WWJD? Church Tenants Form City’s 5th Union

The city’s fifth tenants union has formed, marking the first time New Haven residents have organized formally to bargain with a property owner that isn’t megalandlord Ocean Management. 

Representative residents of the Emerson Apartments at 284 Orange St. met with the city’s department of fair rent Friday to formalize that union — in hopes of improving communications with their landlord while avoiding the possibility of more absentee management moving in.

Tenants of 15 apartments out of the 19 that make up the Emerson building, owned by neighbor Trinity Lutheran Church, have joined the now-approved union, named the Emerson Tenants Union. (In order to gain recognition as a tenants union, members of an apartment complex must gather signatures from at least 51 percent of tenants.) 

Four other tenants unions have formed in New Haven since the city passed the state’s first legislation in 2022 allowing for residents to deal with housing issues as a legally recognized union. All four of those other unions are made up of tenants protesting conditions at properties owned by Ocean Management. The Emerson Apartments, meanwhile, were purchased by Trinity Lutheran Church in 2000, which then developed Emerson Apartments LLC, a separate entity that manages the property.

Statewide union organizer Alexander Kolokotronis and fellow tenant James Blau began efforts to unionize this month after the pair were forced to move out of the apartment building when a broken pipe flooded both of their bathrooms. 

“Originally I wanted both of us to be protected from retaliation,” Kolokotronis said of the intent behind forming the union after they filed complaints with the Fair Rent Commission to avoid paying rent while staying in hotels throughout weeks of repairs. ​“But then I found out so many other people had issues.” 

Blau, who works in information technology at Yale, has been staying at a hotel in Milford for the past month after a leak left an inch of water on his bathroom floor, prompting need for a full renovation of the room: ​“I had to bring an umbrella with me to use the bathroom,” he said. 

“It sounded like it was raining,” Kolokotronis agreed. Both have since been paying for their respective hotel stays through renter’s insurance, which Blau said is soon about to run out. 

“They’ve never once offered to rehouse us,” Blau complained of the landlord. He said the landlord originally expressed intent to continue collecting rent from himself and Kolokotronis despite their displacement until the tenants pushed back against the action as illegal. 

His and Kolokotronis’ fair rent complaints were withdrawn after the landlord agreed to reimburse the pair for February rent and not charge them further until their apartments are habitable again. The two now plan to file new complaints with municipal government’s Livable City Initiative in attempts to secure support with rehousing as their insurance runs out. 

“If this happened in my apartment I would be really scared,” next-door tenant Kenneth Naito, who has lived in his apartment for two years, told the Independent of his motivation for joining the union. He said he and his roommate have been dealing with a year-long leak causing mold and damage inside their apartment. After hearing about Kolokontronis’ and Blau’s troubles, he said he also intends to file his own complaint with LCI. 

Naito said that a real estate agent originally pitched the rental as part of New Haven’s oldest apartment building, erected in 1875. 

“You’d think they’d wanna take better care of it” given the building’s history, he said. 

Still, Kolokotronis, who has lived in his apartment for six years, said, ​“This is not a case where we don’t love our home. We’ve stayed here for years. We just want to make sure it stays in good shape.”

Plus, he and others said, the rent is relatively cheap at Emerson compared to elsewhere. 

Attorney Jeremiah Morytko issued a statement on behalf of client Emerson Apartments LLC noting that the church is ​“not involved with the day to day activities associated with the rental units.”

Never before, Morytko wrote, has Emerson Apartments been involved with the Fair Rent Commission. They were licensed back in November by LCI. The burst pipe referenced by Kolokotronis and Blau, he said, ​“was a catastrophe which my client could not have anticipated.”

“My client understands that until these units are repaired and become habitable again, they will be receiving no rent from the tenants,” he said. He did not comment on whether or not the landlord would consider or hear other requests put forward by the tenants through their union. ​“They cannot afford to spend limited resources on anything other than providing its tenants with a clean, safe and well maintained environment in which to live,” he said of the landlords.

The primary aim of the union, Kolokotronis and Blau said, is to get their landlord’s attention so residents can finally negotiate the terms of their housing. Beyond requesting improved maintenance of the property — and guaranteeing response and repairs to consistent complaints of issues like water damage, mold, and faulty front door locks — the union is primarily asking for consistent communication from their current landlord. 

In particular, the union requested regular meetings with their landlord. They also seek right of first refusal if the church chooses to sell the building. Tenants want a chance to purchase the property as a cooperative — or to move out in advance if a larger landlord like Mandy or Ocean Management were to take over.

Though the union was ultimately a reaction to a plumbing emergency, Kolokotronis said ​“this is ultimately about being proactive. It’s a way to guard against further displacement of other tenants.” 

“I don’t wanna wake up one day and get a letter that Mandy Management owns my building!” he said.

The tenants invited their landlord to the union filing Friday in hopes that the event would spark discussions with management. No representatives of management attended. 

Earning status as a tenants union, Kolokotronis hoped, will mean that residents can now leverage the support and power of city officials and politicians to get their landlord to listen.