During this covid crisis, First Hartford Realty Corporation and Connolly & Partners LLC sent around notices to their financially vulnerable tenants in Rockland, Massachusetts offering a bribe to write "5-star reviews".
Notices were distributed to tenants two or three different times, beginning November 2020, urging residents to write 5-star reviews about the subsidized property that was recently fined by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office for hazarous asbestos disposal.
This nuisance property has also been known for illegal drug distribution, mail theft, assaults, noise, filthy hallways, threats, harassments, etc. Of course, FHRC never called their coercion a bribe, but labeled it a contest instead. If it were really a "contest", corporate management would have asked residents for their honest reviews, good or bad, to be eligible for the drawing. In order to receive an abundance of 5-star reviews, Management limited the eligibility of residents who wrote the 5-star reviews, by making every TENTH resident who wrote a 5-star review to be eligible to win a gift card. If you're confused, here's what Rockland apartments management wrote . . .
. . . "As a valued tenant, we are looking for some input on making our community even better. We are offering an incentive for every 10th resident that writes a 5-star review will be eligible to win a gift card. See drawing dates below.
First Prize will be announcing on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 12pm
Second Prize will be announcing on Friday, February 26, 2021 at 12pm
Third Prize will be announcing on Monday, March 1, 2021 at 12pm
The lucky winner could win a gift card up to $100.00"
Some of the Spring Gate resident reviews could be seen on the following website: https://www.apartmentratings.com/ma/rockland/spring-gate-apartments_781871232302370/
Most financially vulnerable tenants, who hoped to win a gift card, wrote wonderful reviews, whether true or not. On the other hand, so glad to see some residents refused to be bribed and wrote what their genuine resident experiences are or have been! Thank you to several Spring Gate Apartment residents for having good ethics even when corporate managers do NOT.
