Nearly 30 Bridgeport families are facing eviction after their buildings were sold to a New York-based landlord.
Residents were blindsided when some of them were given just seven days notice to move out after a strip of multi-family buildings along East Main Street were sold. Bridgeport residents, housing advocates and elected officials gathered outside one of the sold properties Monday to protest the mass evictions.
The building was sold in late February. Eviction notices were sent to residents in early March and continued into April, residents said. The new landlord, 503 E Main St LLC, is owned by Benjamin Yakubov, according to state business records.
Leslie Caraballo, who has lived in her duplex with her 5-year-old daughter for five years, organized the protest.
“It shouldn't have gotten to this point,” Caraballo said. “They should have just talked to us the way we were trying to talk to them. Now that we reached out, now they want to do relocation fees. How was that fair?”
All of the evictions were for lapse of time or “no-fault” evictions, meaning the landlord opted not to renew the lease, through no fault of the tenant, Caraballo said.
Additionally, the ground-floor commercial spaces in some of the buildings saw rent increases of more than $1,000, according to Caraballo.
The landlord is working with some tenants to reach a compromise, according to State Sen. Herron Gaston, a Democrat, who represents the neighborhood impacted by the evictions.
“It does seem like there is some level of negotiations that's happening on a case by case basis, it might be different for someone else that might have a different set of arrangements,” Gaston said.
The increase in rent for some tenants reflects the state’s housing crisis and needs, Gaston said.
“We cannot put enough housing in the ground fast enough. We need affordable housing. We need mixed-use housing. We need low-income housing,” Gaston said. “This is a clarion call for the state of Connecticut, our legislators, our governor, to invest, especially in our inner cities, to get housing up as soon as we can so that people have a menu of options.”
The landlord did not respond to Connecticut Public’s request for comment.
