All of this refers to this story:
What follows are some emailed comments and notes that shed some light on the debate over whether there should be a police substation on Federal Hill, and if so, where. Feel free to comment by clicking on the comment line at the bottom of the posting.
Sept. 7, 2004 email from Michael Cardano, chief financial officer of Bristol Property Management to William Stortz:
Bill, it was a pleasure speaking with you today. Sounds like you have a plan. Please forward me the link to the Federal Hill web site when you get a chance. Thanks again, have a great day.
Sept. 8, 2004 email from William Stortz to Michael Cardano, CFO of Bristol Property Management:
Mike,
Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Enclosed is the Web Site address.
I will be meeting with some of the residents tonight to see if there is any interest on their part for a joint effort. I will let you know what happens, and since I am not a resident of the Hill, maybe someone else will be the organizer. Will let you know that too.
Quickly, I would like to see the City involved, as well as BPM, the residents (tenants and owners), and maybe some other groups.
There will be some costs involved: copying, maybe mailings, trash bags, coffee etc., and I do not know how the trash pickup might work. Just a heads up.
Will be in touch.
Bill Stortz
Note sent to Mayor William Stortz and the City Council:
August 24, 2006
Mayor T. William Stortz
City Hall
111 North Main St.
Bristol, CT 06010
Dear Mayor Stortz:
In September of 2004 we met at the Bristol Historical Society where my partner Anthony and I volunteered our time to field questions for the residence about both properties we manage and property management by third party landlords in general. That evening you sat in the audience as a past Mayor and concerned civilian looking out for the best interests of the town.
Following that evening you contacted me with a suggestion that we sponsor a Bristol Property Management clean-up day in the Federal Hill area. For whatever reason that never got off the ground, partly I think because you were not a resident of Federal Hill and perhaps couldn’t gain enough support.
Never the less it is two years later and BPM has become a fixture in the city, housing hundreds of Bristol’s citizens. While we operate properties in many surrounding towns most of our roots are in Bristol and Bristol is where we call home. We recently instituted an arrangement with the town of Meriden where we provided rent free space for the Meriden Police Department to place a Sub-Station in one of our buildings in a troubled area of town just yards from Town Hall. We would like to make a similar offer to the town of Bristol.
We would like to offer you retail office space free of charge (you just pay the utilities) at 12 Summer St. (the lower part of Summer St.) which has long been a trouble spot, an area of concern and focus of the town. With the newly renovated library opening up so close by I’m sure you would agree that cleaning up this area would not only great for the homeowners in the area but pleasant change for anyone passing through that part of town so close to Main St. and the newly renovated library. We believe that the presence of the sign alone that the Bristol Police Department resides there would make and keep the area desirable.
We realize that this is not very far from the Police Department but the implementation of the same scenario in Meriden has the Meriden Police Station even closer then yours would be to the Bristol Police Station.
The changes in Meriden have been immediate and drastic, the area has done a 180 degree turn virtually over night with the drugs, prostitution and loitering stopping with just the press that the Police Sub-Station was going to be there. Not only has this caused the esthetics to change but investment by homeowners and business men and women immediately followed piggybacking the momentum created by the initiative.
The town of Meriden and the Meriden Police have committed to the project by staffing the office with two full time officers and the project has been applauded by everyone from the Mayor, the Town Council members, the Police Chief, the citizens and businesspeople in the community. I would venture to say that a permanent solution to a long time problem had been resolved swiftly and with virtually no cost and has been win-win situation for all involved. The owner of the property has already approved this suggestion and we are requesting that you take advantage of this unique opportunity.
For more information on the topic I suggest you contact the various media outlet archives as the topic has received much press from both the Meriden Record Journal and evening news local television newscasts.
Please find below a copy of our July 17th press release. I look forward to hearing from you and discussing this proposed initiative as well as any other ways you believe we may be able to assist in your efforts to have the town of Bristol be the most desirable place to reside it can be.
