Abbey Court residents speak out against harrassment

[Abbey Court] I just learned that there was a rally this morning at Carrboro Town Hall where residents of Abbey Court called for the town to do more to protect them from the increasingly-discriminatory policies of their collective landlord. In short: the owners have begun towing residents' cars if they don't meet a certain aesthetic standard. It really is that ridiculous. And probably quite racist, in my opinion.

Thanks to the Town of Carrboro's new Official Correspondence archive (kudos for openness!) I can offer some background about the situation.

From: Carolyn A. Hutchison [Carrboro Police Chief]
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 3:50 PM
To: Steven Stewart [Carrboro Town Manager]
Subject: FW: Towing today
Importance: High

Steve,

Management at Abbey Court apartments is actively towing vehicles from
their lots today.  We do not have any authority on their property;
however, we are dealing with this situation to the extent that we are
able.  Officers are concerned that Management is towing vehicles that
belong to their own residents.  Many of the residents are trying to make
ends meet and need the vehicles to get to and from work, etc.
Apparently, Management is towing cars that do not "look good."  In other
words, if your vehicle has dents, needs paint, or has a cracked
windshield, Management will not issue a permit to park and Management
will tow the vehicle.  As you might imagine, Abbey Court residents may
not have the means to drive a pristine vehicle, but many are paying
their rent, and now are unable to get a permit to park in their own home
parking lot.  Then, their vehicles are towed from the lot; they're
responsible for the towing fees; and they have no car to get to work,
etc.

This is a bad situation.  Officers have voiced their concerns to Ms.
Gill (equity issues, justice issues, practical issues related to needing
cars to work, fears of increased frustration yielding violence-tow
trucks have been "attacked" today) but Ms. Gill says she's just doing
her job and her homeowners' association backs her.

I am open to suggestions (keeping in mind that this is private
property), and I think we should let the Mayor and BOA members know
what's going on.

Thanks.

Carolyn  

------------------

From: Dee Gill [mailto:DeeG...@TarheelCos.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 9:56 AM
To: Carolyn A. Hutchison
Subject: Towing today

Hi. I just wanted to let you know we are enforcing the towing policy
today. A couple of your officers were here last night and were concerned
there could be a riot. Officer Tripp came out yesterday morning over one
of the main trouble makers and more officers were here last night with
the same individual living in Z-12.

We are using Chandlers Towing phone # 220-5234. Your officers mentioned
there were many reports of stolen vehicles from other communities that
have enforced towing.

I also wanted to say thank you. The bus stop looks much better. The
problem of drinking alcohol is not over but it has sure slowed down
quite a bit.

Thanks again for your help and your officers help.

Deedee Gill

 

 [...]

From: Jacquie Gist [Carrboro Alderman]
Date: July 18

 I went to Abby Court yesterday after work.A group of about 25-30 had gathered on the lawn in front of the office. The majority of those in the group were women and children. Two very impressive young men, fresh out of high school, were acting as leaders and translators. Our police officers arrived around the same time as I did. They were wonderful! Management had just called 911 to report the gathering. Our wonderful officers told the manager that since the people lived there they had a right to gather. The tenants are very worried and scared. I don't know why but lots of, if not all of the tenants,are having to apply or re-apply for parking permits. The leases state basically that damaged,dented etc cars can not park there. I saw some cars that had been denied permits and witnessed one being rejected. These are not junk cars! If there is anything wrong,normal wear for an old car,then it is denied a permit. Several of the cars I saw that had been denied permits looked fine-it took close inspection to find anything wrong. One had a few inches of side stripping loose and was denied a parking permit. While I was there the management was taking pictures of the people who were holding signs of protest,not sure how they plan to use them.I do not fully understand yet why all of this is happening but these folks are clearly being harassed. Some of the tenants believe that management wants to replace them with rich students or condos.I would encourage the board to vocally stand up for the tenants.
Jacquie

You can read much more about this in the Town of Carrboro's archive at http://groups.google.com/group/official-correspondence/browse_thread/thread/65bd28e8ef14b297

Issues: 

Comments

That complex is more than 30 years old and I don't know how many hundreds of apartments/condos.  (They ran out of alphabet letters for buildings and rolled over to AA, BB, etc.)  My point is that the entire complex probably contains a hundred more code violations and leaky toilets.  Let's focus on the towing situation until it's resolved. 

