Tenants at Nob Hill Apartments say they are tired of waiting for vital repairs to their apartments.
They hope that a petition presented by tenants and local elected officials at a Wednesday morning press conference in front of the Onondaga County Courthouse will implore the public and other dignitaries to stand in solidarity with tenants.
Their goal is to speed up repairs to Nob Hill, once a luxury apartment complex.
The petition comes after tenants organized for a year to find solutions to the lack of prompt repairs to critical housing problems at Nob Hill.
Poor housing conditions reached a boiling point in the winter when many tenants were left to fend off against the harsh Syracuse winter with no heat and hot water.
Now ownership faces a lawsuit from the city, seeking millions in fines to address the poor housing conditions, as well as 10 individual lawsuits from tenants who want issues with their apartments and the complex fixed.
Tenants also presented management earlier on Wednesday a list of 10 key demands also shared with Central Current, which include:
- An effective maintenance system
- Reliable hot water
- Two working elevators per building
- Secure entry doors to the buildings
- Reliable heat and air conditioning
- Functional parking garages
- Emergency lighting in common areas and stairwells,
- Consistent trash removal
- Pest control
- Security cameras
“We are not asking for luxuries,” said Kona Mahu, a tenant leading organizing efforts and a founder of the building’s tenant association. “We’re asking the owners to make our living space habitable. Very basic. We’re reasonable.”
Representatives of Destra Multifamily, a consulting firm hired by management in March to help turn the apartments around, told Central Current earlier this week that the owners have put forth $2.4 million to help fix Nob Hill. They said they expect owners to make another commitment of more than a million dollars to continue addressing repairs.
Tenants say they worry Nob Hill could go the way of other properties with dark histories of unsafe living and poor housing conditions like Skyline Apartments on James Street and Vincent Apartments on Roney Lane.
“We’re coming together, hoping for the city’s support to save Nob Hill and so that we do not become a lost memory like the Vincent and like the Skyline that hold so much history here in Syracuse,” said Tieisha Muhammad, a resident who sued Nob Hill hoping leaking water and ill fitting windows at her apartment can be fixed promptly.
City Auditor Alex Marion, who was present at the press conference, said the city cannot afford to lose hundreds of apartments at a time when residents need options.
“We need properties like that to be in good condition and functioning so they can be fully rented and fully lived in so everyone in our city has the place to live that they need,” Marion said,
For longtime tenants, there is still hope that the Nob Hill can be restored to the way it was in its heyday.
“The place can be repaired, because it once was… grand,” said Bruce Hare, an emeritus professor of sociology at Syracuse University who has had two stints living at Nob Hill. “Those of us who were here before were here when it was grand, it is sad to us.”
The court case between the city and Nob Hill will continue on Sept. 24 in Onondaga County Supreme Court.
Syracuse City Court Judge Shadia Tadros will host a joint hearing for several tenants who sued Nob Hill demanding repairs on Sept. 19.
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