MERIDEN CT, July 17, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- Bristol Property Management, LLC is pleased to announce its newest strategic alliance in the central Connecticut region. BPM an industry leader in innovative property management has reached an agreement on behalf of the building’s landlord APB Holdings, LLC with the Meriden Police Department to place a Police sub-station in 80-82 East Main St, Meriden, CT. The downtown commercial landmark, a single structure 2-parcel property managed by BPM known as 72-82 East Main St. is currently being renovated and was purchased 10 months ago under mutual terms between APB Holdings, LLC and Matcher Real Estate Company Connecticut, LLC.
BPM was retained upon purchase by both companies as general contractor to renovate the abandoned apartment parcel located at 72-76 East Main St. and to improve the physical conditions and quality of life for the tenants of the occupied apartment units at 80-82 East Main St. In addition, BPM was awarded the management of both buildings.
According to Michael Cardano, CFO of Bristol Property Management, LLC the joint endeavor reinforces the commitment of both entities to assist in the revitalization of the downtown Meriden area. “This agreement is as important for the town as it is for the landlord. The presence of the Meriden Police Department in such a historic building just yards away from both Meriden Town Hall and from the Hub where the new park at Pratt St. will be created is crucial to the success of the Center City Initiative Project. Chief of Police, Jeffry W. Cossette, Deputy Chief of Police, Steve Legere, Sergeant Salvatore Nesci and the entire Meriden police support staff deserve credit for their proactive development, progressive thinking and cooperation. Mr. Cardano went on to say, “Meriden is known as the “Crossroads of Connecticut.” It’s situated at the convergence of Interstates 691 and 91, the Merritt Parkway and Route 5 and only 20 minutes from both Hartford and New Haven. We think that the town is geographically placed to succeed for our investors and smart decisions by public officials and agency administrators such as this bolster our confidence in investing in the town of Meriden.”
Under the terms of the agreement BPM will construct a new office space with the capabilities of staffing two full time officers.
Adam Frank, managing partner of APB Holdings, LLC added, “We are delighted to hear that the Meriden Police Department will be taking tenancy in our building. We understand that they have made a real commitment to staff the office and think that there are attractive synergies for all interested parties. The recommendation by BPM that we house the Meriden Police Department was unanimously approved. Not only was it the right move for our investors, but we are confident that both the city of Meriden as well as the residing tenants will benefit from this alliance.”
All parties agree that this union will only serve to benefit this region and aid in restoring it to its former grandeur.
In a statement, Chief of Police, Jeffry W. Cossette stated, “The Meriden Police Department has renewed its commitment to the citizens of Meriden by re-establishing the Community Policing Program. The Meriden Police Department has assigned 5 officers and Sgt. Nesci on a full time basis to meet the needs of the communities and address their quality of life concerns. Mike Cardano of Bristol Property Management, LLC approached the Meriden Police Department and offered a store front office to assist us in bringing the Neighborhood Initiative Officers back to the Community that we serve. Bristol Property Management, LLC has committed resources to restore a historic, dilapidated building to a viable and respectable structure within our city. This building sits on the main thoroughfare of our community and is often a first impression to many visitors of our city. The partnership that is formed with BPM and the MPD will benefit not only the immediate area but the entire City as a whole.”
Upon successful implementation BPM plans on striking similar strategic alliances in other municipalities on behalf of its landlords.
About Bristol Property Management, LLC - Bristol Property Management, LLC is a full service property management firm managing residential and commercial multi-family dwellings for its affiliated companies and third party landlords. BPM manages properties for the following companies:
AJF Realty, LLC GNC, LLC
APB Holdings, LLC Harvest Properties 1, LLC
Bristol Residential Properties, LLC HATOV, LLC
CarCam Corp. High Street Properties, LLC
CarCam Properties, LLC. Matcher Real Estate Company Connecticut, LLC
Deforest, LLC McClafferty & Shields Enterprises
EMS Holdings, LLC MJ Investments, LLC
Federal Hill Properties, LLC Prospect Property Management, LLC
Sierra Property Management, LLC
Contact: Michael Cardano, CFO Bristol Property Management, LLC
Press release from Mayor William Stortz on June 14, 2007:
Bristol, CT, June 14, 2007 - In a prepared release, Mayor William T. Stortz announced that he is asking the Police Board to consider a Police Substation in the Federal Hill area.
