Over the summer, dozens of Troy residents were forced out of their homes due to several safety violations that went unaddressed by management at their apartment complex. Outgoing Troy Mayor Patrick Madden says the saga was eye-opening.
Madden, a Democrat, is in the final days of his tenure. He says the evacuation of nearly 60 apartments at a moment’s notice was unlike anything he saw over two four-year terms.
In May, the city’s code enforcement received several complaints about living conditions at the multifamily complex, Harbour Point Gardens, in the city’s south end. One of the most pressing concerns was a bowing brick façade. The Democrat says the city took action by hiring an engineer to determine the severity.
“To the untrained eye, it looked like the walls were bowing and going to fall out. But the engineer did look at it assured us it was the façade of the building, but that it still presented a dangerous situation,” Madden said. “And he recommended that we vacate the units that were adjacent to the bowing bricks, which we did.”
The evacuation led to backlash from city councilors and residents, who were given no notice and were not contacted by the city. But Madden says the apartment’s management, owners 182 Delaware LLC, under the umbrella of Lexington Property Group, failed to deliver contact information to city officials over several months despite subpoenas from the city council, which held three investigative hearings, where several members of management were probed for answers.
Through the investigation, councilors found it difficult to identify the owner because it was buried under LLCs, or limited liability corporations.
Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that requires LLCs to disclose their owners and allows state, federal, and local governments and law enforcement to access the information come the 2026 launch.
Madden says his administration worked diligently to compile a contact list — something, in hindsight, he wishes moved more quickly.
“When people came in to the council meeting for the hearings, we cornered them and ask them their name and contact information,” Madden said. “We did set up a page on our website that gave people more information. As soon as it developed, we would put information on there. Tried to get the word out to people that that was the place to go for the most current information from the city. And in the process invited them to submit their name and contact information so that we could get in touch with them if need be. So over time, we were able to develop a list. But it took a lot of work. And it would have been just a whole lot easier if the landlord had provided us that information at the outset.”
Throughout the course of remediation efforts, walls were knocked in, basements flooded, and residents’ belongings were ruined by several construction crews. While the city could not provide compensation for these incidents, residents were given the opportunity to air their grievances with the management and city leaders.
Between June and August, several residents voluntarily testified before the city council to provide updates on the state of their living situations. At the time, management was providing lodging at a nearby hotel.
Evarist Nicholas, a 70-year-old resident with several health problems, told the council meals provided to the residents since the evacuation were inadequate. Nicholas says while construction crews were taking down an exterior brick wall, her bedroom wall was damaged, leaving her room exposed to heavy rain.
“They're supposed to be working on bricks, which is outside of the building,” Nicholas said. “How did they get to my bedroom on the inside with the sledgehammers that they were using?”
Jay Friedman, a representative for 182 Delaware LLC who voluntarily spoke before the city council in July, disgusted councilors when he suggested displaced tenants were expected to continue to pay rent.
“Rent is due. As long as, so the idea is, that we are providing shelter,” Friedman said. “This is costing us three times the amount of what people are paying in rent. So, I'm not, allow me to clarify. We're talking about hitting people with late charges, we're not doing that right now. We're taking off the late charges and any evictions are on hold until we resolve this crisis.”
Several members of the management including Friedman and Rob Howard, the regional general manager for Lexington Property Group, appeared in court over the matter. Madden says ensuing settlements went into the city’s general fund.
“There were several delays in that process at the request of the landlord's attorney,” Madden said. “But ultimately, we did secure a judgment against the landlord for the maximum amount that was allowed under our city code. I believe the figure was $8,000.”
Today, the city is still working with management to correct the code violations, but Madden says those with an impact on the health and safety of residents have been corrected.
Mayor-elect Carmella Mantello, the longtime council president, says the council is finalizing a draft report. Madden says under Mantello’s administration, he hopes code enforcement becomes more robust on the strength of fees and state support.
“I've shared some of the things that I would do if I were here another term, some of the things that I would like to focus on, including code enforcement, and other matters as well,” Madden said. “And that's just offering an opinion, because in a couple days, I'll just be an ordinary resident again.”
Madden says the code department is understaffed and spread thin. He adds with nearly 20,000 occupied units in the city and only a handful of inspectors, minor problems have the potential to become serious. Madden says the department is often unable to work proactively to note conditions and issue violations.
For now, residents like Eric Spinner are back in their apartments but still wary.
“They provided no compensation,” Spinner said. “They did not apologized. They did not feel it was there fault. They blame the city.”
