In August, a fire at the Concord Hills Apartments in Hartford displaced 50 households, forcing them into temporary housing. The property is owned by the GreyHill Group, which is based in New York City.
“What is clear to us is that they’ve continue to drag their feet,” said Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam.
The city is currently funding the housing for the residents and estimates over $750,000 has been spent in totality.
On Monday, it announced that it is extending the deadline for residents to move out of the temporary housing from Dec. 10 to Jan. 10.
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“We want to thank the mayor for finding in his heart to give us an extension, so most of us are not homeless for Christmas,” said Marisol Navarro.
The city says it hopes that residents find a permanent housing solution. Currently, the city is offering residents up to $4,000 to each tenant to help with a security deposit and first month’s rent.
“I’ve been trying,” said Dave Richardson. “With my income, I can’t afford a new place, so the best thing for me to do is go back there or be homeless.”
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NBC Connecticut reached out to the GreyHill Group, which says it is working towards the Dec. 10 goal to complete the restoration. However, the City of Hartford says the company hasn’t selected a contractor to complete the restorations.
“The GreyHill Group has held the City of Hartford and these poor tenants hostage for too long,” said Arulampalam. “We cannot continue to subsidize the cost of the GreyHill Group.”
