Abusive Patterns Ring Bells in HUD Housing

Recently we received more information from tenants in another subsidized housing complex managed by Cornerstone Corp., Connolly and Partners LLC, First Hartford Corporation (FHRC), and their Tenants Association. Like other tenants in other complexes, these tenants recognize they will be forced to endure frivolous eviction proceedings for speaking out if their names were exposed.  Considering the long history and patterns of retaliation attempts and abuse by owners, investors, and managers on these subsidized properties, tenants' fear of retaliation is very much justified. 

     One resident requested we write an article of interest on how Mr. Laham of McNeil Assoc., then Cornerstone Corp., allegedly made a deal with Clarendon Hill Towers at dinner with Bill Connolly and Linda Hamilton of Connolly and Partners LLC and FHRC prior to contracts being signed with Clarendon Hill Towers.  To be better able to do this, we would need more details and other information for better clarification. Some items of interest have already been written about.  Those articles can be found in our archives in the column to the left of this page.

     In the meantime, we continue to process the information received by tenants in various housing complexes.  There is most definitely a familiar pattern of abuse happening on these HUD-financed properties to do with favoritisms, drugs, serious unfair housing issues, deliberate harassments by corporate partners, interference in tenants organizations, conflicts of interests, unethical practices in regard to waiting lists and construction bids, etc. etc.   Stay connected!   

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2013/06/15/evictions-discrimination-complaints-raise-questions-clarendon-hill-complex-somerville/U9o77K1GBV9jI4lK2F0RTK/story.html

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After Corporate Landlords Get Billions in Funds
to Renovate at least two different housing complexes,
fires start from faulty materials. More than
$100,000 gets collected from Insurance Policies.

Here's a news item we missed from the Somerville Patch in January 2013.

     Somerville Fire Chief, Kevin Kelleher said a repair man who had been working on the generator was finishing up his work when the generator caught on fire.
      The fire broke out at about 10:30 a.m., and by around 11:15 a.m. firefighters had it under control. Kelleher classified it as a "small fire."
      There were no reported injuries, and "right now it looks like everyone's going to stay in the building," Kelleher said at that time. Had the fire and smoke been worse, the fire department may have been forced to evacuate the entire building.
     Clarendon Hill Towers is a large affordable housing complex .......
          Ward 7 Alderman, Robert Trane, who was on the scene, said neighbors had called him several times "to complain about this generator," which made lots of noise.
      The fire heavily damaged the generator and nearby electrical wiring and conduits, leading to more than $100,000 worth of damage, according to an email from Deputy Fire Chief, Charles Breen.
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And another item we missed for October 2006.

Location: Rockland Place/Spring Gate Apts., Hannah Way F , Rockland, MA 02370Fire Department: Rockland, MA 02370,  ID: 23251,  Incident #: 2187,  Station: 1,  Shift/Platoon: 2Incident Type: Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective or worn insulation.Alarm Time: 10/26/2006 22:28,  Arrival Time: 10/26/2006 22:32,  Last Unit Cleared Time: 10/26/2006 22:49Action taken: Investigate. Includes investigations done on arrival to determine the situation and post incident investigations; and collecting incident information for incident reporting purposes.

The Good and Bad of Project-Based Vouchers

Michael Kane of National Alliance of HUD Tenants (NAHT) has been busy trying to keep elderly, disabled, and low-income Americans from becoming homeless.  To read about this organization's efforts in preserving affordable housing, and to learn more about Project Based Vouchers (PBV), go here:  http://www.saveourhomes.org/naht_files/NAHT%20Wins%20Legislation%20to%20Save%20At%20Risk%20Housing.pdf
    If you'd like to become more involved in the preservation of your affordable housing, don't wait until it's too late, go here:  http://www.saveourhomes.org/

As for myself, I think housing complexes like Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apartments feed into an extreme imbalance and abuse of power, unfair housing, human rights violations, and even corruption.  The big-butt corporate landlords at this subsidized housing complex have proven to be above the law with their one-sided lease agreements, retaliations, intimidation tactics, and attempted swindles.
     Residents need to be kept better informed.  Tenants should be able to find out the name of each and every individual involved in the ownership of any subsidized property, along with other data necessary to manage their lives and to better protect themselves. Visit this site:  http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0420.pdf

