Substandard Living Conditions Special Committee

SUBSTANDARD LIVING CONDITIONS SPECIAL COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 30, 2015 4:00 p.m. Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter 2 Quincy Street A meeting of the Substandard Living Conditions Special Committee was held Monday, November 30, 2015, at 4:03 p.m. at the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter. Alderman Ken Siegel, Chair, presided. Members of Committee present: Alderman-at-Large Jim Donchess Alderman Sean M. McGuinness Members also in Attendance: Alderman-Elect Don Lebrun Alderman-Elect Tom Lopez Chairman Siegel The way this meeting will be run is first we will have public comment and then we will break up into working groups where we will take notes but it won’t be filmed. We will report back what we find based on the information that we get from the people in the working groups. COMMUNITY DISCUSSION Mr. Dominic Washington, 23 Temple Street, Apt. 301 I have something to say about why they shouldn’t shut down the YMCA at 23 Temple Street because if you were to shut the place down you would be kicking over 200 people into the streets. We couldn’t afford anyplace else to live and if you do end up doing that would you be willing to give us a place to live with a bathroom, a kitchen and a bedroom for less than $600.00 a month? You should let us stay there because there is no other place that we can afford to stay at because all of the places in Nashua are so expensive, it’s at least $700.00 to stay at a regular place in Nashua and there are a lot of people that can’t afford that even if they work. Plus at 23 Temple Street we are getting free heat and free electricity and I say we should not shut down this place because of these reasons. Thank you very much. Chairman Siegel For the record, this committee is not in power to shut down anyplace, that’s not what we are doing. We are purely an investigative body. Our job is to gather information and to make recommendations. Mr. Phillip Samart, 23 Temple Street, Room 211 I’ve been going to the “Y” since 2005 and when I got there in 2005 there was somebody else in control there and the place was a crack house. This is a place of transition for people to either go up or down, it’s their choice. People have different lifestyles; there are people there that are ill and have no other place to go. It is what it is; I mean sometimes there is a bed bug here or there so have them call in an exterminator once in a while like once a month. I help the people there replace toilets and sinks, I know the management very well and I’m not afraid to help since I’ve been there since 2005. The place has improved quite a bit in the ten years that I’ve been going there; it just needs a little improvement with more money invested that’s all. Thank you very much. Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 2 Ms. Katherine Healey, 123 West Pearl Street Some of you might know that that’s Mary’s House. It is subsidized living and I just want to state that place seems to work extremely well for low income housing. I would say that some people might think the “”Y” is a necessary evil, but it could be improved significantly. I’ve been in the “Y” and I’ve had good friends that have lived at the “Y”. I’ve stayed there overnight multiple times. Anyone that says that is a standard of living for anybody; it’s not okay and it needs to be improved. I’m a 23 year old girl and I don’t know what needs to be done but I know that it’s possible at Mary’s House for it to happen and for it to be a good, safe place for anyone to come in and just go up. There are people there that push me to do better things and take classes to get back into college. If it weren’t for Mary’s House I’d probably be doing a lot of bad things so I am very lucky to live in a subsidized housing that gives me the tools to be the best person that I can be. I’ve met so many wonderful people there and management is there so often. We are not allowed to have guests in between 9:00 p.m. – 9:00 a.m. and I hated that when I started living there but I realized in time that it has made me so safe and it’s a better environment, I would personally say, than some of the other SRO’s in Nashua. Thank you so much for doing this, we need to talk about the fact that people deserve to live better than that. They are not bad people. Ms. Cynthia Brown, 23 Temple Street, Room 10 I’ve been at 23 Temple Street for three years tomorrow and I have ran into a few problems, not with the managers but with the tenants and the managers have always been there and taken care of it for me. I believe it’s an awesome place for low income people or homeless people that don’t get much money with the heat and electricity included it makes it easier for paying. One check pays the rent and that takes care of everything. Everything is close to the “Y” for people that are handicapped or disabled like myself and have