Hartford’s mayor is turning up the heat on some of the city’s largest landlords with apartments in allegedly deplorable conditions, referring one to the State’s Attorney’s Office for potential prosecution after the landlord reportedly failed to repair units following an August fire.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam Monday also announced a list of the top three alleged problem landlords in the city, shining a light on their companies and calling out by name their owners. Combined, the three real estate companies — based in New York and New Jersey — control nearly 600 apartments in the city.
According to the city, those landlords include:
- PAXE properties and principal Aron Puretz, of New York with 357 units. More than 50 notices of alleged violation have been issued by the city, and 13 buildings are allegedly in foreclosure or receivership tied to city code enforcement, according to Arulampalam. The city has made emergency repairs in multiple properties and filed liens to recover the cost of tenant relocations and repairs, according to Arulampalam.
- Moshe Grosshard of New York, with 155 apartments. Notices of alleged violations have been issued and liens have been placed on multiple properties for those fines, according to Arulampalam.
- Whitehead Estates and principal Lamor Whitehead, of New Jersey, with 48. Nearly half of the apartments have allegedly been condemned because there is no heat or hot water, according to Arulampalam. Bank foreclosures are underway, the mayor said.
“To the worst landlords out there, we want to say, ‘If you don’t shape up we’re going to drive you out of the city,’” Arulampalam said, at a news conference at city hall. “We are going to make it hard for you to do business. When you put profits over people, we’re going to make sure those profits dry up.”…