SpringGate Shuffle

    Home used to be a place to unwind, relax, recuperate, and escape from the outside world.  However, 'home' at Rockland Place / SpringGate Apartments feels more like a business enterprise where residents haven't much say on when and who enters the place called 'home'. It appears schemes of getting investors huge sums of government money takes priority over quality of residential life at this 204-unit subsidized apartment complex. 'Home' feels more like an illegitimate office park where various corporate visitors trample through your 'home' several times a year.  It's a place that's become nearly impossible to enjoy any quality of life or privacy.
     Rockland Place residents just received four different notices in 2-days listing various dates for more inspections by more corporate strangers for various reasons.   So if any Spring Gate resident had previous plans on April 9th to use their home for a planned birthday party or other personal event, you'd be out of luck.  Afterall, you might be one of the lucky 20 residents to have another group of corporate strangers walking through your home today, whether or not you're in attendance, and whether or not it's inconvenient.  And, if you're not one of the lucky 20 households chosen to receive unfamiliar visitors today, you won't have the opportunity to know about it until after you cancelled your plans and wasted your day waiting.   
    On April 9, 2014 (today) a representative from FinePoint ___ LLC will be on the property to conduct a compliance review on behalf of Dept. Housing Community Development (DHCD).  Since there will be no additional notice regarding which apartments will be inspected again, all rent-payers should prepare for this visit inside their homes. While you're waiting for these strangers to appear, you can probably twiddle your thumbs and look out your apartment windows to enjoy the "wooded view".  Hopefully, you won't see anyone hanging themselves from one of the trees nearby. 
    Hope you didn't plan on catching a few Zzzzz's on the 9th or 10th day of April.  On April 10th,  Fire Alarm Systems Inc. will be conducting fire alarm inspections and testings in all first floor apartments throughout the property.  All rent-payers can once again enjoy the sound of fire horns throughout the day.  
    Considering some of the previous fires and a disturbed Rockland Place resident who was recently arrested for setting a large fire in Weymouth, keeping halls clutter-free should be enforced throughout the entire year and not just during times of inspections.
 Jon F. Fernald, 44, of 150 Martha Drive, Rockland, told police that he had been a customer at the Amazing Intimate Essentials store at 138 Bridge St. and that he blamed the store for getting him addicted to porn...  (Read more here....) http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20140409/NEWS/140406291/12331/NEWS
     On April 24th at 6pm, all residents of Rockland Place and SpringGate Apartments will have another opportunity to meet Mr. 'affordability into perpetuity' Joe Armstrong of Scituate, Mass.  Like a smooth talking salesman, he'll answer your questions in favor of those who write him a check.  Where are those security cameras they promised residents in 2005?  Where are those security cameras they used as a recent excuse to increase subsidized rents?   Several residents wonder why they're not seeing security guards walking around the troubled property.
         To explore some of the unfamiliar names of various housing vouchers mentioned in recent notices, residents may be able to visit the following websites on those old Dell computers in the community room at 52 Hannah Way (if the computers are working):
*https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=12-03hsgn.pdf
*http://www.huduser.org/portal/publications/pha_homelessness.pdf
*http://www.mass.gov/hed/housing/rental-assistance/s8pbv.html

Hope Remains for Spring Gate Apartments

Because a multifamily property on the Southside of Atlanta, Georgia could clean up crime and unauthorized occupancy problems, hope remains for Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apartments in Rockland, Massachusetts to do the same.   It really all depends on the actions and inactions of property owners and management of this government subsidized housing complex.   Do they care enough to act responsibly?      
     Thankfully, some owners of multifamily housing still give a hoot about including each and every occupants' full income and their name on a lease agreement.  It's only fair, legal, and appropriate that this rule be applied for every unit occupied.   After reading the following linked article, it looks as though some multifamily property owners still care about The Fair Housing Act and enforcing their lease agreements to obtain a safe and decent living environment for legitimate occupants!   ........... "Crime is our industry's dirty little secret," says Brent Sobol, an apartment owner and crime-prevention consultant. "Everybody’s got it, to some degree, but no one wants to talk about it or admit it." ...........  Read more here: http://www.multifamilyexecutive.com/property-management/safety-first-crime-prevention-efforts-pay-dividends_o.aspx

A Glimpse at Who Management Rents To

January 2, 2014: Somerville Police arrested a Rockland, Massachusetts man after he reportedly slashed a window screen and tried climbing through the window into someone else’s house. Christopher Carreiro, 30, 81D Hannah Way was arrested on Mount Vernon or Vernon Street on a charge of breaking and entering daytime for a felony.  The Rockland Place / Spring Gate Apt., multifamily housing tenant was wearing a black jacket with a silver hood while using a pail to enter a back window. He already had one of his legs inside the home and a folding knife in his right jacket pocket.  Read more about it here: http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/mobiletopstories/x1903522866/Somerville-police-Rockland-man-caught-climbing-in-through-window?utm=c

