MERIDEN, Conn. — Tenants of a Meriden apartment home say their living conditions are unsanitary and downright unlivable. They say the landlord and property manager aren’t doing enough to fix persistent problems, and city officials are nowhere to be found.
The problems stem from a multi-family property at 59 Twiss St. that emanates a stench so strong - you can taste it. The basement looks like a swimming pool, except you wouldn’t want to swim in it.
“Just please fix it,” pleaded one tenant.
FOX61 visited the property Friday. Kids who call it home were playing outside just feet away from an obvious health hazard festering inside.
“We just want to be able to use our hot water and our toilet and not smell sewage and hopefully not get sick,” remarked a tenant.
Multiple families live in the building.
“It’s unsanitary, it's unhealthy and dangerous for the children on this street.”
For fear of landlord retaliation, tenants wanted to remain anonymous but they shared their stories nonetheless.
“We call. We complain. Things get half fixed. Nothing gets fully fixed," one tenant said.
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For a full year, raw sewage has flooded the basement of the multi-family home. It gives off an odor that on summer days emanates down the street.
“At this point, they should either tear it down and help us all find suitable living or they need to fix it completely," said a tenant.
Two weeks ago, the sewage level got high enough to cover the hot water tanks.
“We were out of hot water for about four days,” explained a tenant.
FOX61 did some digging. The building, along with several others on Twiss Street, is owned by an out of state landlord in Brooklyn, N.Y. The principal listed on state documents is Yankov Weider.
The property is registered under a limited liability company called 59 Twiss Properties LLC. The property is managed by LYP Management out of Wallingford. We gave them a ring.
“I know that we are working on it,” said a lady who answered the phone.
She put FOX61 in touch with the maintenance supervisor named Chaim who said, “It’s being worked on to be fixed.”
When FOX61 asked specifically what was being done to remedy the issue, he asked if he could call back. Chaim never called back.
“I think they are just in it for the money,” said a tenant.
FOX61 reached out to the city of Meriden. Acting Town Manager Emily Holland said inspectors visited the property in April and determined it’s a residential sewer line issue, noting, “…all costs associated with the installation, maintenance or repair of sewer lateral lines are the property owner’s responsibility.”
Holland went on to say the city assumed the issue was resolved but, “Having learned otherwise, the Meriden Department of Health and Human Services will now schedule an appointment to inspect this property.”
Property records show the building next door is also under the same management and ownership. That building is plagued by mold, dry rot, structural concerns and animal infestation.
The city told FOX61 any tenant experiencing subpar living conditions should reach out to the city’s housing department.
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Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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