Here are some additional photos that were sent to me by Abbey Court residents:

 

 

damage to the two cars The damage to the two cars. little girl in car The little girl in the car. laundy 2 laundry Two shots of the laundry room. cabinets 2 Broken cabinets. cabinets 3 Pest holes in cabinets.
The parking policy should be very basic...one or two cars per unit that are in good working order. Residents should only have to prove that they are driveable.  Registration and insurance issues are not the responsibility of the apartment management.
Just out of curiosity, was the original Old Well Apts one of the many Roberts developments?   They were notoriously shoddily built back in the 70's, and the Roberts brothers gained some notoriety of their own as I recall. 

No.  Estes Park was built by Roberts Construction, but Abbey Court was not.  As you alluded to, many of the other major apartment complexes in Carrboro were built by Roberts.  Now most of those apartment complexes belong to an oufit called Triangle Communities (Royal Park, Estes Park, University Lake and many others).

I think Abbey Court was built by someone named Hefner or perhaps Heavner, but that is just what one long-time resident of Carrboro told me.

My point is that the entire complex probably contains a hundred more code violations and leaky toilets. Let's focus on the towing situation until it's resolved.

Do slumlords get a break on codes because their building is old? Because he's collecting rent on hundreds of units he should be allowed to skip basic maintenance and not provide toilets that work? That sounds like bad policy.  The owner has shown unwillingness to cooperate, and willingness to lie to the mayor.  Now the town is doing what it can--I say turn up the heat! 

My wife's new Prius is registered, but that doesn't mean she can produce the registration paperwork on demand. 

The community meeting at 1pm today (Sunday) at Carrboro Town Hall will be discussing just such issues.  Please come out to share your ideas on how to proceed.
Adrian, I've changed my thinking since yesterday, and now whole-heartedly endorse the "turn up the heat" approach even though the Town did not have such an initiative on its agenda.  It'll take a lot of manpower to organize and execute.  I'm sure Mayor Chilton has considered this.  Go Mark! 

I'm at Carrboro Town Hall and will report on the meeting as we go along. Folks have been filing in and there are about 40 residents and 10 non-resident supporters or reporters including WCHL and the Carrboro Citizen.

Alderman Jacquie Gist & Mayor Mark Chilton are welcoming the group in English & Spanish. It's quite a bonus to have a mayor with functional Spanish! They are inviting peple to share their personal stories about whatever problems they have at Abbey Court.

The residents of building U created a web site! http://abbeycourt.info

Alfonso is a young resident who has been very helpful in leading the rganizing. He is discussing in Spanish and English what happenned with the inspections on Friday and helping to translate for others.  Other residents have pictures of cockroaches and other problems that are difficult to be seen during an inspection.

They feel that the police are against them, they don't feel like their concerns are being taken seriously. For example the tow truck driver gave a threatening sign when driving away. Residents are saying that Dee Dee from  he mangement company has entered their homes without permission, both when they are home and not.

Mayor Chilton is now explaining NC's retaliatory eviction law, which protects tenants who complain about their landlords.  But you sometimes have to go to court to get protection. Chilton is concerned that Ken Lucas (who owns most of Abbey Court) may try to retaliate anyway. But one of the few avenues that the Town can take is to address housing standards through inspections.

Some residents note that they might be glad to be kicked out at this point. On Friday, some asked why they couldn't get out of their leases if they're not wanted at AC.

One resident says he thinks Lucas didn't expect such a strong reaction. Thinks he will not like the economic impact of mass exodus. Another says they are taken advantage of because they are Latinos. Says that a security guard has been verbally abusive and used foul language with her.

