A Notice on Common Sense

FIRE SAFETY ALERT

• Residents are asked to use some caution and common sense when it comes to landscaping mulch.
• Be aware of this fire safety issue.
• Smokers, discard your smoking materials properly.

Just this week, the above notice was posted on the outside entrance door of each building at Spring Gate Apartments by FHRC Management.
     Considering all the major safety issues that need addressing at this subsidized housing complex in Rockland this notice is almost laughable.  At Rockland Place / Spring Gate, people fire guns, workers torch buildings, live-ins get high and commit extreme acts of violence, and unsupervised children set fires.  These are some of the same people this property manager expects to use caution and common sense when it comes to discarding lit cigarettes into landscaping mulch. Makes me wonder where Management's common sense disappearred to.... Perhaps it's under all of their mulch?
     Oh yes, Management's fire safety alert notice reminds me of Chapter 186, Section 21 of the Massachusetts General Laws. It's just another law Rockland Place dba Spring Gate violates. This particular law reads: The landlord or lessor of any residential or commercial property, upon the written request of any tenant or lawful occupant, of any code or other law enforcement official or of any official of the municipality in which the property is situated, shall disclose in writing within fifteen days of such request the name of the company insuring the property against loss or damage by fire and the amount of insurance provided by each such company and the name of any person who would receive payment for a loss covered by such insurance. Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars. A waiver of this section in any lease or other rental agreement shall be void and unenforceable.
     Considering this corporate landlord hasn't had to comply to their annual lease agreement while receiving subsidies and housing tax credits, I'll just bet they're shaking in their boots!

The Wonderful Web They Weave

....It’s not enough to simply proclaim that Justice officials will do the right thing.  You need to know that they are making decisions that don’t have ethical entanglements. He argued that conflicts arise “when a private lawyer enters government service and a matter comes before him affecting his former law firm or its clients.”.... 
     This is only a portion of an editorial I just read on the Forbes website. I am convinced 'ethical entanglements' and 'political favors' are a large part of why some corporate managers and partners of HUD housing complexes, including those at Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apts., have been allowed to violate people, laws, and The Fair Housing Act. 
The editorial was written by Peter Schweizern and published on May 7, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/05/07/obamas-doj-and-wall-street-too-big-for-jail/

AFFORDABLE HOUSING REWARDS

Robert Covelle, the embattled executive director of the Medford Housing Authority, is leaving his post a year after officials began to investigate allegations of favoritism in hiring and contracting under his leadership. Some of the allegations include:  attempts to get jobs and subsidized housing for insiders, the disappearance of thousands of dollars worth of salvaged copper from a housing authority demolition site, and allowing the hiring of a maintenance worker who had previously been convicted of a sex crime. In addition, federal inspectors from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development concluded last month that the agency under Covelle’s stewardship paid $1.3 million to a dozen contractors without following federal contracting rules. For more go to: http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/05/16/embattled-medford-housing-chief-robert-covelle-resigning/gXlUFaWQJEWPiSiZ9HdgSM/story.html?p1=News_links  

Patterns of Nuisance Properties

     I felt disgusted to read of another poorly run subsidized housing complex in Massachusetts where concerned tenants continue to be treated with contempt and disrespect by property management.  Lincoln Village Apartments, located at 134 Country Club Blvd, Worcester, MA 01605, is another housing complex mismanaged by Cornerstone Corporation.  The listed phone for Lincoln Village is 508-853-9880.

     Most of their ongoing complaints remind me of life at Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apartments in Rockland, MA which is, and has been, mismanaged by negligent and abusive people from Cornerstone Corporation.  All the while, MassHousing and HUD continue granting non-compliant property owners undeserved rent increases; therefore, rewarding mismanagement and contributing to many long-standing nuisance properties.  Perhaps decent tenants at Lincoln Village would like to submit photographs and/or video of these non-compliance issues to this blog for publication?  Due to the likelihood of retaliation, names and email addresses of contributors will not be published.  

     "I moved to Lincoln Village 7 years ago. They said they very rarely go up on rent. THEY LIE. The rent increases never go to anything useful, maintenance is never improved and they DO need to get rid of Barbara who always is impatient, makes it sound like you are a bother and is ready to hang up on you. To get anything fixed you have to call forever. Tenants are allowed to keep breaking rules such as dogs without leashes, rowdy noisy neighbors, illegal parking, etc, and we should be able to count on things being enforced here. The only thing LV responds to is anything involving money. That's all they care about, it's frustrating. Management, maintenance and security all suck, but I really don't have any other place to go with my 3 kids. I have notified security and the Worcester Police that work here that my neighbors use and; sell drugs and; showed them the evidence outside my door and; nothing is done. This place needs to be cleaned up and run properly."    Read more at: http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/MA-Worcester-Lincoln-Village-Apartments-1340419.html