Owners of Bristol Property Management were once willing to provide space for a possible police substation in the Federal Hill area, to help address some of the issues.
Said Stortz, “I will be meeting with Mr. [Michael] Cordano [of Bristol Property Management] to explore the possibility and discuss other aspects of the concerns as noted. We realize that there are costs associated with doing something like this. Additional new costs are based on the costs of the facility, as well as other costs such as administration and personnel.”
Stortz continued, “We do have one other substation in the City: that will add to our analysis in this particular situation.”
“We realize that there are problems on Federal Hill, just as they were noted and pointed over three years ago. A substation, if implemented will not be a total panacea. Many other steps will have to be taken to address these issues, on Federal Hill, and other areas throughout the City,” said Stortz.
Stortz concluded, “I am appreciative that Mr. Cardano is willing to cooperate and assist us in addressing these problems.”
Note from city Councilor Ellen Zoppo, one hour after the mayor’s press release:
The Hospital has also offered a sub-station location and I think their buildings are much more attractive since it will ease employee concerns, develop a presence, and also not serve to give any amount of credibility to Mr. Cardano and his business associates who now want to be part of the solution, despite the irony that they were the ones who have definitely contributed to the current problems.
The only meeting I would be having with them is to give them a final notice before the City of Bristol formally begins the nuisance abatement process with the State Chief's Attorney.
Note from Michael Cardano, chief fiscal officer for Bristol Property Management, on Friday, June 15, 2007:
Steve, please find below my original correspondence sent on August 24, 2006 [copy is above]. As for what response was given from an official capacity over the past year before Mr. Stortz’ contacted me to meet with him the other day; absolutely nothing.
* I must say however that when Mr. Stortz called me on Wednesday he was quite disturbed / miffed that my e-mailed offer never got to him. The first thing he mentioned to me when he called was that for some reason he had never gotten my correspondence. He stated that he had someone from IT looking into it. He then apparently checked with one of the other members of the city council who had been sent a copy and was able to obtain a copy of my correspondence from them. He apologized for the snafu, stated that I did in fact have the correct e-mail address listed and had no reasonable explanation for why the e-mail was never received. He was looking into it. (The missing e-mail caper :))
I am meeting with him at 4 pm today to discuss the details of our offer.
From Michael Cardano, later on Friday, June 15, 2007:
As you probably know by now, at the time I made the offer almost a year ago, I copied the e-mail to Ellen Zoppo as well as many other city officials. The point being, Ellen Zoppo has been aware of our offer for almost an entire year now and has done absolutely nothing to advance the effort and in fact opposes it primarily because she does not want to give BPM any credit for being a part of the solution (as if we were running for office).
We have no agenda here other then to improve the quality of the area which will in turn improve the rental rates and real estate prices of our investors. We are not interest in PR or being given credit for being a part of the solution. We do not even own the building we have offered to place the sub-station in; we just manage it for a third party and we are offering it on their behalf. We are simply seeking to have a solution as we are in the trenches and we see the topics being discussed first hand on a daily bases.
It’s quite disingenuous for Ms. Zoppo to claim that we “now want to be a part of the solution”, when we in fact were the ones who proposed the idea in the first place nearly an entire year ago! Additionally, we’ve had proven results doing this in another community. If Ms. Zoppo had been proactive she could have gotten behind our effort to assist in cleaning up the area and squelched this issue a long time ago. Had the police sub-station been there for the past year, perhaps the area would be viewed as stabilized with some positive momentum behind it and the concerns of hospital officials that are being bantered about now would have been pre-empted.