to walk. As far as the cleaning it’s not too bad but I think it could improve a little. I feel safe there. I’ve had a couple of incidents where the managers, Mr. Coach has come right down and taken care of it for me and made me feel safe and I don’t think it’s a bad place at all. The managers go well out of their way to help us if we ask and I’ve always received help from the managers and I have no problem with them or the “Y” and I thank you for letting me comment. Ms. Linda Heretier, 23 Temple Street, Room 119 From what everybody is saying, that place sucks. They have bed bugs, mice, and they don’t repair anything, we have to do it ourselves. They’ll give us the stuff, it is bullshit. Chairman Siegel Ma’am, please remember that you are on the public record. Ms. Heretier We lived there for four years and only because of my record. It’s ridiculous. We have a very nice place and we maintain it. We had bed bugs and they didn’t even spray. They gave us the stuff to spray. I have a fire alarm that has never been fixed since they came into to inspect my room. I haven’t had heat for four years. I had a leak in my pipes above my bed and do you know what they told me, they told me to move my bed. I had to put a bowl. Then they finally fixed it because I was coming home from the hospital. My husband has fixed the leaks and I have proof in my house. My floor in my bathroom was all messed up. They gave us the tile and told us to do it ourselves and they don’t take anything off of our rent but we are here to do it. That place is nothing but “you know what?” I am so angry. It’s about time somebody does something about this because they do absolutely nothing except bitch. Alderman Siegel Ma’am, that’s also one of those words. Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 3 Ms. Heretier I’m sorry but that’s the truth and if you don’t believe me then come in my house and I’ll show you. Ms. Jennifer Jones, 23 Temple Street, Room 224 I’ve been there now for almost a year and I was there ten years ago when the last manager. The improvements that Coach has made in the last ten years have been amazing. No, it’s not perfect but in any apartment setting it is never perfect and when you have the turnover that the “Y” has there is going to be issues. Bed bugs are an issue because the turnover is so high. All I can say is that Coach took me in at a time where…I was on the street and he saved my life by letting me in. He has bent over backwards to make sure that I am safe. He does for those that are in need and the management staff there do things when you are not the one breaking the stuff. There are tenants in there that do break stuff of their own accord and they are not going to bend over backwards for those tenants. Those tenants that normal maintenance and repairs have to be done; they are in there doing it on a regular basis. The place is not perfect by any means. Yes, improvements need to be made, however, if everybody in the building worked together instead of ruining what progress they are trying to make…because bathrooms have been repaired and people go right in behind them and break things. They are stealing light bulbs and this, that and the other thing. Well, if you can’t be courteous enough of those that also live in the building, well why would Coach bend over backwards to help those people. You want to cause fights and whatever…he’s not going to bend over backwards. There are rules that are stated on the form that you fill out on the day you move in. Follow the rules and he’ll help you out. If you don’t he’s not going to do it and I don’t blame him for it. All he is trying to do is better the building that we live in. Thank you. Ms. Lori Payne, 23 Temple Street, Room 319 My concern about living at 23 Temple Street is the cleanliness, especially the bathrooms. The bathrooms consistently have feces on the toilets, the walls, the floors and the sinks and also urine on the walls that doesn’t get cleaned up very frequently. When I asked Coach about it he told me it’s rooming house living. My concern would be more of the cleanliness. Those bathrooms need to be cleaned on a regular basis, not just when somebody wants it to be cleaned. The bathroom that Coach uses and that the owners use is very clean. The bathroom on the third floor that I use my dog doesn’t even like to go in. All of the bathrooms should have working faucets. It shouldn’t be enough that because the bathroom down the hall has a working faucet that the one that’s closet to my room is okay without a working faucet. My concern is with the cleanliness of the room that we do our dishes in and that we get our drinking water. I think those are basic needs and I just think that it should be cleaned regularly. If they want me to clean it then they should provide me with the materials to do it instead of expecting me to purchase them myself. I don’t have the time or the money to clean up after how ever many people use