Connecticut’s attorney general has launched an inquiry into complaints of exposure to lead and other hazardous materials at an apartment complex in Putnam that received state funding from several sources.
Attorney General William Tong earlier this month sent a letter to Leanne Parker, owner of the Lofts at Cargill Falls Mill in Putnam. Tenants at the 82-unit complex have formed a union, gone on rent strike and voiced concerns about high levels of lead as well as other issues with conditions at the apartments.
“Tenants at the Lofts have made troubling complaints regarding their exposure to lead, asbestos, and other hazardous materials,” Tong’s letter says. He discussed the inquiry on the radio station WINY.
Requests for comment to the Lofts were not immediately returned.
Tong’s letter also says that the state provided “substantial” funding to the apartments to rehabilitate the former mill and ensure it met environmental standards and that the lead had been remediated. It asks Parker to provide a list of 16 documents or information by March 29.
“These complaints call into question Cargill Falls Mill’s compliance with these requirements,” Tong’s letter says. “Further, recent reports of conditions at the Lofts call into question Cargill Falls Mill’s compliance with its obligations as landlord regarding continued lead paint hazards.”
[RELATED: Tenants on rent strike in Putnam after report finds more lead]
The Cargill Tenants Union cited the power of organizing in a statement issued Thursday about the inquiry. They said Tong’s reference to tenant complaints in his letter to Parker shows the power of tenant unions.
“Many fellow tenants face similar health hazards in dilapidated buildings across the state, but our self-organization created the public and private pressure necessary to leverage the power of the state against a notorious slumlord,” the statement said. “Just as we’ve learned about the potential power in rent strikes from tenant unions across the country, we hope our wins inspire further militant, direct action as we gain traction in Putnam.”
The property was part of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Voluntary Remediation Program to get rid of pollutants, such as lead, that could spread to the soil or water.
DECD provided $750,000 under the Municipal Grant Program to conduct site-wide hazardous building material inspection and testing, abatement of asbestos-containing material, and shoring up of buildings.
The complex also received state and federal grants and tax credits, including $5 million under the Competitive Housing Assistance for Multifamily Properties and at least $7.4 million in tax credits. The National Park Service and State Historic Preservation Office also noted it as a historically significant location, according to reporting by the Norwich Bulletin.
Several of the units were earmarked as affordable.
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.
[RELATED: They found lead in their apartment complex. But who is responsible?]
Following the testing, the Department of Housing paid $72,000 for the recent lead inspection, the second round of testing in the last year at the complex.
The state contracted with private company GeoQuest to do the second round of inspections. GeoQuest found 68 of the 71 apartments tested had lead paint. The company also found lead in many of the apartment’s common areas.
Twenty-four places in the building had levels of lead dust higher than what federal regulations allow. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates lead-based paint hazards and last year launched an investigation at the apartments in Putnam.
Tenants have said the complex’s owner hasn’t done enough to ensure the lead has been remediated and there are issues with mold, water leakage and pests.
They’ve taken several actions, including forming a tenant union, filing a lawsuit and reaching out to local officials for help. The union’s statement Thursday thanked Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, for her office’s help. The tenants have been in touch with Flexer for several months about the apartment complex.
Most recently, several tenants went on a rent strike, and later said the company filed retaliatory evictions because of the strike. They’ve asked that the cases be dismissed.
“Though this is a major development in our struggle for safe, healthy housing in Putnam, tenant union members responsible for exposing this issue still face retaliation,” the union said in their statement. “Five families currently have court summons for eviction, after withholding rent over the same conditions named by Attorney General Tong as concerns.”