Affordable Housing, Not So Affordable

Boston Capital is one of the largest owners of multifamily housing in multiple states throughout America. Those benefiting from the conglomerate business of multifamily housing may disagree, but based on news articles, years of personal experience, interviews, and eyewitness accounts of waste, abuse, and unlawful acts against human beings on subsidized multifamily properties, America desperately needs to find better alternatives to affordable housing. While Boston Capital and corporate partnerships expand property portfolios to further enrich and empower themselves with the increased development of mismanaged 'affordable' housing, tenants are often treated with contempt and further victimized by abusive and non-compliant landlords in places like Spring Gate Apartments, Rockland Place, Clarendon Hill Towers, and RoxSE Homes in Massachusetts.
       For some, it's demeaning to live in a place known as, 'The Drug Palace'.  Imagine having to reveal your identification card or license with a multifamily housing address on it, especially one with a bad reputation of housing addicts and criminals.   Do you think you would be treated in a fair and respectful manner?  You'd more likely be treated with distrust and possibly even contempt and belittlement. For children being raised in such places, the drunken and chaotic environment can create a hopeless, violent, and limited world where there's less chance to meet successful people as role models. Building large, mismanaged multifamily housing complexes adds to generations of hopeless people in poverty, suffering victimization, addiction, and disempowerment.  Multifamily housing developments can be compared to prison facilities; except there are innocent residents with unenforceable lease agreements being threatened and traumatized while paying rent.  Innocent Americans with low incomes should not have to be disrespected and violated for a place to call home.
      Are there better alternatives to obtain affordable housing in America instead of building more monstrous subsidized multifamily housing complexes where the imbalance of power is extreme and encourages corruption?   Perhaps more focus and improvements in Section 8 programs would be a better path to accountability with affordable housing?  More possibilities need to be considered and discussed with various groups of people, including law-abiding tenants who survive such places; because, as it stands, multifamily housing demoralizes. Housing programs that lead more people to self-empowerment and independence would be a great improvement over multifamily housing complexes.
      Large housing organizations and corporate partners often rub elbows with local, state, and federal politicians at expensive business and social gatherings while forming PAC funds to influence our Democrat and Republican lawmakers.  Laws get created and adjusted to further promote systematic imbalances in multifamily housing while individual American citizens, with little money, are further disempowered.
      If you've previously survived, or are in the midst of surviving multifamily housing, please send an email with your story.  Due to the likelihood of retaliation by your PAC contributing, corporate landlord, your name won't be published.
 http://www.multifamilybiz.com/Search?q=Boston+Capital

Children Living on HUD Properties

While reading recent news articles on the tragic shooting death of A. Dorsett's mother, the drug deals, assaults, and the stolen property, and gun, we should ask ourselves if Aaron's young life inside this crime-ridden subsidized housing complex contributed to the dangerous adult behaviors we now read about in local newspapers.  Afterall, Mr. Dorsett witnessed too many years of drug deals and violence as a child while he grew up on Martha Drive. 
 "It wasn’t until May 28, 2013, the day before the murder trial started, that Dorsett admitted to prosecutors that he had stolen the gun from a man he was charged with robbing a year before the shooting.
    On July 20, 2010, a Rockland man reported that he was at the Spring Gate Apartments in Rockland when two men with guns, later identified as Dorsett and his brother, beat him up and robbed him of a loaded handgun, $800 cash and jewelry. The man told police he was at the complex buying drugs and was set up."
*http://www.wickedlocal.com/rockland/news/x919101847/Rockland-shooting-victims-son-arraigned-police-say-he-lied
**http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x919101335/Rockland-shooting-victims-son-arraigned-police-say-he-lied

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NIMBUSES

1. The mal-threat warning to this blog has been resolved. Reminds me of when some of our posted images mysteriously disappeared from earlier blogs.  An ISP number was traced to NY.
2. Children at SpringGate attended a Halloween party at the Hannah Way community room five days before Halloween Eve.
3. Three alleged gun shots, at spaced intervals, were heard approx. 11:58 p.m., Wednesday night, at Spring Gate Apartments by the playground area of Hannah Way. 
4. Several DanDel Construction dump trucks have been spotted on the hill area of Martha Drive for the past couple of weeks. The on-site property manager may be able to answer your questions regarding DanDel's mission at this HUD-financed Rockland housing complex. 

Intrusions Detected

Just when you thought you finally had your Rockland Place or Spring Gate apartment to yourself, notices were distributed from Management stating they will again need access to your home, throughout the day on Wednesday, so they could install programmable energy-saving thermostats. Lucky you!
     Another resident's vehicle was being towed from the place they call 'home' when a disturbance broke out around 11:55pm.

Note to blogspot team:  Since publishing last month's blog, a message sounds:  threat detected
While writing this blog, the following code popped up:  bX-3rpsxh