Judge Blocks Landlord From Forcing Tenants Back Into Apartments
GoLocalProv News Team
Judge Blocks Landlord From Forcing Tenants Back Into Apartments
Judge Jacqueline Grasso issued the order for an emergency on Friday and reverses an earlier order by the court.
One of the attorneys for a group of the tenants tells GoLocal that the landlord is trying to force families, the elderly and approximately two dozen children into housing that units that have no furniture or beds.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“The landlord threw out their beds — it is not reasonable to ask families to move into apartments with nothing…they need to replace the beds at a minimum,” said attorney Dan Calabro in an interview with GoLocal on Sunday.
In filings with the court, Calabro and fellow attorney Artin Coloian argued, “As a result of the actions of the Owners and their agents, Tenants have lost valuable belongings, included but not limited to their beds, To date, owners have not replaced the beds that were damaged by their actions.”
“Tenants do not possess the financial means to relocate or to even acquire the bare necessities to occupy the units that they once did. Tenants believe that the Owner is taking advantage of their economic disadvantage to force them into living in unsafe conditions in order to maximize their profits,” continued the argument.
“As this Court is aware, the Tenants’ apartments at Park Plaza were infested with mold, suffered severe water damage, and were rendered uninhabitable by a failure to maintain Park Plaza in decent, safe, and sanitary condition with accordance with federal regulations, state and local housing codes, and the HAP contracts with the Tenants,” stated the motion.
Tenants from the apartments are scheduled to appear on GoLocal LIVE on Tuesday.
Move Follows Lawsuits
A separate lawsuit involving the property is now pending in Superior Court. The first of what lawyers say will be upwards of 40 lawsuits were filed in Superior Court last week alleging the Park Plaza development in Johnston has been “grossly negligent.”
The lawsuit filed in Superior Court on behalf of a Johnston mother Emily Valle and on behalf of her children allege that the owners of the Johnston property and two management companies, “Throughout her residency at Park Plaza, Plaintiff has endured a number of hazardous and unhealthy conditions on the premises, including flooding, water damage, dangerous microbial growth, and contamination caused by the wanton neglect of the defendants."
The suit goes on to allege, “As a result of continued exposure to the hazards and contamination at the premises of Park Plaza, Plaintiff and her children have suffered numerous injuries, including but not limited to respiratory & pulmonary symptoms, severe emotional distress, and property damage. Despite Plaintiff’s repeated complaints to the defendants, little was done to remediate the hazards in her apartment until recently.”
Robert Corrente, the former U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island, represents the property owner. The 62 unit apartment complex at 20 Park Street is owned by a Rhode Island corporation tied to a California developer Brian Chen-Chih Chen, according to Rhode Island business records. Corrente did not respond to questions about the lawsuit.
Requesting Beds Be Replaced
“The owners need to do the right thing and replace the tenants’ beds. They have nowhere to sleep,” said Calabro. “People lost everything.
In November 2018, GoLocal first reported the story of the violations and the city’s action against the property owners.
GoLocal Reported:
Approximately 200 tenants are living in a subsidized housing project that is now under enforcement action and some say should be condemned.
Already, the tenants living in ten of the units have been forced to move out and be relocated to local motels.
Some children have fungal infections growing on their bodies according to the lawyer who represents 20 of the tenants. There are an estimated 70 children living in the complex.
During a recent court inspection of the complex at the Park Plaza Apartments, the attorney for the town of Johnston, Joseph Ballirano, wore a mask during the more than 90-minute inspection of the property.
Johnston Municipal Court issued multiple orders against the property owner this past week and found that the property failed to provide an engineering report, correct roofing issues, and failed to verify structural the structural integrity of the building. Previous to the most recent court action, the property owner was fined more than $30,000. Read More Here.
Federal Funding
Tenants in the building are subsidized with federal funding from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) contracts with RI Housing to administer the housing assistance payment contract in privately owned Section 8 developments. Under the program, HUD is the responsible entity for physical inspection and enforcement actions,” Christine Hunsinger, Assistant Deputy Director for Policy and Research at Rhode Island Housing told GoLocal last November.
“RI Housing has no authority to take any enforcement action in this matter. We are naturally concerned about the residents of the development. Those who were living in affected units have been relocated by the property manager until the issues can be resolved,” said Hunsinger.