HARTFORD, Conn. — Tenants of Hartford’s Concord Hills Apartment Complex are calling on the city for better housing conditions.
A fire on Aug. 10 on Sherbrook Avenue forced over 100 people out of their homes, according to the Hartford Fire Department. Tenants have been living in motels ever since.
The tenants said the problem is that those motels have rodents and other issues that make them feel unsafe. They also do not contain kitchens for families to cook food.
“This is not just about dignity, this is not just about safety and security,” one tenant said at a press conference outside City Hall. “It's about dignity and it's about respect.”
On top of that, they said their personal property was either damaged by the fire or stolen by looters.
Those tenants held a press conference Wednesday outside city hall to bring attention to the issue.
They said the city has not done enough to help.
“Everything we had. Most of us were not affected by the fire,” Marisol Navarro, a tenant, said. “Our apartments have been destroyed. Our valuables have been stolen. Our souls have been damaged.”
The tenants want the city’s help to hold their landlord accountable. They also want to be reimbursed for meals and losses from theft.
Hartford Mayor Arnunan Arulampalam held a resource fair on Wednesday for the tenants displaced. He said inspectors visit Concord Hills daily and he is hopeful that most of the tenants will be able to move back into their apartments in about two weeks from now.
Navarro said she couldn't get answers to questions regarding her housing situation, her belongings, or other needed resources.
“We’re getting just a slap in the face,” Navarro said. “Especially from the mayor of Hartford who should be on our side because when he was campaigning and walking up the streets of Hartford. He wanted our attention but now that we need his help he can’t give us his attention.”
Arulampalam said the city has helped tenants with relocation resources of up to $4,000 including food services like Meals on Wheels and SNAP benefits, as well as legal services to provide tenant assistance. He added that the city is working on finding additional financial resources for the displaced families.
“We just want to make sure we are being responsive, that we are getting them every resource we could right away and getting them on real game plan to move into an apartment,” Arulampalam said.
Navarro still feels more needs to be done especially after residents found out their apartments were broken into and ransacked.
“They’re offering me $4,000 but how am I going to furnish this apartment when all of my things were either destroyed or stolen,” Navarro said. “$4,000 is not going to cover that.”
The group Angels of Edgewood is doing all they can to support those residents, but the founder feels the city has to do better.
“The way they’re being treated is disgraceful,” Jendayi Scott-Miller, founder of Angels of Edgewood, said. “As the city is changing, they are being pushed out of the community that they were born and raised in.”
Navarro said that she is staying with her father after the motel she had been put up in was found to be in poor condition.
The apartment owner, GreyHill, did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Bridgette Bjorlo is an anchor/reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at bbjorlo@fox61.com. Follow her onFacebook, X and Instagram.
Kaye Paddyfote is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at kpaddyfote@fox61.com. Follow her on X and Instagram.
MORE NEWS:
---
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com.
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Stream Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