Another resident thanks the Mayor for being in touch with them and for continuing to help.  Says: we are hard working people, living check to check, but we pay our rent. We know AC has a bad reputation. We are good people. We realize there is going to be a confrontation with Lucas, we think you can help us.

We will have to get together to see if we can raise money for a lawyer, they are expesive. We believe this is our city. Chapel HIll and Carrboro are the most pleasant places to live in NC. Police are more respectful here. But we want to see if the police can help us a little bit more.

We have old cars, that's how we get to work. We can't afford new cars, we are working class. I've lived there for 12 years. We never had this problem before until we had this new manager. He holds up a poster that says "LET OUR KIDS PLAY, NOT PAY."

He expresses great thanks to Mark and Jacquie personally. 

Someone asks about what are the conditions that would put tenants at risk if they complain.

A resident asks if it's possible that Immigration would raid AC. Marks says, yes, it's possible. But also points out that are many residents who are legal, and that they can be the cases to raise up. He invites people contact him if they want to submit a formal complaint about their apartments.

(About 10 more residents have joined the meeting since it started. It's now standing room only.) 

A reporter from La Conexion asks some questions about what can be done.

A resident says that all the "American" tenants except for one got their parking stickers with no problem. "We can deal with roaches, but we cannot deal with the racism."

One resident says if the manager left, they would probably be fine.  Another says there is a rumor that INS has already been contacted by the management and that they are coming August 7 & 8.  Mark says that if INS was actually coming, we probably would not be told when.  Residents think the management is spreading this rumor to scare people.

A nother resident speaks for a group of Burmese residents. He says they  have the same problems, an shares some of his experiences. The other residents applauded him.

Mark Chilton says he would like folks who can (ppl w/ social security numbers), to get in touch with Legal Aid. Someone asked about the Orange County Office of Human Rights investigation.

Another resident asks whether the other people who own units at  AC could help.

 

Mark is doing a splendid job of keeping the right hat on -- his Mayor hat vs. his lawyer hat.  Mark, you must be tempted to dispense legal advice to these residents, choosing wisely to refer them to Legal Aid.  So far, your peacekeeping skills have prevented this thing from getting really ugly.  Gracias y buena suerte! 

Did the forum adjourn on a positive note?   

 

That's very kind Catherine.  Jacquie Gist has also been hard at work on this issue and the entire BOA is in on the discussion.  More importantly, many courageous residents of Abbey Court are standing up for themselves.  All of you need to meet a very impressive young man named Alfonso who has been the impromptu community organizer for Abbey Court.

Here is my email to town staff following today's meeting:

"Our meeting this afternoon resulted in a number of additional housing complaints.
 
"The common areas of Building U have loose railings and other dangerous conditions that need to be inspected/repaired.
 
"A pair of dumpsters at Abbey Court have not been emptied for four weeks - apparently because there is some wood in the dumpster, but the dumpsters are overflowing and a serious nuisance.
 
"Residents of units xx, xx, xx, xx, and xx have requested minimum housing code inspections. 
 
"The inspections department can reach these tenants at the following phone numbers.  Residents requested that inspections contact them to set up a mutually convenient time for the inspections.
 
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
 
"I know this is a lot of work for the town staff and I want all of you on the staff to know that your responsiveness is what our Board of Aldermen appreciates so much about you.  The staff did a great job in handling the situation Friday and you are making me and lots and lots of other people proud to live in Carrboro.  I have been told by MANY residents of ALL parts of Carrboro that they sincerely appreciate that town's leadership and responsiveness on the Abbey Court situtation."

Notice of Special Meeting of the Carrboro Board of Alderman

We, the undersigned, hereby call a special meeting of the Carrboro Board of Alderman for 7:30pm on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at Carrboro Town Hall.

The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss and possibly enact a proposed ordinance regulating the towing of automobiles from private lots within town limits.

Signed:
Alderman jacquelyn Gist
Alderman Dan Coleman

The source of this information is the PDF on this page obtained from the new Official Correspondence Google group for the Town of Carrboro.

