Tenants on rent strike in Putnam after report finds more lead

After a new assessment found lead in almost all of the apartments tested at the Lofts at Cargill Falls Mill in Putnam, more than a dozen tenant union members have started a rent strike until management makes improvements.

The Department of Housing paid $72,000 for the recent lead inspection, the second round of testing in the last year at the complex.

Private company GeoQuest issued a report in November that found 68 of the 71 apartments tested had lead paint. The complex has 82 units. The company also found lead in many of the apartment complex’s common areas.

Twenty-four places throughout the building had levels of lead dust higher than what is allowed by federal regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates lead-based paint hazards and last year launched an investigation at the apartments in Putnam.

Early last year, the Northeast District Department of Health inspected several units and found hazardous lead. Inspections found more than 70 instances of toxic levels of lead in paint in eight units and some common areas of three buildings as well as lead dust.

Families with young children also took them to the doctor to get blood testing for lead, and some of the youngest had elevated levels of the metal in their systems.

Residents formed a tenant union last year, and this month voted to go on rent strike, meaning they’re withholding rent from their landlord. Previously, several members opened housing court cases and paid rent into the courts while their cases were pending.

But the court dismissed many of those cases, saying the tenants didn’t have a case until the assessments were completed. Now that the testing is done, the union is taking a new step: putting rent into their own accounts and waiting for management to come to the negotiating table.

”We realized it has to be us,” said Katy Slininger, the union’s chapter vice president. “It has to be our organizing pressure to get this done.”

DOH has a copy of the lead inspection report, spokeswoman Meghan Bard said in an email.

“The property’s Owner Representative is currently obtaining a cost estimate for the scope of work identified in the report and developing a plan of action in consultation with their primary lender,” Bard said. “Once they have a draft plan of action, DOH will meet with them to discuss the plan and any other potential options.”

Property owner Leanne Parker didn’t respond to requests for comment sent to her lawyer. Konover Residential, which manages the apartment complex, didn’t respond to questions about the lead or tenant union action.

Tenant union member Natalie Geeza said residents got letters from management saying there would be a detailed abatement schedule, but they haven’t received it yet.

While rent strikes aren’t new in Connecticut, this is one of the first recent instances of tenants withholding rent in their own accounts rather than paying it into the court. Union members say it’s a symptom of a system that’s failed them.

They’ve asked local and state officials for help, but still their living conditions are bad, union members said, noting residents have issues with mold, water leakage and pests.

“It’s not an action they’re taking lightly,” said Sarah White, an attorney with Connecticut Fair Housing Center who also helps with tenant union organizing and has worked with the one in Putnam. “They have tried contacting the state, have tried contacting their local officials, have tried going through legal channels, and are still living in unsafe conditions.”

The union officially voted this week to authorize a rent strike. Thirteen tenants are pledged to start withholding rent, and members are organizing to add more each month. Most members are paying into their own accounts and saving the money to show good faith in negotiation with management.

Geeza is paying her rent into court and said she is hoping for a different outcome now that she has the additional assessment. Members are taking on the risk of eviction by doing a rent strike, she said, but the strike is the only way they see to move forward.

“We’re fighting to protect our home and to pay for a place that’s worth living in and not falling apart,” Geeza said.

Tenant unions growing

Tenant unions have been on the rise in Connecticut for the past couple of years. At least 10 have formed since 2021, and last year a statewide coalition voted in officers.

A tenant union functions similarly to a labor union and gains strength from numbers. They’ve been used to demand better apartment conditions and lower rent and saw a resurgence nationwide during the pandemic, when many tenants in places such as New York City went on rent strikes.

The Connecticut coalition’s election of officers formalized the movement, making it possible for them to gain more political power and potentially hire a lobbyist in the future. During the last legislative session, tenant union members argued for caps on annual rent increases, drawing some of the Housing Committee’s best-attended public hearings.

While the motion didn’t make it past the committee process, organizers have said they hope to bring it back during a future session. Leaders have also said that in lieu of rent caps, strikes may be the tool they’ll turn to when rent gets too high.

Rent has been increasing in Connecticut for months, forcing many out of their homes. Homelessness is on the rise, and shelters’ resources are stretched thin.

During the legislative session, many objected to the rent cap proposal saying it would disincentivize landlords from offering rental housing and would leave them to bear the brunt of increasing costs without the ability to raise rents. Some also said it would be a government overstep into the private market.

In addition to the rent strike in Putnam, members are working with a group called Science for the People to determine best practices for lead abatement. Science for the People is a grassroots organization with a chapter in New Haven. It’s composed of scientists who want to help make science more accessible and useful to people.

They’ve been working with the Putnam group to help them understand the lead reports and find the best ways to make their housing safer, said member Nick Pokorynski, a microbiologist.

“Everything that we know about exposure to lead at this point suggests that the best case scenario is to never be exposed,” Pokorynski said.

Lead exposure can lead to health complications, especially for young children. Some residents have said they’ve already run into health problems because of the lead and mold.

Pokorynski reviewed the recent report and said the failure to remedy a problem stuck out to him. “Nothing has really changed. There were high levels of lead exposure then,” he said, referring to the first report. “There are high levels of lead exposure now.”

The Mill

The developer of the Putnam apartments received government funding from several sources to convert the old mill into housing. It’s a strategy that’s being pushed across the country, including in parts of Connecticut to revitalize downtowns and increase housing stock.

Tenants in Putnam fear that with this new push, any future apartments won’t be made safe for others. Old mills often have contaminants on-site that make them difficult to safely turn into housing.

There’s another mill nearby that officials are considering for housing, Slininger said. But more protections need to be in place before more sites are converted, she added.

“At best it’s a Band-Aid, and at worst you’re totally abusing this crisis that people are facing by shoving them into dangerous housing,” she said.

Tenant union members say someone involved in the funding should have realized the lead hadn’t been abated. “It’s definitely an issue that extends past just us,” said Gianna McGannon.

McGannon was among those whose housing court case was dismissed because of the lack of a complete lead assessment. She said it was frustrating because tenants had gone to court partly in an effort to get someone to force their landlord to do a complete assessment. But without the assessment, the court said they didn’t have a strong enough case, she said.

She said the experience in court also showed her that there’s a lack of systems available to protect tenants.

White said that’s one of the things about this case that stuck out with her.

“There’s clearly an injustice and things are unsafe, but no one — even with pushing — is taking responsibility for it,” White said. “Tenant organizing is the only way forward, taking action together to protect each other to address these unsafe conditions that really no one else has.”

McGannon and her husband, Aidan, moved to the apartment complex in 2022. They’re concerned about the exposure to lead for them and their neighbors. They said they have issues with plaster coming down in their apartment, but know that other people have it worse.

“One person alone can’t really get the change that they need to live in what you would imagine a modern apartment would be like with a standard of living that is on par with 2024,” said Aidan McGannon.