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Author: Rocky Hill Democrats

  • Congressman Larson Requests HUD Investigation of Concierge Apartment Owners

    Congressman Larson Requests HUD Investigation of Concierge Apartment Owners

    On Friday, Febuary 5, Congressman John Larson shared that he had requested a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development investigation into JRK Property Holdings, the group that owns the Concierge Apartments.

    The letter reads:

    Dear Secretary Turner,

    I write to request that you investigate JRK Property Holdings for their failure to provide safe and habitable rental units for reside. of Concierge Apartments, a 500 unit, five building apartment complex located at 98 Cold Spring Road, Rocky Hill, Connecticut.

    Over the past two weeks, Connecticut has experienced below freezing temperatures, which caused pipes to burst at Concierge Apartments. Residents have reported that the buildings’ heating and hot water have been broken for at least 10 days amid the frigid weather. On February 5th, the fire marshal and building inspector ordered the evacuation of two buildings due to a failed fire suppression system. Residents bad to leave their units by midnight. On February 6th, the town of Rocky Hill announced that tenants in the remaining three buildings in the Concierge complex would have to evacuate by noon on Saturday, February 7th.

    Concierge Apartments is legally required under Connecticut state law to accept Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Choice Vouchers, and its ownership group, JRK Property Holdings, is the recipient of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financing. Given that JRK Property Holdings is the beneficiary of HUD programming, this gross mistreatment of tenants warranu an immediate investigation of the ownership group by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. I expect a response within seven days. Thank you for your consideration.

  • A.G. Tong Responds to Concierge Letter: “Do Better”

    A.G. Tong Responds to Concierge Letter: “Do Better”

    On Friday afternoon, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong reacted on social media to the letter sent on Thursday by a lawyer representing the owners of Concierge Apartments. Tong stated: “We’re pressing for rental credits, reimbursement for out of pocket expenses, and the option for tenants to void their leases.”

    Here is the text of Tong’s video remarks:

    It’s Friday afternoon, and temperatures are dropping down to minus two, minus three in the next couple of days, and the tenants at concierge apartments and Rocky Hill have now been kicked out of their homes, no heat, no hot water, and I just got a letter from one of Concierge’s lawyers that wasn’t just tone deaf. I can I can only describe it as as like callous and indifferent.

    And so I just responded with my own letter, and I made it crystal clear that Concierge has to step up all of their managers out there in California, their owners of this $15 billion private equity backed real estate conglomerate, you got to step up right now and make sure that every tenant has access to quality housing, a roof over their heads for children and families and every tenant.

    You have to make sure that you take care of all of your tenants and their out of pocket expenses. I don’t want to hear about renters insurance. This is on you: lost food, lost medicine, lost time at work. This is on you, Concierge, and the billions of billions of dollars you have backing you up.

    Also, tenants should get up to a year break on their rent. You have failed them for years and years and years. That is only fair, and if tenants want to move out, if they don’t want to put up with this anymore, they should be allowed to break their leases because you’re in breach of your obligations to them.

    And so I have a very simple message to Concierge on Friday afternoon, as it starts to freeze here in Connecticut: do better, now.