NEWS RELEASEDATE: July 29, 2008 The Old Well Homeowners Association dba Abbey Court Condominiums responding to criticism from media sources and officials of the Town of Carrboro regarding the parking policy at Abbey Court Condominiums emphasizes that the rules regarding appearance of vehicles has been relaxed.  The decision to do so was made more than a week ago.  However, continuing media coverage of the towing policy emphasizes the appearance issue as the main source of objections.Kenneth A. Lucas, President and CEO of The Tar Heel Companies of North Carolina, Inc., managing agent for Abbey Court stated “We would ask that anyone who has been denied a parking permit due to a vehicle appearance issue revisit the office at Abbey Court.  We will be reassessing any vehicle that has been previously denied due to an appearance issue. The policy regarding the need for vehicles to be properly registered to residents remains unchanged.” Those seeking parking permits will still need to provide appropriate documentation that they are a leaseholder or authorized occupant at Abbey Court Condominiums along with registration information on each vehicle.  Rules limit the number of parking permits that can be issued to each condominium to two per two bedroom condominium and three per three bedroom condominium.  Lucas further stated “Many that have been denied stickers are not leaseholders nor authorized occupants. We must remember that more than 212 residents have been issued permits and feedback from those residents has been very positive.”

From the Opinion section of the Carrboro Citizen.

For the Record: Fair play

Jul 24, 2008 Opinion

It’s a little difficult to swallow someone’s complaint that their side of the story hasn’t come out in the press when they’ve been studiously avoiding those trying to report the story.

We do not know how or if the very disturbing events of late at Abbey Court will be resolved and we haven’t heard much of the case for towing vehicles en masse. But on the surface and, we suspect, at core, the actions are intended to make life very difficult for a group of residents, a group that almost entirely is of a particular ethnicity.

Some would say that this is a private business matter and, distasteful and unfair as many of us find it, not prohibited. But the towing and enforcement of new rules on vehicles has led to public disturbances and required intervention by police. And the actions have certainly riled a good many citizens.

This clearly is no longer a private matter. It affects a large number of families and it does not appear to be merely a coincidence that they are nearly all Latino. The comments we’ve heard that those who protested were threatened with being reported to immigration does not bolster the management’s case — whatever that may be.

We won’t know until we hear an explanation. We encourage both the town and the county to investigate these actions.

I was just looking at the website for Ken Lucas' company, which owns most and manages all of Abbey Court. In several places they claim that their "condomeniums" are "3 minutes from UNC campus" via the J bus.  As you can imagine, Chapel Hill Transit disagrees.
and in the online reviews, tenants have a lot of complaints, but not about parking. in fact, they give ac relatively high marks on parking, which seems in sharp contrast to the owner's contention that excess/outside, scratched or unregistered vehicles are a somehow an urgent problem.

Did you know about this website? 

 

 

“Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.” Helen Keller

I linked to it here: http://www.orangepolitics.org/2008/07/abbey-court-residents-speak-out-against-harrassment#comment-3479

But thanks for bringing it to more people's attention.

Abbey Court parking problems bring police
Officer L. Alvarez wrote in a police report: "A boot was placed on Basurto`s car ... Basurto didn't realize the boot was on the vehicle and attempted to drive the car. He opened the door to see why the car was not moving and didn't realize the car was in reverse. The car lurched backwards and ran up on the curb, pulling Basurto underneath. Basurto suffered minor injuries to his foot. He was cleared by EMS. "
It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt.  Abbey Court needs to end this madness before there is a serious incident!  Give each unit a set number of parking places, grant stickers to vehicles that run, and move on.  Don't worry if they are ugly, belong to a company or are not liscenced or insured.   Let the  police deal w/registration issues!  It's not rocket science, people!! 

I learned from Alfonso (a resident) today that it costs more when a car is booted than it did when they were being towed. Is booting covered under Carrboro's new policy restricting towing fees?  Alfonso also said that Abbey Court management has continued to tow and boot cars, even after claiming to reduce the standards last week.

