Several hundred residents of two large neglected apartment buildings in Syracuse are being forced to find another place to live so the new landlord can make major renovations. But for residents who’ve endured years of deplorable living conditions, the future is anything but certain.
The prospective owner, Clear Investment Group, has told tenants at the Skyline and Vincent apartment complexes have until the end of the month to leave. Executive Director of the Greater Syracuse Tenants Network Sharon Sherman says it’s a difficult situation.
“Rather than renovating with the people in place, which could be done, they decided that they wanted everyone out," Sherman said. Their ideas of getting the people out, from my opinion from day one, we're totally unrealistic.”
Sherman says it’s not fair to displace residents who have leases that extend to later in the year.
“Under New York State law, just because you want to do something at the apartment doesn't mean you have a right to break the lease as a landlord," Sherman said. "So, it's a mess. Two thirds of the people appear to have departed. But there's a lot of people who are trying to find places.”
Larry Fuller has lived at the Skyline for over ten years.
“What they offered me I wasn’t too happy with," Fuller said. “The problem is finding a one bedroom around here that takes Section 8. There aren’t many one bedroom apartments available.”
It’s not clear what will happen if Fuller and the other remaining tenants can’t find other housing by July 31. The former landlord, Green National, owned by Former football star Tim Green and his son, were forced by the court to sell the properties after letting them fall into extreme disrepair. Residents had been living in an unsecured building with filth, vermin, and little hot water for years.
But Sherman says even the prospective owners stopped extermination services in April when they took control of the building. And now, she says a worst case scenario is unfolding.
“We have all failed to protect and make the Skyline good for the tenants who were living there," Sherman said. "We've been around for 30 years, never have we worked so hard and tenants worked hard, and even the city, and the end result is a total lose for all the tenants that were there for all these years.”
Sherman says she’s not sure how many tenants will return. But when renovations are complete, she says there will be hundreds of units of fresh housing that will meet the needs of the area’s working class, retired, and disabled populations.
Officials with Clear Investment Group did not respond to our request for an interview.
