U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to inspect Midtown Manor apartments

Posted at: 08/10/2012 6:14 PM
By: Lynette Adams | WHEC.com

The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development says it will send the inspectors to Rochester to take a closer look at Midtown Manor on East Broad Street. 

Midtown Manor is owned by HUD. News10NBC was contacted by a tenant there. Linette Hall has asthma and other respiratory problems. She was concerned that water leaking into her apartment, causing her clothes to mold, could be a threat to her health. 

Hall is fed up. She’s lived at Midtown Manor for four years. She moved there because of the convenience and she could afford the rent. But Hall, who is disabled, says in the last few months, the living conditions have become unbearable.

Hall said, “It's going to be like Midtown Plaza, you're going to have to tear this damn place down, dealing with bed bugs, electrical problems and plumbing problems. All kind of mess is going on in this building. These corporate slumlords keep patching up.”

The latest issue appears to be a plumbing problem. Leaking pipes located between the bathroom and her closets soaked her bedroom rug. She says it ruined many of the clothes in her closet, leaving them molded and stained. She has documented the problems with a cell phone camera. 

A maintenance person was working on the plumbing when News10NBC paid Hall a visit. These are the holes in the wall, but this is what she says she was told when she asked managers to replace her clothes. 

Hall said, “If I don't pay my rent, I'm going to get evicted.” 

In the letter, Hall was blamed for letting water run over in her tub, only to receive an apology letter three weeks later. 

The building is run by Branford Reality. A spokesperson for the company told News10NBC no one would speak on camera. The woman who runs the office rental did agree to speak with us off camera. She tells News10NBC the roof was replaced last year and the building was recaulked. However, she says the building is 35 years old. She says plumbing problems are dealt with promptly but she says sometimes it’s tough to keep up with the problems given the resources. 

Vernett Daniels has lived at Midtown Manor for 20 years. She says it was a good place to live, but she says too many things have changed in recent months. She says she’s had to call maintenance five different times since March. Same problem: leaking water. 

Daniels said, “People are paying rent here. Spend the money and repair this place. What is wrong with renovating?”

News10NBC contacted HUD about the complaints. Adam Glantz, a spokesperson in the New York Regional Office, says he is recommending an inspection of the building to look at its entire infrastructure.

 

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