those bathrooms. Mr. Victor Leshere, 25 Elm Street I work at the “Y,” I am the janitor at 23 Temple Street. I am the only cleaner of the whole building so I try my best to keep the floors in the bathrooms clean but I only clean them once a day because that’s the only time I get to clean them. They do get dirty through the day because there are a lot of people that are not very clean people and they respect the building or bathrooms. It’s a big building and he even asked me to clean rooms when people move out. It’s hard to do by myself. Alderman Donchess How many hours per week do you work and how many days? Mr. Leshere I work six hours a day and four days a week and I work four hours on Saturday. I work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sometimes he has me come in on my day off which is Wednesday. In total Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 4 it’s about 30 to 35 hours per week. Alderman Siegel And there are 120 rooms? Mr. Leshere Yes and when people move out I clean. Alderman Siegel So you are the only cleaner for 120 rooms and for those 120 rooms including cleaning the bathrooms and whatever rooms are necessary and you put in 30 to 35 hours per week? Alderman Donchess How many bathrooms are there? Mr. Leshere There’s one big one and one small one on each floor and the basement has two. Alderman Donchess How many floors are there? Mr. Leshere There are four floors. Alderman Donchess Do any of the rooms have private bathrooms? Mr. Leshere Yeah, there are some that have their own private bathroom. Alderman Donchess How many do you think there are? Mr. Leshere There are maybe ten or fifteen or something like that. Unidentified Speaker 23 Temple Street is good if you have nowhere else to go because they don’t mind letting you in no matter what as long as you pay your rent. He doesn’t care what you do in life. Coach, the staff and everyone will let you in. I was there twice in the 90’s. I am on a fixed income and I don’t want to be put out on the street, I was in the shelter system for a long time; fifteen years to be exact almost from Pine Street to different places in Boston but I also worked there and volunteered to clean. Just like when the floors are dirty over there I get mop it and do it because I was raised that way. If I ever had family come in there I didn’t want that to reflect Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 5 on me. It’s not only the people that live there, sometimes it’s the guests and sometimes it is people that sneak in there to do what they want to do, they don’t live there and aren’t paying a dime. The people that are actually paying to have it clean catch a lot of trouble. Staff can be, just like every other human being, one day they are up and one day they are down. You never know how they are going to come at you. There are rules and regulations about what you can and cannot do even though people are paying their rent. Southern New Hampshire is sometimes paying money for heat but you ain’t getting no heat. Alderman Siegel Can you please clarify? Are you saying the money is being paid but it is not being properly accounted for? Unidentified Speaker Exactly. Alderman Siegel At which location would that be? Unidentified Speaker 23 Temple Street. Everything in Nashua was built 25,000 years ago and nobody has the money to really fix it. You pay companies charging $50,000 to fix things so people with no money can live the way they are supposed to. It’s not the Taj Mahal but it could be a lot better and these guys need to hire another guy to help Victor. You need more than one guy to do all those floors. The other thing is that there have been a lot of deaths there, a lot of people get injured there and OD there. The fire department and police department are there every ten minutes and I know because I call them a lot. It’s not the Hyatt Regency but there a lot of things that could be changed. If you have bed bugs then spray it out and bring in new mattresses. They got rats and everything but my pet peeve with them is I pay my rent all of them and I got evicted and I’ve get every receipt and every notice that they put on my door. Alderman Siegel Are you saying that you were evicted for non-payment of rent? Unidentified Speaker Yes, $1,350.00. There’s more to it than meets the eye but we have to talk about it in private because the court houses are still open. Alderman Donchess Where do you live now? Unidentified Speaker On Palm Street. Alderman Siegel At 57 Palm Street? Unidentified Speaker No, 113 Palm Street, Apt. 3. A lot of these houses are slum lord houses. They might look fine from the Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 6 outside but you’d be surprised by what you find inside. In the 90’s I tried to get a job with a sign and I don’t see too many people of color doing nothing up here. How can they get a job? The drug thing is a big major thing and people knew that drugs were in