'Getting the hell out of here.' Tenant complains of condemned Stamford apartment building

The city is stepping in, but the people who live at Hoyt Bedford apartments in Stamford worry these issues will continue to resurface.

Mark Sudol

Nov 1, 2023, 9:47 PM

Updated 403 days ago

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Tenants are voicing their complaints about mounting issues at a Stamford apartment complex.
The city is stepping in, but the people who live at Hoyt Bedford apartments in Stamford worry these issues will continue to resurface.
They say they have plenty to complain about, such as roaches in sinks and on walls, trash cans overflowing and a sometimes flooded parking garage. There's even an elevator in one of the buildings that's been out of use for a year.
A woman who lives at the building says three buildings were recently without heat and hot water.
"I'm getting the hell out of here ... I've had my lawyers send like two letters requesting for us to break the lease. They've ignored them," says the woman, who did not want to be identified.
The Stamford Health Department has since condemned the building at 98 Hoyt St.
Because the building was condemned, the city was required by law to open a shelter. The city says a space was made available on Lockwood Avenue but that nobody showed up.
"Most of the people that live here are elderly people, people with disabilities, and we have veterans that live in the building as well," says the woman.
The Stamford Health Department says the management company has been cooperative, despite the roadblocks tenants have had with Rushmore Management.
"I did talk to them about thinking about replacing this old boiler and putting a new system in there so we can avoid these issues from happening again," says Stamford Department of Health Assistant Director Ebrima Jobe.
Tenants say they were promised credits or compensation for the inconvenience in a letter from the management company, but no credits have been given yet.
The Health Department says the boiler was fixed as of Wednesday, restoring heat and hot water, and that the building will no longer be condemned.
As for the roach and trash problems?
"We have been assigning those complaints to inspectors to go back there and continue to do the investigations," says Jobe.
Tenants say they're still afraid the issues will happen again.
News 12 Connecticut reached out to the management company for comment but has not heard back.