An attorney representing the owners of a Hartford apartment building damaged by fire in August released a statement Tuesday accusing city officials of getting in the way of repairs and misleading the public.
The statement by Attorney Scott P. Consoli on behalf of the owners of 105 Sherbrooke Ave., comes a day after Mayor Arunan Arulampalam announced he asked staff to refer the owners to the state’s attorney’s office for alleged housing ordinance violations.
Arulampalam’s statement referenced Moshe Bloorian of Great Neck, New York; Jacob Herskowitz of Englewood, New Jersey; Yeshaya Cohen of Lakewood, New Jersey; and Hillel Tropper of Brooklyn, New York. The four are principals of two limited liability companies that paid $11.7 million for the apartments at 105-111 Sherbrooke Ave., in a sale recorded by the city in May.
Consoli said the owners have been working in good faith with the city to make repairs and return tenants to their apartments, but the city’s actions have slowed the process.
The city placed a lien on the property Aug. 13, meant to cover the cost of relocating tenants.
As a result of the lien, Consoli said, the owner’s insurance company would not advance insurance proceeds for repairs, he stated. The city refused to work out an agreement regarding the lien, and the mayor has refused to meet directly with the owners, Consoli said.
“Contrary to what has been reported, the owners have been working closely with Judith Rothschild in licenses and inspections and other members of the building department, tenant services and fire safety to get the renovations completed as soon as possible,” reads a portion of Consoli’s statement.
Consoli accused the city of dragging its feet and holding up repairs.
“The owners have done and will continue to do everything in their power to get the affected units restored and back in service as quickly as possible,” reads a portion of his statement.
Cristian Corza, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Arulampalam, in response to Consoli’s remarks, issued a statement saying the owners of 105-111 Sherbrooke Ave. have received income-replacement insurance payments since the fire and have failed to make timely repairs.
“Senior city officials have met with these owners numerous times to encourage action on their part before yesterday’s referral to the State’s Attorney’s Office,” Corza wrote. “The affected tenants don’t have the luxury of waiting for the GreyHill Group to take meaningful action to complete the repairs.”
