Tenants of an affordable apartment complex in Branford for elderly and disabled residents are calling on the local housing authority to be transparent with residents.
Parkside Village Two is owned by the Branford Housing Authority and has 40 affordable one bedroom and studio apartments.
Tenants said the property is plagued with poor maintenance and they want to know where their rent dollars are going.
Lori-Lynn Ross has lived at the complex for 15 years. In that time she’s experienced several health hazards, but said she can’t afford to move.
“In the winter there’s no heat, the elevators don’t work, there’s mold,” Ross said.
As a town-operated facility, residents should have a better understanding of how their rent payments are being used, Parkside Village II resident Holly Hackett said.
“There’s no way that this place should look like this with the money that this place brings in,” Hackett said. “The expenses are exorbitant and there’s no reason for that.”
Residents said questions regarding the use of public dollars have gone unanswered, questions they asked to discuss during a meeting months ago.
“We're getting quicker responses to our maintenance issues, so that has definitely been better, and it has increased their responsiveness,” Hackett said. “They are trying their best with what monies that they have. But it's always, ‘Well, we don't have the funding for that.’ So then, we turn again to the housing authority.”
The Branford Housing Authority has canceled the three monthly meetings so far this year, a day before the meetings were scheduled to take place, according to residents.
Neither Branford First Selectman James Cosgrove, nor Branford Housing Authority chair Anthony Wright responded to a request for comment.
Since forming a tenants union earlier this year, Hackett said the management company has been responsive, but can only accomplish so much with the limited resources provided by the Housing Authority.
Ross and Hackett were among about ten residents that planned to protest and call for transparency during the scheduled May 21 Housing Authority meeting. When the meeting was canceled, the residents gathered outside the complex’s community room to proceed with the protest.
