Human Rights Commissioner Addresses Tenant Concerns at Monticello Housing Authority

Sullivan County Human Rights Commissioner Ramone Wilson says tenant-landlord tensions grow as some residents at the Evergreen Housing complex in Monticello allege years of agency mismanagement and landlord harassment.

Monticello Housing Authority is the public housing agency charged with running Evergreen Housing. In recent months, some Evergreen Housing tenants have alleged years of landlord harassment, building and financial mismanagement, and landlord-tenant retaliation following the 2020 COVID pandemic.

“During COVID… yeah, it’s like they just gave up on us,” Iris Frazier previously told Radio Catskill. She received a leasing violation earlier this year for not paying rent that she says she paid months in advance.

Some tenants have filed formal complaints with Sullivan County’s Human Rights Commission focused on intimidation and bullying allegations and non-compliance of accounting and bookkeeping.

“Several residents have also complained and are concerned they’re being illegally evicted based off the fact that [the Monticello Housing Authority] do[es]n’t have any records that can verify their accurate ledger of rent collections,” said Sullivan County Human Rights Commissioner Ramone Wilson.

READ: ‘It’s Like They Just Gave Up on Us:’ Monticello Tenants Allege Years of Mismanagement, Landlord Harassment

Housing authorities are public agencies responsible for managing public housing buildings for low-income households.

Wilson says he and other local officials and anti-discrimination organizations have spoken to Marc Sterling, the current executive director, to discuss what oversight HUD has on the local authority.

“We don’t wanna see people in the county displaced. We’re already dealing with a significant housing crisis as it stands and we wanna help prevent that from happening,” said Wilson.

But Wilson says he’s limited in what the commission can do with tenant complaints. The county’s commission currently doesn’t have investigative authority to fully investigate allegations, so it can only report cases to New York’s Division of Human Rights to address – a process that can sometimes take years for a case to be reviewed.

READ: Sullivan Human Rights Director Raises Discrimination Allegations, Seeks Investigative Authority

Wilson has since requested copies of the occupancy policy and procedures detailing how Monticello Housing Authority is run and how rent is collected, though he says he hasn’t heard back.

Radio Catskill had also reached out to the Monticello Housing Authority for more information regarding leasing agreements, tenant requirements, and payment plans but have not heard back.

Image: Entrance of Evergreen Housing in Monticello, New York (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)