The retail office space we are offering is approximately 800 Sq feet, with two 10 x 12 private offices, 468 square ft of common office space and a bathroom. It is properly zoned and in move in condition. The only costs that the city would absorb would be the cost of a sign, and installation of phones, computers, furniture or any other items or communication that they may wish to install. In our prior experience dealing with this type of project, other then the proprietary police equipment, computers, desks, chairs and other office equipment were all donated by local businesses supporting the effort.
It appears that Ms. Zoppo is willing to put a police sub-station in the area contingent upon getting her political wish which is having the Hospital take up tenancy in the area. While we have no opinion on the Hospital taking space there (sounds nice on the surface), the Police Sub-Station space we are willing to provide would be for the benefit of not only the employees of the Hospital, but also the local residence and passers by and is not contingent upon the hospital agreeing to take space on Federal Hill. We can make the above claim because Ms. Zoppo has known of our offer for almost a year and not endorsed even the concept. Now, when we bring up the offer again, she’s all for the concept, but only in the building a few feet away that would suit her political need. Also, her remarks about not wanting to give us any credibility for being a part of the solution is quite political. We haven’t in any way publicly chastised her for not endorsing our idea previously, and we don’t care to. Ms. Zoppo apparently perceives a PR opportunity being taken away from her. She wants to do the same thing we suggested, with a twist. While she may be interested in becoming Mayor and having the installation of a police sub-station to add to her resume, we just would like to see the sub-station implemented for the benefit of the citizens. So as not to confuse this issue I absolutely 100% agree that this would also in the interest of our investors as the interests of all owners of real estate on Federal Hill whether they be resident home owners or landlords are in concert with each other. A rising tide will lift all boats.
In response to Ms. Zoppo’s claim of BPM contributing to the problem in the area. Let me first say that we did not develop the multifamily dwellings that exist here today. The fact that there is a large supply of multifamily dwellings, the local businesses that do exist, the schools and environment that local government provides are all things that attract investors, homeowners and renters to this community. If our landlords have vacancies we fill them. The majority of people who respond to the vacancies are people who already reside in the community and are looking to relocate. If you speak to Ms. Zoppo you might thing that we are bussing people in from some third world country. We do not attract the citizens to the community we simply provide housing for those seeking somewhere to live. If they don’t rent from us they rent an apartment from the building next door.
When our phone rings, we have no control over the person on the other end of the phone. It could be a person moving here from out of state because they are relocating for work or it could be someone given our phone number by a local subsidizing agency. We rent to those qualified individuals that contact us. If Ms. Zoppo is concerned with the quality of the citizens in the community and wants to skew the pool so that the demand for the housing doesn’t come from tenants who’s housing is subsidized, rather then point the finger at property managers and landlords for housing people who respond to the vacancies, she should work to improve the quality of the pool of people responding to the vacancies. She should concentrate on bringing in more quality business for these prospective renters to work rather then suggest that we implement redlining. She should know better then that. Not only is that illegal, but it’s disrespectful to the people who currently reside. Additionally, efforts should be directed towards public and private agencies which provide subsidized housing to both better qualify who they provide funding for, and to take some responsibility for tenants that they subsidize if they turn out to be trouble for the community. Under the current circumstances, once the subsidizing agency places the tenant, they turn their back on the landlord and accept absolutely no accountability for the troubles that may be caused leaving the land lord to deal directly with the tenant in court which often takes months and is quite costly.
I’m starting to sound political here and that’s not my place or my intention. My point here is that local companies like ESPN are expanding by leaps and bounds and we place their employees in quality housing right here in Federal Hill routinely. Everyone in the community seems happy to have them here and they fit in well. If the community had more stable businesses here, the rest of the stuff we are talking about would take care of it self.
Lastly, in September of 2004 Ellen Zoppo invited a group of landlords and management companies to a “town hall meeting” at the Bristol Historical Society to address the problems facing the citizens of Federal Hill. It was a widely pre-publicized event covered by all the local media outlets including your news paper and the Harford Courant and also ran as lead stories on both the local Fox and NBC news affiliates on their evening news casts that evening. To our credit, even though the event was clearly staged by Ms. Zoppo as a lynching of property owners and management companies such as ourselves, our organization was the only one stand-up and accountable enough to show up and field questions. Our President, Anthony Cammariere and I sat there and fielded questions from the audience for a few hours and pledged to work with the citizens to help make the area a better place to reside. We made many friends in the community that night and have worked with many of them in ways we could to help their cause. We were there for the community then and we are still here today as fixture in the community still attempting to assist in the betterment of the community.