It's clear to me that the policy should be to issue parking permits along with leases to tenants, and to put warnings (in English and Spanish) on cars that are in danger of being towed. The rest of this is meddling in the private lives of residents, which is unnecessary and unproductive.

My sister's friend had called me one morning and had told about the guy who got hurt. I mentioned to her that maybe she could go with him to the human rights of orange county and report it because their was nothing I could really do ,but I wonder if I had lead them to the right direction?
So now instead of two guards in abbey court there's at least five and i dont know why. There's no point if they dont do a good job of securing anything! there was one night when two robberies occured on the same night and I dont think they even noticed. It was kind of obvious because everyone heard the gun shots. So maybe abbey court should save their money instead of wasting it on slackers.

Alf, can you bring me a copy of your lease? A cracked windshield is usually not grounds for towing a car.  

 

The second incident happened around 11 p.m. when a woman called police about her car being towed.

Officer M. Metz wrote: "The victim advised that she had attempted to go the office on the 4th of August 2008 at approximately 1700hrs and attempted get a parking pass for her vehicle but the property manager, Deedee Gill, wasn't in the office. Mrs. Ramos advised that the assistant told her that she couldn't help and that she needed to speak with Ms. Gill. Ms. Ramos explained to me that she had already obtained a parking pass for her other vehicle but the vehicle that Chandler`s Towing was towing was refused a parking pass because of a cracked windshield. ... Ms. Gill explained to us that she needed to take a picture of the vehicle and send it to the home office to get approval to give Ms. Ramos a parking pass. When I asked Ms. Gill why her assistant didn't take the picture, Ms. Gill could not give me an explanation."

 From Orangechat.

 

 

 

“Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.” Helen Keller

Clearly, something REALLY needs to be done. How about organizing a Peaceful Protest

 

“Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.” Helen Keller

"A cracked windshield is usually not grounds for towing a car."

 No--but lack of a permit is, and that was the immediate cause.  Management claims that permits are no longer being denied solely for reasons of vehicle appearance, and that folks like Ms. Ramos who were denied permits should re-apply.  But in this case the office was inept in handling the new permit request, and instead of having the common sense to leave the car alone while they were processing the request, they called the tow truck.

a peaceful protest was the first thing we did and it really helped with getting the media attention, but it wasn't enough to change thier mind. The manager just locked herself in her office taking pictures of us. We also went to the farmers market to protest (thanks to Jackie one of the board of aldermen) and that's when we met mark chilton the Mayor. you'd think theyd change the rules with all the chaos that's been happening, but I guess not.

Hmmmm. I have to say that I am really proud of you and the residents for utilizing community resources and being responsibly proactive in getting this resolved in a respectful manner (at least on your part and not so much for the management)

 Perhaps, this issue of discrimination could be umbrella-ed under the Latino/Immigration Civil Rights movement and a march in conjunction with other related and local organizations advocating for the Latino community could be organized? 

 

 

“Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.” Helen Keller

Thank you for the appreciation and I am also honored to help the people in abbey court. Im just helping them realize that just beacuse they're Latinos or if they're illegal or legal they still have rights and not to feel of any lesser value, we are all humans. we can only hope for human kindness. "Buddha"
Hey everyone just checking in from abbey court. Nothings really been happening except that alot of people have been moving out and there is still some cars geting towed at night. I'm also glad there hasn't been any chous going on lately. Its been really silent around here LOL! Im hoping everything comes back to normal, but will see what happens.

We have seen Ken Lucas say one thing and do another in the bast, but the News & Observer says the Abbey Court management has decided to stop booting cars. That's a positive step, although I still think their parking policy should be limited to handing out permits along with leases, without judgment about the quality of the cars or the residents.

any new updates?
It's a lot easier to park there now that all the non-resident vehicles have been forced to move. Also, it is easier to see around the parking lot for other traffic and pedestrians before pulling out of your space.

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