NEW HAVEN, Conn. — On Tuesday morning, New Haven's second tenants' union became official after they filed paperwork with the Fair Rent Commission at New Haven City Hall. This new union is made up of tenants at 1476 Chapel St., in the city's West River neighborhood. The property is owned by Ocean Management.
"It feels significant and it feels like people are looking at us and finally listening," said Amanda Watts, a Tenants Union Member and Leader for 1476 Chapel St.
Following the paperwork, Watts and their seven other members joined together with the already-existing Blake St. Tenants Union for a rally on Tuesday afternoon. Both unions are filled with members who lived under properties owned by Ocean Management. The two groups stood outside of Ocean's office on Whitney Ave, calling for change.
By the end of the rally, the groups posted a list of demands for their landlord. They're asking for:
• Secure tenure
• Stable rents
• Full access to the property's amenities for all tenants
• Quality and timely repairs
• Non-retaliation against union members and non-interference in the union's activities
"Tenant unions are forming because the situation renters are facing is just becoming more and more untenable," said Luke Melonakos-Harrison, an Organizer with The Connecticut Tenants Union.
In New Haven alone, city leaders said since last year, complaints to the city's Fair Rent Commission have more than quadrupled. That's a result, the mayor said, of more problems and more outreach by tenant unions.
“Many cities around the nation are facing a crisis around housing. Prices are going up, there’s not enough affordable housing. And we’re seeing the same thing in New Haven," said Mayor Justin Elicker with the City of New Haven. "And that does a number of things… increasing the number of people we see experiencing homelessness. It’s also increasing the likelihood, unfortunately, that people are living in substandard conditions because some landlords know that there’s not a lot of options out there.”
So, when a group of tenants came to city hall almost two years ago, they tried to help.
“We realized that we didn’t have the legal tools to do that, so we worked with them to create a new law," Elicker said.
That law was passed in front of the board of alders, allowing tenants to unionize without facing retaliation from their landlords. It states that in order to unionize, a majority of lease-holding tenants need to sign on in support of creating a tenants' union. It allows them to then take those complaints about rent increases or substandard living conditions to the Fair Rent Commission, and get help.
Shortly after in November of 2022, The Blake Street Tenants Union was formed. Those tenants live at 311 Blake Street, also owned by Ocean Management. The formation of that union inspired Watts to get her neighbors on board at their property, about five minutes away.
"I started knocking on doors a couple months later and found other people that were equally or more angry about it than I was," Watts said.
Watts said they noticed a major problem with management after experiencing radiator issues that were ignored by management. Other tenants shared similar, and even worse stories.
"The rodents are really out of control, we have mice that run a muck, there are holes in the interior and exterior of our building," Watts said.
Now, the big problem Watts said they and their union members are facing is that they do not have a stable lease contract. Currently, they are living month-to-month at their Chapel St. home
"So we don't have that stability," Watt said. "It's not so much that I want to live there, but I know I deserve better. I deserve to be respected. And I know that my community deserves to be respected," Watts said.
FOX61 reached out to Ocean management for comment via email and phone and did not hear back. The company has a notice on its door saying they don't take walk-ins, and people can only enter with an appointment or a court order.
In the meantime, The Connecticut Tenants Union is encouraging people from all across the state to reach out if they are experiencing unfair rent increases or deplorable living conditions. The best way to get in touch is via email at: CTtenantsunion@gmail.com.
To get in touch directly with the Chapel St. tenants union, email 1476chapeltu@gmail.com.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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