As mentioned previously I will be meting with the Mayor’s Office @ 4pm today to discuss the implementation of a Police Sub-Station @ 12 Summer St. which we believe to a great benefit to the local community and in the best interest of the welfare of it’s citizens. My apologies to Ms. Zoppo’s if this occurrence will upset her political agenda. I’ve got no intentions of becoming her campaign manager but perhaps she’d be better served finding another issue to use as a platform to run on where she falls on the side of the majority. Your e-mail suggests that she apparently doesn’t want to meet with us. Without trying to burst anyone’s bubble, this is truly quite and odd occurrence because I can’t find anyone from my company that’s requested that she meet with us or any reason to do so for that matter? I imagine that if / when Ms. Zoppo becomes Mayor I would address these items directly with her, but that’s not the case at the moment so respectfully I’ll just deal with the Mayor.
Lastly, Mayor Stortz attended that town hall meeting that night in September of 2004 as a concerned citizen and contacted us at the time with the idea of us sponsoring a Bristol Property Management clean-up day in the Federal Hill area. For a number of reasons that never got off the ground however it’s clear to me that he was looking out for the citizens then and as far as I can tell, he is doing the same today.
Watch the paper in the days ahead for more on this issue.
*******
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
20 comments:
Having a sub-station in the direct center of the problem area (bottom of summer street) is a great idea. It would put an immediate stop to the problems that are making the library patrons and other citizens so uncomfortable. It doesn't matter who is donating the space. A year ago we could have had this in place when BPM offered it. You have to wonder - if Ellen had put her pride down long enough to accept this offer for the community, would the house on the top of Main St. burned down?, How many drug deals or other crimes would have been stopped?
This neighborhood could have had some peace for the past year but they weren't given the chance because Ellen doesn't want to give credit to someone she's been fighting with for years that is now finally responding to her with a solution.
She has talked about nusiance abatement laws and getting the State's Attorney's office involved for over 4 years now. If she could have done it by now she would have.
What does Ellen have to do with this? Last time I knew Bill Stortz was mayor, if he wanted to make this happen with BPM he could have done it despite Ellen's irrational stance.
I am at a loss as to why anyone thinks a police substation less than 1/4 of a mile from police headquarters would be effective in fighting crime on Federal Hill. Instead of adding a substation, why not add more police officers to the police department? For years I've been reading that the BPD is grossly understaffed. Wouldn't additional manpower allow the department to more effectively manage the troubled areas in the City? I totally agree with Ellen comments about the role BPM has played with increasing crime in the City. I'm sure we could take a huge bite out of crime if BPM screened their tenants more carefully. Does anyone have documentation as to the percentage of BPM's tenants that were arrested over the past several years, versus the rest of the residents on Federal Hill? Could prove interesting reading.
Bristol Property Management made an offer to help the city, if Zoppo doesn’t agree with that offer for a particular reason, that’s certainly her prerogative. If she wants to say that she has a better spot for the sub-station, that’s one thing. However to even suggest that she doesn’t want something that many consider good for the town to happen because she doesn’t want a particular person or group to get credit for it makes one question anything that she may have to say on the topic that’s actually valid.
Typical Zoppo, trying to control the situation. The BPM comes to the city with a solution and all she cares about is her political career. A sub station in that area would help greatly. I was at the meeting at the historical society and it was an ambush from the start on Zoopo's part. Guess all her underhand deals will be coming back to haunt her on this.
Accept the BPM working with the city, its better then them working against us futher.
