Mayor Justin Elicker: “Tenants have the right to organize.”
Cynthia Vega-Vieyra tells Capital Realty principal Mosche Eichler: “Don’t be a chicken” and come to the bargaining table.
Tensions flared outside City Hall on Thursday as dueling Sunset Ridge tenants unions squared off, each calling itself the real union and dismissing the other as fake.
The confrontation marked the latest salvo in a months-long feud between the two groups claiming to represent the tenants of Sunset Ridge, a 312-unit, low-income apartment complex owned by the Capital Realty Group.
On the steps of City Hall, members of one union — backed by the Connecticut Tenants Union (CTTU) — celebrated that a majority of tenants at the Quinnipiac Meadows complex had signed union cards. Once the Fair Rent Commission verifies their signatures, the union will be formally recognized by the city.
In the middle of that announcement, members of the rival union — led by long-time tenant Sebastian Gomez and Fair Haven landlord Alejandro De Frutos — launched a counter-protest, chanting, “Stop extortion of the tenants!”
The CTTU-backed union fired back, shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight! Housing is a human right!”
As tensions rose, a half-dozen police officers arrived and ordered the two groups to maintain 15 feet of distance.
The clash came as members of tenants unions at seven Capital Realty-owned properties across five states — including Park Ridge in West Hills — speak out about their experiences with mold, mice, roaches, untreated water leaks, and broken radiators. It also follows accusations from some Sunset Ridge tenants, who say Capital Realty is retaliating against them for speaking to CTTU organizers.
Thursday’s press conference itself focused on tenants’ living conditions and pushed on Capital Realty to agree to a collective bargaining process.
Cynthia Vega-Vieyra — a Sunset Ridge tenant of seven years and member of the CTTU-backed union — accused management of being “only concerned with their own financial and personal interests.” She said she and her neighbors are being forced to deal with “mold, cockroaches, 30-year-old carpets, mice, and flooding” in their homes, as well as “maintenance workers stealing from people” and “management trying to charge bogus $300 fees.”
Marcel Velano said it took almost three months for Sunset Ridge to fix his mother’s collapsed ceiling. And Tawana Galberth, a Sunset Ridge tenant, reported that management never addressed the mold growing in her home, even after, she said, she had told them she developed respiratory issues and “couldn’t breathe.”
“I rebuke the name of Sunset Ridge because they don’t represent me,” declared Galberth.
When asked about similar complaints for a separate article, Yoana Avila, a property manager at Sunset Ridge, told the Independent that the property is “well-maintained with no violations or complaints regarding heat or hot water issues.” She said the complex “engaged a licensed mold inspection company, which confirmed there are no mold issues.”
From January through October, the Livable City Initiative received 38 complaints of health and safety violations at Sunset Ridge.
On Thursday, Mayor Justin Elicker said that Sunset Ridge, after operating without a residential rental license for seven months, has applied to renew their permit. As part of that process, LCI will conduct an inspection of the property on Monday.
When discussing the rival union during the press conference, Vega-Vieyra referred to them with air quotes, accusing Gomez and De Frutos of “seeking followers on social media” instead of organizing “people who reason or question their manipulative economic system.”
For months, CTTU organizers have accused Capital Realty of paying Gomez and De Frutos to set up a “fake” union — one openly supported by management, including in emails to the Independent. In a press release, CTTU claimed at least one member of the management-backed union is on Capital Realty’s staff.
On Thursday, De Frutos — who said he lives at Sunset Ridge but is not listed on a lease — denied having any formal ties, financial or otherwise, with management. He then accused CTTU of extorting tenants.
“If you’re gonna play Robin Hood, you should do that for free,” said De Frutos. “These people are charging the tenants $20 to be part of the union. Our union does not charge a penny or dime to anybody.”
Gomez added that their group cooperates with management to address problems and has already gotten them to install cameras, replace floors, and resolve maintenance problems.
CTTU Vice President Luke Melonakos rejected the extortion claims. He said CTTU requests voluntary monthly dues of $10 — or $5 for tenants on fixed incomes — but does not require payment. “We’ve never kicked anybody out of the union because they didn’t pay dues,” he said.
In a separate interview, Raymundo and Hugo, former tenants of De Frutos, urged the Independent not to trust him. They described De Frutos as a “slumlord” and claimed to have lived without heat for five years at his property on 292 Ferry St.
“He’s not a good person,” said Raymundo. Hugo agreed, calling De Frutos “fake.”
Christina Molla and Jeanneth Morales, members of the De Frutos-Gomez union, said they are generally satisfied with their apartments.
In Spanish, Morales, who’s lived at Sunset Ridge for one-and-a-half years, said, “Anything that we say is damaged, they come and fix it for us.” She appreciates that renting the apartment was straightforward, even as an immigrant with “small children,” and that her rent is manageable.
Molla, also in Spanish, said her old apartment complex was “a real shithole.” She “thanks God” that she’s been able to live at Sunset Ridge, a place she described as calm and quiet.
When asked why they decided against the CTTU-backed union, both Morales and Molla pointed to their signs, which accuse CTTU President Hannah Srajer and Melonakos of extorting tenants.
Molla also alleged that Melonakos offered to pay her rent if she joined the union — a claim that Melonakos denied.
Meanwhile, De Frutos said his union gathered 230 signatures, a number that Melonakos contests. Melonakos said the CTTU-backed union collected 162 signatures, a number that De Frutos contests.
If those tallies are accurate, then both groups have won support from a majority of tenants. Melonakos explained that the overlap might reflect tenants signing a document asking if they want better living conditions without knowing which union they were agreeing to join.
“That’s part of why this whole thing is so annoying and distracting,” he said. “The point is, by our count of 162, and by whatever number they claim to have, enough tenants at Sunset Ridge feel that the conditions are bad enough to” make “the choice to unionize.”
Sebastian Gomez, Alejandro De Frutos, and members of their management-recognized union.
Marcel Velano: My mom’s roof collapsed, and it took “two or three months for them to fix it.”
NHPD successfully quelled conflict by mandating a 15-foot distance between the two groups.