersey. They did not respond to CT Public’s request for comment. Stratus Equities owns at least 18 properties in East Hartford, according to CTTU.
Other tenants of Stratus Equities were recently housed temporarily in hotels on the city’s dime due a lack of heat.
“We’re in the business of developing leaders and investing in organizers who are going to be able to go out to their neighbors and start organizing their own complexes following that same model,” Fousek said.
