Stratford and Bridgeport Take Complaints and Issues to Court
By Barbara Heimlich, Editor
Sources: Daniel Tepfer, Staff writer; Brian Lockhart, Reporter; Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media
Editor’s Note: Testimony in the case scheduled for Thursday morning was unavailable for Friday publication.
Testimony began Wednesday morning in a trial to determine if a receiver should be appointed to temporarily take over the finances of the troubled Success Village housing complex. There are 10 buildings with 148 apartments in Stratford and 86 buildings with 776 apartments in Bridgeport.
Background
Success Village is in Bridgeport’s Mill Hill neighborhood, and extends over the border into Stratford. Complaints from co-op owners about no heat and hot water this spring, and following state and municipal inspections, the complex’s main boiler was deemed a hazard and ordered shut down. A temporary one was installed by management with mixed results due in part to the aged infrastructure.
The mayors of both communities, along with state and federal agencies, are trying to help Success Village’s board pay for more reliable temporary and permanent solutions ahead of this coming winter.
Concerns have been raised by officials about how the cooperative’s board manages its finances. Households pay about $500 per month to cover taxes, maintenance and other costs, yet the development owes tens-of-millions in back taxes and sewer system use fees.
Nearly all of the 20-person Bridgeport council signed a letter in mid-May asking Attorney General William Tong to perform an audit. Bridgeport Councilwoman Maria Pereiraurged residents to withhold their monthly fees to protest hot water issues. This action on behalf of her constituents resulted in a lawsuit being filed against her. She, other council members, and aides to Mayor Joe Ganim have been voicing concern over a hot water crisis at the cooperative that began in early May.
According to the lawsuit filed by Darnell Crosland, Success Village board’s attorney, Pereira’s “interference is improper, done with malicious intent, misrepresentations and through intimidation” and caused Success Village “economic harm as a result.” Crosland has said he wants a state judge to force Pereira to retract her alleged statements and to apologize. The suit is also seeking damages for lost revenues and business opportunities.
“They make no mention (in the lawsuit) of the fact she’s a councilwoman and Success Village is in her district,” said Attorney Tyisha Toms, who runs Bridgeport’s law department. “They make no mention of the fact they have not paid a significant number of bills. They make no mention of the lack of heat and hot water. … It leaves a lot out and doesn’t speak to the reason why she said what she said. And I think the lawsuit was intended to intimidate her because she’s effective.”
Crosland, in response to Toms’ comments said, “Lawsuits are not designed with goals in mind. They articulate behaviors that are impermissible and that violate the law. I’m happy the councilwoman now has legal counsel that will advise her to modify her behavior to comport with the law.”
City attorney Toms said she believes that, under state law, the city is obligated to represent Pereira. “I think it is clear that she was acting in her capacity as a councilwoman. This is her district. She was advocating for her constituents.”
Stratford and Bridgeport Take Complaints and Issues to Superior Court
On Wednesday, a series of witnesses testified in Superior Court that management at Success Village did not respond to repeated notices of health and fire code violations at the 900-unit housing cooperative that straddles the Bridgeport/Stratford border. Lawyers for the city of Bridgeport, the town of Stratford, United Illuminating Co. and Southern Connecticut Gas Co., are suing to have a receiver appointed to take over the management of Success Village.
Legislative bodies of both municipalities voted to seek to have the management of the complex handed over to an independent receiver. Cameron Moxley, the lawyer for UI and the gas company, filed a similar suit. He claims the co-op’s management which is sent the utility bills for the complex, owes the utilities in excess of $1.3 million.
Numerous Success Village residents filled the back of the courtroom during the day’s testimony. They said later outside the courtroom they still are without hot water. The problems have persisted since May and residents said they are especially concerned as the weather gets colder.
According to testimony on Wednesday the co-op owes $241,597 in back taxes to the town of Stratford and more than $2 million in delinquent taxes to Bridgeport.
Maureen Whelan, environmental health supervisor for the town of Stratford, said that in May, after a temporary boiler had been installed at the complex, she found that 25 units still had no hot water, in violation of health codes. She said she issued orders to the complex’s management that it be fixed. Whalen continued that if the heating problem is not resolved residents will have to be relocated at a cost to the town.
Stratford Deputy Fire Marshal Bernard McGorty, said he inspected the Stratford side of the complex and found 71 violations, including nonworking fire and smoke detectors and improper fire doors. “People go to sleep and see the smoke detector and feel they are going to be safe but there is no guarantee they (the detectors) are going to work,” he testified. McGorty said he tried working with the co-op’s management but not everything has been fixed. “This is three years of issues and that’s unacceptable,” he added.
Christopher Vega, fire inspector for Bridgeport, testified he inspected the Bridgeport side of the complex in May 2023 and found fire alarms were not working. He said despite numerous calls to the complex’s management he has not received a response. “Voice mails were left but none were returned,” he said.
Omarys Vasquez, the state building official, testified that an April inspection this year found all five boilers at the complex in poor or non-working condition and the main gas line under two feet of water and rotting.
“We gave them 30 days to repair or replace or we would shut it down,” she said of the complex’s heating system. She continued she later gave the order for the shutdown when they received no word from the co-op’s management that the work had been done.
Bridgeport Health Director Elizabeth Rivera-Rodriguez, said the city continues to get complaints from the co-op that units don’t have hot water.
“When you have people calling daily that they don’t have hot water, and they are calling day after day, it leads me to believe the fix is not working properly,” she said.
Tye Bird and his cronies mismanaged the money paid out in common charges to keep Success Village operating properly.
They have no clue what they did with our money 💴
My question like everyone else that lives at Success and pays taxes why Ty Bird has not paid any taxes in the two years he has been a board president?
Amazing it has gone on this long