the 20’s along with Al Capone. I listen to the talk shows all day long and I don’t see it being done. People need jobs. Ms. Kathy Tucker, 23 Temple Street, Apt. 19 I’ve been there for about a year now and my biggest problem with that place is the filth. The facilities are disgusting all of the time. Vic tries to keep up but he’s got four floors and it’s impossible with one person. I’ve had problems like; well it was over a weekend. Someone had thrown up all over the stairs in the hallway in the common area so I called one of the people that worked there and I was told that it’s not their responsibility and I’m wondering whose responsibility it is. I understand people can be idiots that do nasty things but shouldn’t somebody be cleaning this up? I’ve had to take sinks apart myself. I’m disabled but have had to just so I can use the sink in the bathroom. One time I pulled a syringe out of the sink. Eight days one time it took to get a tub unplugged. I even said give me the plunger and I’ll do it myself but nobody would do that much. It’s old. Alderman Donchess So in a situation where the tub is plugged up what do you use at that time? Ms. Tucker I don’t, I’m disabled and I have to use a bath seat. The floor has three bathrooms and one is a shower stall. One has a narrow tub that my bath seat won’t fit in so I have to use this one bathroom so I don’t get to take a bath for eight days because it’s plugged up with God knows what. There’s no excuse for it. I said give me a plunger and I will do it myself and that doesn’t happen. Alderman Donchess Who are you talking to? Ms. Tucker It’s been a few different people at different times. Mr. Austin Ford, 23 Temple Street, Room 408 I just recently moved in there, it’s been about three weeks. The place may not be the best place but I only have a certain amount of income and the “Y” helps you with your set amount. I can only get this one certain room and I’ve never had any issue with anybody there so far and if you are worried about people or management possibly taking your money, all you have to say is hey, Coach or whoever it is, can I get a receipt and they will write a hand written receipt. If you don’t ask for a receipt that’s on you. Mr. Dave Martin, 23 Temple Street I’ve lived there for about two years and before I lived there I was at Motel 6 off of Exit 6 and I don’t see any difference between the two places. One is a franchise and one is not. I get along with my neighbors and the hallways and the bathrooms are clean. I am happy where I am and the rent is cheap and it’s close to downtown. I’m not sure what is the problem with other floors, I live in the basement. Mr. Donald Sutton, 23 Temple Street, Room 104 I’ve lived there for about one year. Coach has helped me and I have college bills and I only work at Dunkin Donuts so I struggle a lot. My thing is that the manager struggled to keep the place maintained because people don’t respect the place. I constantly see holes in the wall that were punched by people that live there Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 7 and they are constantly fixing the wall. Lightbulbs go missing out of the bathroom and that’s a big problem. The cleaning, Victor does a good job cleaning the bathrooms but then people go in later in the day and mess it up. If people would keep their areas clean it would be a sign of respect. I appreciate everything the managers do there and I think people put them down way too much. Mr. Jim Watkins, 23 Temple Street I am the night manager at 23 Temple Street. I’ve been there for three years. Coach took me on and the first night I was there I fixed a hole in the wall and he saw what a good job I need and he gave me more work. Alderman Siegel What is Coach’s name? Mr. Watkins Rick Caron. Mr. Watkins There are people with different types of attitudes but we are all one big family. If someone gets beat up I check on them to make sure they are okay. I give people rides. I work there at night and during the day I work from 9 to 5. My door is open 24 hours a day and everyone knows that. I’m there all day and all night. I try to keep up with it and I try to keep an eye out for trespassers that don’t belong there. I caught someone there this morning sleeping in the bathroom. If someone OD’s we kick them out. Alderman Siegel I assume you call Nashua Fire & Rescue before you kick out someone who has OD’d. Mr. Watkins Yes but I tell the officers that we don’t want them here. Alderman Donchess When you say you are the night manager what are your hours? Mr. Watkins My hours are 24 hours a day. Alderman Donchess So why do you say night manager instead of 24 hour a day manager? Mr. Watkins I do whatever it takes. Ricky has no problem letting me take time off. Alderman Donchess Do you function as a security guard as well? Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 8 Mr. Watkins Yes. Alderman Donchess Is there a security guard there during the daytime? Mr. Watkins Yes, during the day and night. Alderman Donchess Can the tenants have guests? Mr. Watkins Yes. Alderman Siegel Are those tenants allowed to invite people into the building? If they are a resident there they can invite someone into the building, is that your understanding of the policy? Mr. Watkins Yes but if I trespass a person then they are not allowed in the building. Say if someone invites someone in, I’ll tell them this particular guy isn’t allowed to be here. Alderman Siegel So if a resident asks somebody to visit and you have no knowledge of this person and no reason to believe that they are in any way, shape or form a problem and they are invited in then there is no problem, is that correct? Mr. Watkins That’s correct. I walk the halls at all hours of the night and I check up on people. I’m always there for all these people. COMMUNICATIONS MOTION BY ALDERMAN MCGUINNESS THAT THE RULES BE SO FAR SUSPENDED AS TO ALLOW FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF A COMMUNICATION RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS PREPARED MOTION CARRIED From: Ken Sigel, Chairman, Substandard Living Conditions Special Committee Re: Question Outline for the Discussion MOTION BY ALDERMAN MCGUINNESS TO ACCEPT AND PLACE ON FILE Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 9 ON THE QUESTION Alderman Siegel Just to explain what that is, I just made a list of questions that when we break up into work groups we have a consistent outline of questions we want to ask people. MOTION CARRIED MOTION BY ALDERMAN MCGUINNESS THAT THE RULES BE SO FAR SUSPENDED AS TO ALLOW FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF A COMMUNICATION RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS PREPARED MOTION CARRIED From: Mr. Paul Bustakis, General Manager, 23-25 Temple Street Realty, LLC. Re: 23 Temple Street, Nashua, NH MOTION BY ALDERMAN MCGUINNESS TO ACCEPT AND PLACE ON FILE MOTION CARRIED Alderman Siegel I received a certified letter from Mr. Paul Bustakis representing himself as one of the owners of 23 Temple Street Realty, LLC. They are the owner of the “Y” and I would like to read this. “Sir, th It has come to my attention that on the 24 of November you entered the above captioned premises without permission bypassing a locked door and a clearly posted notice stating that the premises is private property and that tailgating is strictly forbidden and we have a video record of you doing this.” Alderman Siegel Understand, I am a sitting Alderman apparently tailgating in the lobby of 23 Temple Street. “After gaining illegal entry into the premises, you then proceeded to harass our rental manager” Alderman Siegel I suppose that would be Ricky, i.e. Coach. “concerning the rental situation of one of our residents.” Alderman Siegel That resident, by the way, would be Kathy Tucker who provided some testimony here. “Due to some privacy concerns, no one beyond a resident and management has any right to discuss the rental situation of any tenant without prior written permission from that resident. From what has been relayed from our rental manager as well as several residents who witnessed your aggressive tirade, you acted in a manner that was unreasonable and objectionable. Should one of the owners been there you would have been assuredly instructed to leave immediately or the police called to help you leave. The purpose of this letter is to give you legal notice that you are being formally trespassed from the premises of 23 Temple Street, Nashua, NH. Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 10 Should it come to our attention that you trespassed there again we will make a complaint to the Nashua Police Department and have you arrested. Finally, should you doubt our resolve to carry through on this matter, you would be well advised to think again. Sincerely, Paul Bustakis General Manager” Alderman Siegel I’d like to discuss this because I think this is relatively germane to the types of discussions we are going to be having here. Tom Lopez, the incoming Alderman for Ward 5 was with me the entire time. I was invited by a resident, Kathy Tucker and Lori Payne. I was invited because that morning that I visited 23 Temple Street Kathy Tucker’s son died in the room next to her. That’s a terrible situation but that was not the exact reason why we were invited to come over. As bad as that was, that very same morning she was given an eviction notice for non-payment of rent on the very same morning that her son died. Kathy Tucker, whatever her faults may or may not be, and quite frankly I found her to be a very decent person, she keeps excellent records and those excellent records included records of receipts, payments and bank records which indicated that payments were deposited by the 23 Temple Street management. Kathy Tucker was somebody who was th brave enough to come to our initial meeting on November 18 where she discussed some of the issues