Megalandlord Faces 4th Charge

The head of local megalandlord Mandy Management has applied for a pre-trial diversionary program that could see criminal charges dropped in multiple housing court cases — at the same time he faces new criminal charges for code violations at a City Point apartment.

That was the outcome of Menachem Gurevitch’s latest appearance in state housing court on the third floor of 121 Elm St.

Gurevitch operates Mandy Management, a property management company giant that partners with private equity firms, commercial lenders, and other out-of-town investors to bring millions of dollars every year into buying up rental properties in and around New Haven. Affiliates of his company own tens of millions of dollars worth of low-income apartments around town, many of them with federally subsidized rents.

Standing alongside attorney Ari Hoffman in the third-floor courtroom Tuesday, Gurevitch applied for accelerated rehabilitation, also known as ​“AR,” in a criminal housing court case related to a misdemeanor fire safety code violation at 142 Bradford Ave. That address consists of a two-building, nine-unit apartment complex that an affiliate of Gurevitch’s Mandy Management owns in an East Haven neighborhood adjacent to New Haven’s Morris Cove.

At that same Tuesday hearing, Gurevitch was arraigned on a new, separate criminal housing court case. This one stems from a persistently water-damaged kitchen ceiling in a second-floor apartment at 314 Greenwich Ave. in City Point.

State Superior Court Judge John Cirello continued those two housing court cases — along with two other ongoing housing-code-violation cases involving properties at 29 Dickerman St. and 359 Sherman Ave.— until Jan. 4.

(Update: Mandy Management’s Yudi Gurevitch told the Independent Thursday night that the AR application is part of a proposed deal concerning all four housing court cases, not just the East Haven one. He said that the AR deal would lead to all four sets of charges being dismissed.)

Menachem Gurevitch’s appearance in court on Tuesday marks the latest in the city’s efforts to prosecute landlords accused of dragging their feet in making necessary fixes to their properties. Some landlords have criticized the city’s housing code enforcement agency, Livable City Initiative (LCI), for poor communication around what needs to be fixed at which properties, when. Newly appointed LCI Executive Director Arlevia Samuel said during a recent City Hall press conference that she has been meeting one on one with representatives of some of the city’s largest landlord conglomerates to discuss tenant complaints, and to talk about how they can and should keep their properties up to code. The city is also pushing a new LLC-transparency law seeking to make it easier to identify the actual people behind landlord-property management companies.

In an email comment sent to the Independent Wednesday, Mandy Management’s Yudi Gurevitch pointed to his company’s ​“significant” investments in both rehabbing properties and hiring new maintenance personnel in recent years.

“Given our growth, we have recently implemented new systems to ensure that maintenance requests are handled promptly and effectively,” he wrote. ​“This system operates 24/7. The last few years we have handled thousands of work orders, refurbished many buildings, arranged for the installation of over a hundred roofs, installed security cameras, and performed countless other repairs.”

A tenant at 314 Greenwich Ave. gave credence to her landlord’s promise during a brief Thursday morning interview. ​“For me, they’ve been pretty good,” she said about Mandy Management, which she said has begun making fixes to those City Point housing code violations that have newly landed Gurevitch in court.

“AR” Application

By applying for accelerated rehabilitation, or ​“AR”, Gurevitch is seeking to participate in a state court pre-trial diversionary program that allows certain first-time criminal defendants to dodge prosecution by agreeing to various conditions set by a judge.

In general, if a judge approves a defendant’s participation in such a program and if that defendant abides by the judge’s conditions for a set amount of time, then state prosecutors agree to drop the charges brought against that person.

“Have you ever been convicted of a crime or serious motor vehicle offense in this state or any other state?” Judge Cirello asked Gurevitch during the five-minute, in-person hearing on Tuesday.

No, Gurevitch replied.

Have you ever used Connecticut’s Accelerated Rehabilitation program before?

No.

Do you understand that participating in AR would mean waiving your right to a speedy trial? And that if you successfully complete the program, the charges will be dismissed, but if you do not, the case will be brought back to court and you’ll be tried?

Yes.

Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Donna Parker said in court on Tuesday that, per the court system’s requirement that victims be notified that a criminal defendant has applied for AR, counsel will let East Haven Fire Marshal Charles Miller know about Gurevitch’s application in this criminal case.

The Independent asked Miller for a comment about the nature of the fire code violations at 142 Bradford Ave. that led to Gurevitch’s prosecution in this case.

“As this is still an ongoing case, the East Haven Fire Department, Fire Marshal’s Office has no comment at this time,” Miller replied.

Now that Gurevitch has applied for AR, Judge Cirello will hold another hearing on Jan. 4 to determine whether or not the local landlord is approved to participate in such a program.

