Realities of HUD's Safe and Decent Housing

ABC's Nightline found in a joint investigation with the Center for Public Integrity, the federal government's low-income housing programs, which cost taxpayers $26 billion a year, are plagued by theft, mismanagement and corruption at local levels, including millions spent on housing for sex offenders and dead people, and all too often fail the 3 million families who rely on them for a clean, safe place to live.

While Rockland Place dba SpringGate Apts. fails to comply with lease agreements and successfully provides refuge to criminal activity, property management recently distributed a notice offering residents $100 gift cards for successful referrals.  A successful move-in to this corporate landlord would not be a referral of anyone insisting to live in a pleasant, non-threatening, or safe environment.

ARMED ROBBERY IN ROCKLAND

     Today an armed robbery involving at least one gun occurred in Rockland, Mass. Several suspects were seen fleeing from John Dunn Dr. into Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apartments. Police cruisers lined Martha Drive around 2:15pm, while other officers searched the area on foot. One of the suspects was apprehended by Rockland Police from the household of the infamous 74A Martha Dr.
    Is this what the new partners of Rockland Place meant when they promised Board of Selectmen they'd turn the housing complex into an asset instead of a liability?

Codes, Regulations, Laws

People have requested I post the Massachusetts State Sanitary Codes to this blog, so here is the link to the codes.     http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/regs/105cmr410.pdf
Please keep in mind that codes, regulations, and laws may exist, but enforcement is a different story.
     When corporate owners of multifamily housing have certain powerful connections and pay campaign contributions, regulations and laws don't always apply.   Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apts. may recognize the 6-month retaliation law, but could systematically retaliate after that timeframe.  It wouldn't be the first time.

Illegal campaign fund-raising scheme

.... Prosecutors began investigating WinnCos. and its employees as an offshoot of the federal corruption probe that has so far resulted in the convictions of former city councilor Chuck Turner and former state senator Dianne Wilkerson.......
    William M. Connolly, one of the newer partners in the ownership of Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apartments in Rockland, Mass., once stated he was an executive for the WinnCos.

BB Jeebies

     Vandalism of vehicles and assaults continue at Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apartments in Rockland, Mass.  It's been reported that BBs were fired at a resident and broke a car windshield inside this tax-credited, subsidized housing complex.  Police were called over the incidents. 
     Property owners and management await another rent increase approval by the state housing finance agency named MassHousing from Massachusetts Housing and Finance Agency.  Would property management please explain their lack of compliance with occupancy agreements and HUD regulations for tenant selection, live-ins, and safety issues?  Drop an email.

Signed into Silence

You may see it; you may experience it; but you are forbidden to publicly speak of the inefficiencies, crime, waste, mismanagement, fraud, and abuse.  Though no such speech restriction is printed in the signed lease agreements at Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apartments., its not long before some residents realize their reality.  Spring Gate is a corporate-owned, HUD subsidized housing complex in Rockland, Mass. involving numerous investors affiliated with several partnerships, corporations, organizations, and politicians.
http://oversightwatchmassachusetts.blogspot.com/

http://pview.findlaw.com/view/4064642_1#achorOO

DiMasi says kin could be homeless - The Boston Globe

DiMasi says kin could be homeless - The Boston Globe
    If Salvatore DiMasi, former speaker of the Massachusetts House, is found guilty of corruption charges, he may have to forfeit his condo at 220 Commercial Street, North End of Boston, to the federal government. If he and his family do happen to become homeless, they could probably apply for housing at one of the HUD subsidized housing complexes. I see Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apartments in Rockland, Mass. is advertising their MassHousing / HUD-financed apartments as 'luxurious living'. Perhaps Mr. DiMasi and his family could enjoy living near the invisible 'university' at Spring Gate Apts.

The Financing of Crime in Housing

Unless property managers, owners, HUD, MassHousing, and DHCD are able and willing to run them safely, decently, and properly, please do NOT build or finance anymore subsidized housing complexes!  People who threaten others, and who commit crimes against others, especially violent ones, belong in prison facilities, and NOT living in housing complexes with innocent citizens.  While a resident at Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apts. in Rockland, Massachusetts, I can attest to the fact that agencies, owners, and managements aid much of the criminal behavior on such properties. And why do authorities place Level 3 sex offenders (those likely to offend again), inside elderly housing complexes such as Chestnut Glenn Apts. in Abington, Mass.? 
Suggested Reading Materials include:
     * Jennifer Mann. (2011, March 28). Local housing authorities run with little oversight. The Patriot Ledger,8. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from Massachusetts Newsstand. (Document ID: 2307334131).
     * Jennifer Mann. (2011, March 28). Keeping our seniors safe :Changes were made to cut crime in public housing buildings for seniors, but some say not enough was done. The Patriot Ledger,1. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from Massachusetts Newsstand. (Document ID: 2307334161).
     * Michele Morgan Bolton. (2010, February 11). Ex-Dedham official says firing was retaliation :Dedham; Elder head, chair had prior run-in. Boston Globe,p. GS.4. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from Massachusetts Newsstand. (Document ID: 1959953921).

TAP = Tyrants Assess the Poor?

Hopefully this program will also address the hoarding of live-ins and the hoarding of illegal drugs in 'affordable' housing complexes such as Rockland Place dba Spring Gate Apartments.
You can register for these sessions at www.MassHousing.com/TAPtraining for TAP trainings offered by MassHousing.
What You Need To Know About Hoarding (Level 1)
STILL TIME TO REGISTER! 4/13/11, 8:45 - 4:00, Worcester
Legal Issues Related to Hoarding (Level 2*) 4/21/11, 8:45 - 1:00, Holyoke
Hoarding Case Roundtable (Level 3*) 5/10/11, 8:45 - 1:00, Chicopee
Hoarding Intervention: Assessment & Plan Development (Level 2*) 6/14/11, 8:45 – 1:00, Hyde Park
*Note:  Hoarding Basics Level 1: What You Need To Know About Hoarding or the equivalent is a prerequisite.
(Hoarding Basics Level 1, plus one Level 2 course are prerequisites for Level 3)     If you have questions, please contact Janeen Harris, 617-854-1069, jharris@masshousing.com  TAP, MassHousing's Tenant Assistance Program