that she was having and wanted to work with us. The eviction notice from 23 Temple Street management was dated November 19th and I found that curious and not coincidental. In speaking to Kathy at the time and remember I am a sitting Alderman and am a fairly calm person; I have no reason to get out of control and I fortunately had Tom Lopez with me. I was asked if there was anything I could do to help. The first thing I said to Kathy Tucker upon looking at the receipts was that there appears to be some discrepancy because I see a lot of payments and receipts and if there is a discrepancy I don’t see it and there seems to be an issue here. In any case I assured her that if there was a problem and it was a shortfall financially that I would personally pay out of my own pocket if I had to because it is not okay for somebody under those circumstances to be treated that way. I decided that it would be best if Tom Lopez and I to go visit the management and present them with the information we had and inquire as to what the situation would be such that this person would be evicted given that there seems to be a fairly clear record that she had paid her rent and paid it on time. The only topic that I wanted to discuss with Ricky was the rent situation. I know that he wanted to discuss whether he was competent or not and that was not within the purview of my discussion nor of any interest to me. The only thing I wanted to do is to make it clear that I am not an officer of the law because he started by calling me officer. I made it clear that I was an Alderman and that I was the Chairman of the Substandard Living Conditions Special Committee and that I had been invited in and that I was there with the permission of a tenant. Well, that letter clearly doesn’t reflect any of that reality so I am a bit skeptical shall we say about what has actually been going on there. You’ll excuse me if I say this and this is my opinion and I know that I am not speaking for all of the committee, I appreciate a lot of the public comment here but I am a little troubled that I see Coach/Ricky in the back and based on some of the circumstances that had been brought to my attention, I think there is a certain amount of intimidation going on here. It’s very clear that the letter to Kathy Tucker, to me appeared to be intimidation. Talk to the Aldermen, open your mouth and you will have a problem. Kathy Tucker has been put in touch with legal aid and we will continue to help her. I can assure you that everybody here that decides to speak to this committee will be similarly protected to the best of our ability. It is not okay for anybody to be retaliated against for any reason whatsoever. Everybody is a human being deserving of all rights. We bleed red, all of us, whatever our circumstance so to those that feel it Is necessary or convenient to intimidate anybody who wishes to appear before this committee or any other body of which the can seek some sort of relief one way or the other; we are not going to allow that to the best of our ability. I’ve stated before that at this point we are going to break up into working groups and we will not be filming people, we will just be taking notes. I know in the back there are some owners of some of the facilities that have been discussed. There is some truth on both sides of the fence and I would certainly find it hard to believe that any one entity is completely at fault. Nobody is completely angelic and nobody is completely evil but I would urge them not to decide that retaliation is a wise course of action and certainly trying to retaliate against me is definitely not a wise course of action and I’ll tell you that publicly. Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 11 Mr. Nathaniel Durgin, 4 Victoria Drive Just like Ken I’ve been intimidated by owners and landlords. I am the one that back on September 9th I went to the Board of Aldermen meeting and stomp my fist on the desk stating that the show “Hotel Impossible: Bite Me” was a disgrace to the City of Nashua. I explained to the Board of Aldermen that I had been harassed and intimidated and received a tremendous amount of damage from the owners of the Country Barn Motel, not 23 Temple Street in retaliation to me asking the city questions regarding the legality of the operation and the code issues. The show was pretty disgusting and the reason I came forward was because I was homeless at one point and I was 17 years old and I lived in a rooming house. I didn’t pay with welfare funds, I worked and the conditions of the rooming house were not perfect, however it was shelter. When I saw that show I was appalled by the way people were treated by their landlords. I brought it up to the Aldermen and that’s part of the reason why you are sitting here now. I think Coach seems to be a good guy, I’ve heard a lot of people say that they wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for him and that’s what