Community Presses Mandy At Meet-Up

Questions from Newhallville neighbors flew fast and furious at a community meeting with a representative from Mandy Management on Thursday evening: Why is an old eviction still coming up when I’m applying for an apartment? How do I overcome a bad credit score? And what is the turnaround time for addressing repairs and upkeep?

The meeting at Winchester Works at 115 Munson St. was hosted by Dixwell/Newhallville/Prospect Hill Alder Troy Streater and Ward 21 Democratic Co-Chair Ray Jackson. It included staff from the Livable City Initiative (LCI), about 15 Newhallville-area neighbors, and Mandy Management representative Zalmy Weiss. Mandy is one of Newhallville’s largest landlords.

Jackson — who also works for LCI — lauded the local megalandlord for ​“the great deal of improvement it’s been showing.” Part and parcel of that was its willingness ​“to give our community the opportunity to express their concerns,” he said. ​“We want to make this relationship nice, so he’ll keep coming back here.” 

Weiss requested that he not be named or photographed as part of his participation in this public meeting, but pledged to listen. (The Independent confirmed that Weiss was indeed the Mandy employee who showed up to sit down face-to-face and talk with neighbors at the public meeting.)

“If I can answer your questions, I will, and if I can’t answer them now, I’ll bring it back to the company and get them answered,” he told the group.

One person present asked about the cost of online applications: Why is it that residents have to pay $40 each time they apply? (The cost for each application is $35.)

“There is only one place to apply for an apartment with Mandy Management,” Weiss answered. ​“If another website is asking you to pay, don’t pay that fee.”

Weiss told the group that evictions and poor credit scores are assessed on a ​“case by case” basis when the landlord decides whether to rent to people.

“It’s a multi-faceted approval and denial process” that’s ​“not ever based on just one item,” he said.

Regarding maintenance turnaround time, he acknowledged the frustration: ​“It’s not perfect right now, but I want to assure you that there are many long-term plans we’re working on.”

Jeanette Sykes, director of Newhallville Community Service Development Corporation, asked Weiss how the company plans to improve its relationship to the community. ​“When you see that name, there’s always a negative that goes with it,” she said about Mandy.

“When you come back, and we appreciate you being here, it would be nice to have a community relations person because we’d like to hear about accountability,” she said. ​“And also someone who can talk about the maintenance and turnaround time and how we can work together to make things better.” (Click here to read a recent article about Mandy’s stepped-up maintenance work under a next generation of company leadership.)

Newhallville Alder Brittiany Mabery-Niblack put it more bluntly. ​“The truth of the matter is that Mandy owns everything,” she said. ​“There are rent increases, and you’re not keeping up with the upkeep of the apartments. That’s what happening.”

She asked for transparency. ​“We want to build community relations, so we’re going to hold you accountable,” she said. ​“You rent in our neighborhood. We live in your neighborhood, our families, our mothers, our sisters, our brothers live in your properties, so show us your face. Show us how we can become better partners in this community because that’s what it’s going to take and that’s when we’re going to get things done.” 

Sykes had the final word.

“We appreciate you coming because it says you are taking a step in the right direction, but this is just the beginning,” she said. ​“This is how dialogues happen, but it’ll only work if you keep coming, and we keep talking, and not just in this ward.”