We’re Living In ‘Inhumane’ Conditions, Montclair Apartment Tenants Say

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Some residents of a Montclair apartment complex are alleging that they have been facing “inhumane” living conditions, despite the township levying fines against the property for years.

Kelia Johnson, a resident at Union Gardens at 50 Greenwood Avenue, was among the community members who spoke during the public comment portion of the Montclair Town Council meeting on March 14 (watch the video below).

According to Johnson, issues at the affordable housing complex include water service interruptions and malfunctioning elevators. She said the management company at the property has faced fines from the township before, but residents continue to see frustrating quality of life woes.

“All the town is doing is fining, and they obviously don’t care about having a fine because the fines go all the way back to 2019 and beyond,” Johnson told the council.

“We are the ones living and suffering in these conditions, but the town is receiving compensation,” she added. “We don’t get nothing.”

Another resident of the building complained about “infestations of rodents,” “holes in the walls” and “suspicious and erroneous rental fees.”

Later in the meeting, a Montclair code enforcement official said there is still active litigation involving the property’s management company, in addition to pending inspections from multiple township departments. Some of the issues – such as the elevator – have been fixed and are ready to be re-inspected. The recent water interruption only involved hot water, he added.

The township continues to work with the management company on the issues, he said.

Responding to the official’s comment that the town’s code enforcement workers are “not pro-landlord, not pro-tenant,” Councilman Bob Russo said that it’s his opinion that municipal code officials should indeed be in the corner of tenants.

“The landlord has all kinds of money and legal help and all sorts of support,” Russo said. “But tenants do not.”

“These residents are suffering in a building that’s probably the worst in town,” he continued, adding that there were people present at the meeting that need to either “contribute to restoring that building, or tearing it down and building a new one.”

Residents at the building have spoken out during other recent town council meetings. In January, two Union Gardens residents alleged they have been dealing with security problems, as well as leaks and cracks, TAP Into Montclair reported.

“We are at our wit’s end,” one said.

Union Gardens has seen other complaints in the recent past. In 2019, its new community manager said residents’ concerns over sanitation and security issues were being addressed after the complex failed an inspection from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Montclair Local reported. Several tenants of the building participate in the Section 8 rental program.

A woman was found stabbed to death at the complex in 2018.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Montclair Facebook page.