New Charges: Leaky Ceiling ​“In Danger Of Collapse”

The 142 Bradford Ave. fire code violation case isn’t the only set of criminal housing charges Gurevitch currently faces.

The state is also currently prosecuting him on three other criminal cases stemming from a suite of housing code violations found by LCI at various Mandy-owned rental properties in New Haven.

Two of those cases have been working their way through court for several months.

Click here for a previous article about how rotted gutters, rodent infestations, leaky ceilings, and busted electrical outlets at 29 Dickerman St. and 359 Sherman Ave. first landed Gurevitch in court in October.

LCI’s Arlevia Samuel told the Independent on Tuesday that all of the housing code violations that city inspections previously found at those two addresses were fully addressed by the landlord back in October. Even so, Judge Cirello continued the two criminal housing court cases related to those properties until Jan. 4.

Gurevitch’s newest criminal housing case, meanwhile, stems from LCI-found housing code violations at 314 Greenwich Ave. While the case was not discussed publicly in court on Tuesday, Gurevitch was technically arraigned on that matter this week — and the judge continued that case, along with the other three, until Jan. 4.

According to LCI’s records for the property, city housing code inspector Candace Ben-Elohim visited 314 Greenwich Ave. on July 12 of this year.

On July 14, then-LCI Deputy Director Rafael Ramos sent a housing code compliance notice to Gurevitch detailing the various violations that Ben-Elohim found at the property. All pertained to the second-floor apartment’s kitchen ceiling.

The compliance notice ordered Gurevitch to make the following fixes:

• Correct the condition causing the ceiling to be damp because the kitchen ceiling was ​“badly stained due to water damage.”

• Correct the condition causing the ceiling to be ​“in danger of collapse.”

• Remove loose plaster, replaster, and repaint the ceiling.

• Repair or replace broken electrical light fixture because the kitchen’s overhead light was busted due to water damage from the leaking ceiling.

• Repair or replace a broken electrical outlet in the kitchen, because the light switch by the refrigerator was busted due to water damage.

• Remove chipping or flaking paint from the kitchen lefthand side wall above the light switch.

“Failure to comply with this Order represents a violation of the City of New Haven’s Housing Code and may subject you to criminal prosecution by the State’s Attorney’s Office,” Ramos’s letter reads. ​“Violators may also be subject to $100.00 penalty per day of violation per paragraph 102 of the New Haven Housing Code Ordinance.”

In addition to owning 314 Greenwich Ave., affiliates of Mandy Management also own the adjacent multi-family rental properties at 302, 312, 320, and 324 Greenwich Ave.

314 Greenwich Tenant: Fixes Have Begun; Neighborhood Too Violent

On Thursday morning, a tenant — who asked not to be named or photographed for this story, and who has lived in the first-floor apartment at 314 Greenwich Ave. for two years — told the Independent that Mandy’s maintenance workers have already started repairing the second-floor leaks. She said that water damage has made its way into her family’s downstairs apartment, as well.

“They’ve been coming to fix it,” she said. She said that should mean fixes to hear own apartment’s kitchen ceiling and a repainting of the kitchen’s walls, in addition to whatever repairs have to be made upstairs.

What does she think of having Mandy as her landlord?

“Every time I call them, they’re fine,” she said. Just a few weeks ago, she said, the maintenance workers did extensive repairs to the upper floors and roof of the building. ​“I haven’t had any problems.”

In addition to repairs to her kitchen ceiling and walls, she said, she’d also like to see the the door to the basement fixed up.

That said, she continued, she’s planning on moving out of the neighborhood soon — not because of unhappiness with her landlord, but because she doesn’t feel like that section of City Point and the Hill is safe for her and her kids to live in.

Gun violence is out of control, she said. ​“You never know what’s going to come through the walls.”

“We Continue To Strive To Do Better”

Following is the full email statement that Yudi Gurevitch provided to the Independent when asked for comment about all four of Menachem Gurevitch’s housing court cases on Tuesday.

We have significantly invested in New Haven and the surrounding communities. We invest in properties that are in need of significant work; we rehab those properties and make them attractive places to live and raise families. And, we also invest in people. Mandy Management, with which the Gurevitch family is affiliated, employs over 200 local staff members, including licensed local contractors, plumbers, electricians, on-site superintendents, and property managers. We continue to hire people so that we can provide effective services. 

Given our growth, we have recently implemented new systems to ensure that maintenance requests are handled promptly and effectively. This system operates 24/7. The last few years we have handled thousands of work orders, refurbished many buildings, arranged for the installation of over a hundred roofs, installed security cameras, and performed countless other repairs.

During the pandemic, we have worked with many tenants to ensure that they have a roof over their head. We have a great relationship with municipal departments, and we view ourselves as their partner. Any complaints must be placed in context – they are the exceptions. While we believe we have performed well, especially given these difficult times, we continue to strive to do better.