we need in this community. Ken is working for you guys, he’s not working for his own agenda. He and I spar back and forth but I do want to give him credit. Number one he is the chairman of this committee and he’s looking out for the best interest of people. I also want to mention that Mr. Donchess is our next Mayor and begins his term in January and I think he is going to be somebody who makes some changes in the City of Nashua. I do want to say something about the current administration but I won’t. Ken, just like you I have received retaliation and it’s not a fun thing. For you people, don’t give up. I’m not saying to pick fights with your landlord because you want to try to get along but don’t be afraid to speak up. I’ve been filmed numerous times by the individual in this room that is filming me (on his cell phone) and I will continue to speak up until they silence me. Ms. Linda Heretio, 23 Temple Street As you were explaining about that lady being threatened with eviction and we had a situation when my son was living in the building too and he came in and beat the hell out of my husband for no reason. He destroyed my house and my son went to jail. The next day I got a bill stating that I owe $700 dollars; that is ridiculous. Why in all of these months have they not given me this bill? Now because of the problems with my son…You know what they said, they said we didn’t do this because of what happened with your son but it happened to be the next day. On all of our receipts it doesn’t say anything about it but now it does. Ms. Jessica Parker, 23 Temple Street I want to extend my condolences to that woman and you seem like a very compassionate man but I have to say that Coach is a very compassionate and empathetic man. I suffer from severe mental health issues and he has been very empathetic to me and I feel no intimidation. For me with my mental health issues and the stigma surrounding it for me to actually feel comfortable in my surroundings is huge. I’ve come back from a lot and I used to have a landlord who was intimidating and I brought to court and lost due to the fact of who I am. Unfortunately I went before Judge Larry. I withheld rent from my last landlord because my apartment was disgusting and completely infested cockroaches. I brought that to the court’s attention and they wouldn’t even listen to me. I got evicted and ended up homeless and the shelters in New Hampshire were full and I ended up in Boston, MA and I was mugged in the Boston Common. I have a very educated background but with the mental health stigma I take five steps forward and four steps back. Coach and Bob and the other people in the building do make me feel safe. The locked doors make me feel safe. I do note that on my floor we have our differences but we are all in the same boat. We all pull together and we all pitch in. There’s a huge sense of community in the “Y” and for the first time in my life I have begun working again. I’m doing really well, I have my license back as an independent contractor, I work with Harbor Homes and I have friends in the building. I keep to myself a lot. When things get chaotic I retract myself but things don’t typically get that way. I have a very severe lung infection and I rushed here from my pulmonary specialist and I might have irreversible health issues and I came here on my own free accord. I am a very stubborn individual and no one makes me do anything. Alderman Siegel I’d like to break into the individual groups that I talked about. This is not a witch hunt; we are not looking to Substandard Living Conditions Special Cmte. - 11/30/15 Page 12 justify an outcome. We are looking to get information to guide policy that this committee is not going to implement but the Board of Aldermen will implement it and it may not even be in this session. The next term of the Board of Aldermen will begin on January 10th. Our goal is to make recommendations and the best way we can do that is with good input from all of you. Alderman Donchess I would like to thank everyone that came in. We had a huge turnout. Tom Lopez had a lot to do with getting everyone to come. We probably had 40 people here. I think the chair did a great job in organizing this and coming up with a format. We have learned a lot tonight and it was definitely worthwhile and we got to know a lot of the residents of 23 Temple Street. Alderman McGuinness I think the session was wonderful and everyone was pretty sincere and spoke freely. Alderman Siegel I’d like to thank everyone from the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Tom Lopez and I thank everyone for coming out. I know that it takes a good amount of courage to come out talk to people in this forum and we will definitely use this information. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY ALDERMAN MCGUINNESS TO ADJOURN MOTION CARRIED The meeting was declared closed at 5:50 p.m. Alderman Sean M. McGuinness Committee Clerk