ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Fed-up tenants rallied outside their landlord’s headquarters on Thursday, calling on state and local leaders to stop giving money to Conifer Realty.
About two dozen tenants and union members showed up to Conifer Realty headquarters on University Avenue just before noon, bringing attention to years’ worth of complaints. News10NBC’s Erin Mahon was at the scene and spoke with tenants and company representatives.
What tenants and company representatives say
“I feel that it’s sad that we have to go to this and actually come out and protest just in order to be taken seriously,” tenant Brent Merritt said.
News10NBC has covered issues at Conifer properties before — broken elevators in the summer, no heat in the winter and piles of trash. Now, tenants are concerned with the hundreds of open code violations at a property downtown in addition to the government funding the company receives.
“Why should they continue to get public funding from the federal, state and the city? If they can’t take care of the buildings they already have, if they can’t meet the most basic standards, why would we keep rewarding bad behavior?” Ryan Acuff of the Rochester Tenant Union said.
Erin went inside after the rally to speak with Conifer. Representatives did not want to go on camera but were willing to speak in person, saying they respected the tenants’ decision to protest. Erin also received a statement via email afterwards noting that the “majority of findings at Park Square were minor, routine issues typical of an occupied” complex and there are only nine items left, requiring tenants to let them into units to complete.
What Erin heard from tenants goes beyond individual property issues. One woman told her she felt worthless and that the building doesn’t care about her.
Tenant union proposal
The tenant union showed a proposal to three City Council members already, with plans for another meeting next week. It’s a bargaining agreement with Conifer with requests like electronic or hard copies of every tenant work order, improved staffing and transparency with repairs. Conifer told Erin it’s prioritizing a focus on staff retention, noting that constant turnover is a problem — something it can agree on with the tenants.
What city leaders say
City leaders said they’re aware of the outstanding code violations. They believe Conifer will address all of them and will hold Conifer accountable if it does not. The governor’s office referred News10NBC to the State Homes and Community Renewal Office, which has not yet responded about the code violations and future state funding for Conifer.
Conifer statement into the open code violations and tenant concerns
This statement comes from Dave Lanzillo, vice president of marketing and communications:
“As context, the City’s 100% unit inspection at Park Square, which is required every three years, initially identified nearly 600 items. The majority of those findings were minor, routine issues typical of an occupied residential community, and we’ve worked through that list methodically. At this point, there are only nine items pending resolution.
“Those remaining items are in apartments where we have not yet been able to secure residents’ permission to enter their homes to complete repairs, which has delayed final resolution. As soon as we are able to access those homes, our team is prepared to finish the work and clear the last outstanding issues.
“Resident safety and satisfaction are our priorities, and we will continue to work closely with residents and the City until every item is resolved and to continue the dialogue.”
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