On July 14, 2017 CAC organizers and tenant leaders from Clay Arsenal Renaissance Apartments (CARA) held a public action to demand that Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the City of Hartford take responsibility for the horrific conditions of 150 federally subsidized apartment units spread over 26 buildings owned by Emmanuel Ku, a slumlord from New York. These 26 buildings are located in Hartford’s federally designated Promise Zone in the Clay Arsenal neighborhood in Hartford’s North End. As a result of this organizing effort, HUD initiated a 51 unit REAC inspection, with apartments chosen at random by a computer system. This inspection resulted in the identification of over 100 health and safety deficiencies, a number of them considered life threatening. To highlight just a few:
- 110 Health and Human Safety Deficiencies Found. It is projected that if all buildings and units were inspected, a total of 277 health and safety deficiencies would be found.
- 26 missing or inoperable smoke detectors
- 24 of the 51 units inspected had inoperable windows
- 21 out of 24 buildings inspected had obstructed or inaccessible patio, porch, and balconies
- 66 instances of mold
- 44 instances of mice/rat/roach infestations
As a result of this inspection, HUD issued Emmanuel Ku a notice of default. The notice also suggested that Ku falsely certified that he had corrected the health and safety deficiencies found in a prior inspection a few weeks earlier – deficiencies that still remained during this inspection. The notice of default issued to Ku gave him until September 25th to bring his buildings up to compliance. They received an extension from HUD until Oct. 4th.
The tenants’ organizing efforts continue and we are determined to see this through until the residents have safe, decent, and sanitary living conditions.
See the latest Hartford Courant Article on the situation: HUD Deepens Probe into Hartford Landlord
