Wilbur Peck Tenant Faces Eviction after Complaint to RTM about Roach Infestation

It all started on Oct 14 when a Greenwich High School student sent an email to the all-230 RTM member email about a cockroach infestation in her family’s apartment in Wilbur Peck, a Greenwich Communities (housing authority) property on Davis Ave.

The teenager wrote, in plain but compelling language to ask for help.

“In Wilbur Peck there is multiple cockroach infestations through the complex. It has affected my living situation and it has affected my happiness and ability to get rid of them. They are taking over my house and it is the most embarrassing thing to have people over,” she wrote.

“We would love to switch to Armstrong Courts new apartments and we have prayed that they would renovate Wilbur Peck because it doesn’t look presentable or like a home. You guys are my last hope,” she added.

On October 18, Greenwich Communities Sam Romeo and Anthony Johnson sent a letter to Greenwich Free Press saying $5 million had been invested in Wilbur Peck for “new bathrooms and kitchens” and going on to say that that particular tenant’s “housekeeping was unacceptable, a contributing factor when dealing with any pest control issues.”

They said because of the “large investment made to improve the property,”  in addition to annual inspections they will start performing “special inspections” of all units.

“Inspections will focus on identified repairs, cleanliness of the unit (hoarding), health and safety issues, appliance inspection, unauthorized pets, extermination if necessary and smoking in the unit.”

Roaches came up through the stove in Wilbur Peck apartment. Oct 21, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager

Dining room table and credenza with bin full of toys for emotional support dog. Oct 21, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager

This editor visited the subject apartment in the 110-unit Wilbur Peck Court on Monday and witnessed dozens of cockroaches in the small galley kitchen, which indeed had new cabinets, refrigerator, sink and stove.

The head of household, a single mother of the student who wrote to the RTM and a younger son, carried her tiny 10-lb Min Pin emotional support dog (she has paperwork and is allowed to have the dog by law) during the hourlong visit. The dog barked momentarily and then was very friendly.

Roaches could be seen emerging from a gap between the cabinet  and the wall over the sink.

They came out from behind the digital clock on the microwave and from between the wall and a metal panel fastened by the stove and crawled across top of the stove.

The tenant said, as a rule, she never leaves food out, and that earlier that morning a cockroach somehow made its way into her cup of coffee.

Roaches inside a cutlery draw in Wilbur Peck Court. Oct 21, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager

Cockroach sticky trap filled with bugs in a Wilbur Peck apartment. Oct 21, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager

Mold in Wilbur Peck Court apartment’s bathroom. Oct 21, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager

There were more roaches in the bathroom and the tub /shower area had visible mold.

Despite the warm weather, the radiators were turned on and the apartment was hot and smelled of cigarette smoke despite no smokers living in the unit.

According to the mother, she and both her children suffer respiratory problems since moving into the three bedroom unit.

Initially, after being on the waiting list for the apartment for two years, the mother, who said she feared retribution for having her name published, described seeing an occasional cockroach or two.

She said when the kitchen was renovated in 2020, leaving the walls exposed for about a week, the issue worsened significantly, with roaches entering the bedrooms at night. She said the housing authority had not sent an exterminator to her unit since May; she has an interior camera that alerts her when Housing enters.

The day after her daughter’s email to the RTM, which she did not know about until after it was sent, a group of 6 men paid an unannounced visit to her apartment.

The men who knocked on her door on Oct 15 door included board chair Sam Romeo, someone from a new pest control company, property manager Dan Persaud, the head of the Maintenance Dept, a maintenance worker and sixth gentleman. She said she allowed them to enter and that they stayed five minutes, put in a fresh sticky trap for roaches without removing the filled one, and left.

They were unable to spray that day because her young son was home sick from school and she couldn’t leave with the son and dog.

Previously the housing authority’s vendor was Orkin who were willing to spray when the dog was in the unit. The new vendor declined to spray with the dog present. He said he would return on Oct 29 but without specifying the time of the visit, the tenant said she will have to take a day off work.

At Monday night’s RTM Public Works Committee meeting, State Rep Steve Meskers, a member of the committee, said while the RTM did not have authority over Greenwich Communities, (a non-profit that is ancillary to town government and receives no funding from the town), and the appointments committee did not review appointments to their board, he had questions about their procedures.

“We don’t have eyes on the process,” he said. “It’s an anomaly in municipal government. I want to know why this problem isn’t being dealt with more aggressively.”

Meskers said considering the housing authority seeks federal and state funding, there should be more oversight.

And, he said, “We go to the state capital and say we want local control, but I don’t see advocacy for these vulnerable people. This is not who we want to be.”

On Tuesday morning, the tenant received an eviction notice, saying she had until Nov 1, 2024 to vacate the premises.

Reaction to news of the eviction, Steve Meskers said,  “The idea we would victimize a person who reaches out for help, and move to attack them is unworthy, undignified and heartless for a community that should embrace its resident. I am horrified.”

“There is a lack of transparency, accountability and process. We can’t continue to blame tenants for issues that arise.”

“We as a town have to be better than this,” he added. “These are our most vulnerable residents.”

Public Works Committee Chair Cheryl Moss said on Tuesday, “To blame tenants when this has been a problem going on for years is appalling.”

“It’s unbelievable to say that everybody in that building who has bugs doesn’t know how to clean. The number of people with respiratory problems can’t be their fault,” she added. “This is a scare tactic to keep people from complaining.”

See also:

Bugging-Out at Wilbur Peck. When Housing Authority and Tenant Don’t See Eye to Eye Feb 25, 2016