Tenants who were forced out of their apartments after a fire now want the city of Hartford to extend temporary housing. It's set to expire next month.
Tenants and supporters chanted in front of city hall Wednesday, demanding the city of Hartford extend temporary housing for people who were forced out of their units at Concord Hills Apartments.
“It’s really hard not being in a comfortable apartment, not having my things,” Marisol Navarro, a tenant, said.
Navarro said she’s been living in a hotel room the city is paying for, but that will expire on Dec. 10. She’s worried about what could happen next.
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“It’s really rough. The holidays are right here. We don’t know where we’ll have Thanksgiving. We don’t know where we’re going to have Christmas,” she said.
The Connecticut Tenant’s Union, along with some tenants, say the city needs to step in to extend temporary housing. They remain frustrated and say they're not seeing repairs to any damaged units.
“They want to put those units back on the market for twice as much as our members are currently renting them for,” Hannah Srajer, president of the Connecticut Tenants Union, said.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said the city has been putting pressure on the building owner, GreyHill Group, to start repairs and also put a lien on the property. The mayor said the city is even offering $50,000 to begin repairs.
“We are acting as aggressively as we can to say either you make the repairs or we will,” he said.
In a statement, GreyHill Group said it’s sorry for the displaced tenants and is doing everything it can to get damaged units back in service. They say the city’s lien is preventing them from going forward with repairs.
“…in order for the owners to proceed with the restoration, an agreement must be reached with the city regarding its relocation lien," GreyHill Group said.
Arulampalam said the city has been helping tenants, such as offering $4,000 toward a deposit at a different apartment complex. According to the mayor, 10 people from Concord Hills have done that, but he said the city has been clear tenants needed to make plans after Dec. 10.
“The city cannot indefinitely fund hotels,” he said.
Navarro said the response from the city is disappointing and believes the mayor can do much more.
“We want to be on his side, but it is his job. He’s in that chair to help the people in this city and he’s not doing that,” she said.
The Concord Hills tenant union said they plan to have a meeting on Monday with GreyHill Group to make their demands directly to the building owner.
They’ve also asked Gov. Ned Lamont to intervene as well.
