Bloomfield Residents Battle To Return Home After Roof Collapse At Rent-Controlled Apartment Building

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Displaced tenants at a rent-controlled apartment building in Bloomfield say they’re still fighting to return to their homes more than two months after a major roof collapse – even as their landlord allegedly attempts to terminate their leases.

On March 6, the roof of 27 Park Place in Bloomfield caved in, flooding the 27-unit building with water and leaving nearly 40 people without a place to live.

According to a statement from the township, the collapse occurred at the northeast corner of the roof due to water damage. Significant water leakage spread throughout multiple units, prompting evacuation of the entire building – which was deemed “uninhabitable” by the Bloomfield Building Department.

The township’s Office of Emergency Management coordinated response efforts, and Bloomfield Human Services and the American Red Cross provided aid for the impacted residents. A fundraising campaign was launched to benefit the victims, raising nearly $5,000 from dozens of donors.

• Related: Roof Collapse At Bloomfield Apartment Building Leaves Residents Without Homes

Some tenants were moved to a temporary shelter at the Bloomfield Civic Center. Others found respite with family members, at hotels, or in the dorms at Bloomfield College of Montclair State University.

Many of them shared a common link, however: they planned to return to 27 Park Place.

According to the 27 Park Place Tenants Association, a group that formed in the wake of the collapse, the building’s landlord, Comperatore Associates, initially told them that repairs would take two or three months.

Now they are being told it will take nine to 12 months, the group says – and there’s a chance they might not even be allowed to return at all.

The group said residents received termination of lease letters on April 30. The displaced tenants are demanding a retraction of this letter and a commitment to “safe and timely repairs.”

“We are calling upon the landlord to retract this illegal attempt to evict us, expedite repairs to our homes, agree to a meeting with tenants, and establish clear communication through the tenant association,” said Emily Holland, one of its members.

Patch reached out to Comperatore Associates seeking comment about the allegations from the 27 Park Place Tenants Association. We will update this article with any reply we receive.

The tenants have gotten support from some Bloomfield officials.

Councilwoman Tracy Toler-Phillips rallied behind the 27 Park residents after they held a press conference on Tuesday, noting that 51 percent of Bloomfield residents rent their homes.

“Every resident of 27 Park Place must have a clear, protected path back to their apartment,” Toler-Phillips urged.

“These individuals are long-term residents who have built their lives in rent-stabilized homes, only to find themselves suddenly standing on the sidewalk with nothing but what they could carry,” Toler-Phillips said, calling the situation a “stark reminder of the vulnerability many in this town face.”

“To see them facing the permanent loss of their homes during a period of crisis is not just a tragedy for one building; it is a warning for the entire township,” the councilwoman said.

Bloomfield Mayor Jenny Mundell also said she supports the tenants.

“Let me be clear: a structural failure is not a loophole to circumvent rent-control laws or displace our neighbors,” Mundell said.

“This is a wrongful attempt to exploit a tragedy, and we are committed to fighting these terminations with the full weight of the law,” Mundell said.

QUESTIONS LINGER

Some community members have wondered what the roof collapse at 27 Park Place might imply for other buildings in Bloomfield.

Former town council candidate Satenik Margaryan reported that several questions lingered the week after the collapse. They included:

• Was this building inspected before the roof collapse?
• Was the roof ever checked?
• Did the fire department conduct regular fire-safety inspections?
• What does this say about the condition of Bloomfield’s other aging rent-controlled buildings?

“What happened at 27 Park Place does not look like an isolated tragedy,” Margaryan alleged in a Bloomfield Chronicles post. “It looks like the predictable result of years of neglect, weak enforcement, and a town government more comfortable managing fallout than preventing disaster.”

A township spokesperson previously told Essex News Daily that the building was up-to-date and officials were not aware of any violations.

“We do know permits were pulled around 2022 or 2023 and roof repairs were completed at that time,” she said.

Impacted residents at 27 Park Place spoke about their frustrations during an emotionally charged public comment segment of the township council meeting on March 9.

One of the biggest challenges? Trying to find a place to rent in North Jersey, one of the region’s most notoriously difficult and expensive real estate markets.

“We are in one of the only rent-controlled buildings in town,” Holland told the council. “Most buildings that are available are way out of our budget… we’re working class.”

“We do not want to be made homeless by this tragedy, and we do not want to be pushed out of town,” Holland said, wiping a tear from her eye as she spoke. “We appreciate the community we have here.”

Watch video footage from the March 9 town council meeting here, or view it below via WBMATV (public comment on the roof collapse begins around the 1:43:55 mark):

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