Tenants at a housing complex for low income and disabled residents in Windsor are demanding change after they say management has not only ignored their request but punished them for asking. Management says the complaints were not taken to them but to other town and state officials.
They are some of Windsor’s most vulnerable residents and Wednesday low income and disabled tenants at Millbrook Village spoke out against the Windsor Housing Authority.
"They haven’t had a voice they’ve been afraid," said state Rep. Jane Garibay (D-Windsor). Garibay is in support of the residents, who say their requests for maintenance were ignored.
"They’ve been terrorized the whole time to ever say anything because they’re told you’ll get kicked out," Garibay said.
"We really need this management that’s in place to be totally replaced, tenant Andrew McAllister said.
Millbrook Village tenant Andrew McAllister says he and dozens of other tenants signed a petition demanding change. The allegations include clogged toilets not being addressed in a timely manner and grab bars not being replaced as part of an ongoing, delayed improvement project.
Claire Howard - the attorney for the Housing Authority - sent NBC Connecticut a statement saying, “The Housing Authority takes all resident complaints seriously and we were disturbed read a number of the mistaken allegations in his complaint.”
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The Housing Authority said in a meeting Wednesday that it is doing everything it can to get the ongoing construction project completed.
"The buck stops here it’s the commission that has the legal and fiduciary duty to serve its residents," newly elected Housing Authority Commissioner Adam Gutchon said. He joined in the call for change.
"All I’ve heard is it’s not my fault it’s someone else’s fault blame them this is not fair."
The commission which oversees management is still an incomplete board. Garibay says when it's fully elected there needs to be more guidance.
"They need to bring in a consultant or a review board to look at that and it Hass to be a non-partisan not attached to the Housing Authority an independent counsel," Garibay said.