I think Cardano was right on target. The pool of availible tenants to be picked from has to change. That’s something that it seems to me as a politician, Zoppo should be concerned with. Being worried about who gets credit for placing a sub-station down town makes her look like Al Gore taking credit for taking the initiative for starting the internet.
With regard to the percentage of BPM tenants arrested, Sue with all due respect that’s not a well thought out comment. If we said that 10 BPM tenants have been arrested over time that would sound like a large quantitative number right? HOWEVER, I have a 3 family home and I rent out the two upstairs apartments and over the past 6 years I have had 5 different tenants, 2 of which had been arrested (and that doesn’t count one that was arrested twice!) I did all the screening myself and yet 40% of my tenants were arrested for various things. I had to call the police on one of them myself! So if they have had 500 tenants over the past few years and 10 have been arrested (2%) that would actually be pretty good.
You just made Cardano’s point. The pool of people to choose from has to change. That’s the problem. Also, the subsidizing athorities have to start taking some responsibility for the people they place.
- Christy
I’m no James Carville or Mary Matalin but why in God’s name would Zoppo engage herself in a political face-off with someone from the private sector who's not running for office? She’s obviously been trying to pin something on these guys since that Bristol Historical Society meeting in 2004. After all this time chasing them she looks silly. She’s had 3 years of looking into them and trying to catch them on something. If they weren’t playing by the rules it would have come out by now. As a tax payer, I’m all for her tenacity but she needs to redirect her efforts to better help the citizens instead of posing as a district attorney attempting to make a name for her self politically.
As far as I am concerned, Ms. Zappo has made herself look very foolish by breaking down BPM's offer of a sub-station location. What does BPM have to gain besides better security for thier tenants? If anyone is looking for accolades... I believe that person would be Ms. Zappo.
Also, I would be very interested in knowing what type of "tenant screening procedure" Ms. Zappo would reccomend to BPM and what her solution would be if "proper" tenants do not come calling. Maybe Ms. Zappo should have spent some time looking for grant money to assist BPM in further renovations of their properties instead of constantly putting down their efforts over the last 3 years. As a Bristol resident myself, I am ashamed at what has become of "Down Town Bristol". Someone needs to do something QUICKLY in regards to the mall and Bristol business in order for any substantial turn-around on Federal Hill to take place.
To preface my thoughts- I'm a college professor who currently teaches young adults to critically think and communicate in a rational and articulate manner-
I'm not particularly politically savvy nor do I favor a particular political party, but I felt the need to comment on a most recent Press release:"Common Sense" tells me that the comment made by Ms. Zoppo doesn't reflect any "critical thought". Not wishing to acknowledge assistance from an organization,in a community matter, because she did not want to give "credibility" to that entity seems rather SELF SERVING and if my knowledge of history and political science serves me correctly- a POLITICAL CANDIDATE - serves the PEOPLE not HERSELF!!!!!
PERHAPS MS.ZOPPO THE CANDIDATE MIGHT LIKE TO "RETHINK" HER POSITION-
I don’t have as much of a problem with Ellen Zoppo as some of you seem to have because I do think she means well and tries hard for us citizens. I just think the comment about not wanting to give Cardano or BPM any credit is bush league. But I guess that’s politics.
To be honest, it’s refreshing that Mr. Cardano and BPM who are not political candidates are the ones who have offered the assistance because there is no political agenda behind it. - PF
OK people, lets get to the to the point. It is obvious that something MUST be done to get Bristol back on track, but it does not have to do with BPM's (or anyone else's) tenants. It has to do with why on earth anyone would want to live in an area where the "downtown" consists of a deserted mall and discount stores. Let's get real! We need to do something quickly in regards to business and commerce in the downtown area or the tenant applicant pool that everyone is so up in arms about will only get worse. Some things to think about in the mean time... 1. What has Zoppo really done to better the pool of tenants in Bristol, CT? 2. How can everyone and thier mother know the location of drug dealers/hoodlums in the Federal Hill area and BPM and Zoppo are the ones who are trying to get these guys out? Where's the Bristol PD? Shouldn't they be the ones trying to catch the "bad guys"?
"Ms. Zoppo apparently perceives a PR opportunity being taken away from her." - BINGO!
What's wrong with this picture? How did we get to the point where a politician is bashing a private entity that's willing to donate its services for the good of the community? Someone is generous enough to donate something to help us out. She should be grateful for the gift rather then attempt to lay claim to the idea.
I agree with the post above. It’s hard to take anything she has to say on the topic as anything more than political posturing given that as much as anything else, she’s concerned on who would get credit for the idea.
"A rising tide will lift all boats," Cardano said.
I’m waiting to read tomorrow’s paper where Zoppo claims that the quote is not technically accurate because he didn’t take into account boats that are not in the water. :)
My cousin who is a Bristol resident sent me this link. I’m moving to Bristol from Oregon to work for ESPN. I was in Bristol three weeks ago looking for a place to live and Bristol Property Management placed me in what appears to be a very nice apartment. I can’t say what they do when they rent to anyone else but the application process was as personal and intrusive as could be. To my knowledge they called all three references I gave, plus my current landlord. They asked for proof of pertinent financial information and had me sign an authorization to do a criminal background check.
Perhaps my experience was different from others but it sure seemed like standard practice to me. See you all in a few weeks. I sure hope you guys figure this stuff out and things settle down before I get there. It’s a bit more intense then what I’m used to.
This is BS. I just got home from work and I can’t believe what I’m reading! Can anyone tell me if the Police Board meeting open to the public? We need this thing. BAD. That Summer St. building would be PERFECT! It’s right in the heard of all the trouble. Anyone?
Does anyone know the answer to the above question? Is the Police Board meeting open to the public tonight? Perhaps the moderator of this blog area knows?
To answer the question, yes, it is a public meeting and, yes, residents can speak at the session. The meeting is at 6:30 at City Hall. I believe the public comment section is near the beginning of the meeting, but I am not positive about that because it's been awhile since I covered a Police Board session. Another of our reporters, Amy Talit, normally covers issues and meetings related to the police.
I am a tenant of a property that BPM manages. When I rented from them I was realistic about what to expect where I reside. To be honest, any of the issues I have here are more from the neighbors then from the other people living in the BPM managed building.
Let's face it there are many people in this town that don't do their share to keep the town nice. I can say this because I’m a renter; most renters do not treat the places they live or the town itself with the care and respect that the homeowners do. I’m not trying to be disrespectful or put anyone down but that’s the way it is. To be honest, even though I feel I’m a concerned citizen and do my part to keep the city nice I’m sure I’d do more if I owned a home here.
I think one of the key things mentioned in all of this seems to be that the housing agencies that subsidize renters seem to take no responsibility for who they place. I’ve seem BPM have to evict one of these people. It took something like 4 months because the renter was able to play the court game well.
Perhaps Amy Talit could weigh in on what can be done to attract a better pool of citizens / tenants to the community and what the housing athorities are doing to take responsibility of the tenants they place.
I rent from BPM on 8 Arnold Court off of Main Street. Certainly the dwellings that they own are modest but they didn’t create these problem properties. They have improved every property that they have bought in some way and have even offered a sub-station location for free. The complaints about the “quality” of people who are renting are ludicrous at best and racist and mean spirited at worst. Poverty and lack of good jobs is the problem. The complaints about having to look at “undesirable” people at the new library should trigger a feeling of what can we do to help these unfortunates not where can we put them so we can’t see them. I agree that physical improvement of these areas is imperative. I also agree with the previous posting that Ms. Zoppo should be trying to get money to help BPM to get grant money to renovate these properties in question. I submit that the problem is the quality of the town leadership not the tenants. The Mayor won on a platform of no tax money for renovation of the center mall. Now some people are complaining that downtown is a mess. May I say DUH!!!! How in the world can you improve and renovate with no money? In conclusion, I’ve found that creeping urban blight can go both ways. Very little money can go a long distance. Small beautification can lead to large improvement. And being poor is not a crime!
Richard Pizzoni
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