Mice, mold, broken AC, rent hikes has tenants of this Asbury Park building upset
ASBURY PARK - Some residents of the 550 Cookman Ave. apartments owned by Sackman Enterprises have complained of mice infestations and broken air conditioning, but say their landlord seems more interested in collecting their ever-rising rent than fixing the problems.
Residents of building, which has 26 apartments, claim that they have faced significant negligence and unwillingness to solve health-related issues from Sackman. Tenants told the Press that as of June, some residents at 550 Cookman did not have functioning air conditioning, which had been reported for weeks. Other tenants have gone without hot water and claim the water smells like sulfur.
Rich Dalatri, 33, said he has been dealing with black mold. He believes the tenants are being driven out on purpose through poor service and "insane" rent increases — upwards of $500.
"(Sackman) are trying to attract that out-of-state clientele," Dalatri said. "They want to make it a mini-New York City with all the high-rises and all these luxury condos they are putting in. And for what? What reason? They are trying to drive the working-class folks out.
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"I reached out to our property manager (a couple weeks ago) and I have yet to hear back from her. She hasn't emailed me, she hasn't reached out. It is negligent. I have black mold growing in my freaking shower," Dalatri said.
In a statement to the Asbury Park Press, Sackman Enterprises said, “The real estate market, both for sales and in this case rentals, is ever changing. Sackman Enterprises is constantly monitoring, evaluating and responding to those changing market conditions. The current rental rates and renewals in 550 Cookman are significantly below market. Sackman Enterprises manages and maintains its properties in a first-class manner and responds to the needs and concerns of its tenants as they’re communicated.”
During the heat wave last summer, Dalatri's air conditioning unit broke.
"They waited two weeks to come in and do anything about it, in the middle of that heat wave, to the point where I had to run my upstairs window unit 24 hours a day, seven days a week to stay alive. My electric bill is normally $50 to $75, but it was a $250 bill for the month of July," he said. "This past winter my hot water heater went out, it took them two weeks to get somebody to repair it, two weeks in the middle of the winter. No heat, no hot water, nobody does anything about it."
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Residents of 550 Cookman Ave. are not the only Sackman tenants to complain about maintenance and rent increases.
For three months at the end of 2023, some tenants complained that the building at 550 Cookman was infested with mice. Sackman dealt with the issue only after they were served with a city citation, according to the tenants.
Dalatri moved into his apartment in 2019 and until 2022 his rent was $1,775 a month. His rent climbed to $1,900 in 2022 and $2,100 in 2023, but now he has been asked to pay $500 more a month for the coming year.
"If you are going to jack my rent up, at least provide service that is on par with what I am paying," Dalatri said.
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Karen Moses, 52, who has lived in the building for four years, called the rent increases "unconscionable," an complained the increases are not limited to rent alone.
"The parking is attached to the lease but it is a separate lease. So your lease might be due on Jan. 1, (but) they can raise your parking at any point," Moses said. "Parking went from $50 to $200. So if they don't get you in the lease, they can turn around and do the parking."
Whether the city can do anything about the rent increases is doubtful. While the city's rent-control ordinance limits annual increases to 3.5%, the four Sackman Enterprises properties in the city that are exempt from those rules.
A state law designed to encourage the construction of new multiunit apartments rentals allows developers to apply for an exemption from municipal rent-control ordinances.
There are four Sackman properties in Asbury Park that were granted exemption by the state, according to city officials.
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The four Sackman properties include:
The Steinbach building at 300 Emory St., which has 66 apartments, with an exemption that expires on Aug. 10, 2042.
700 Bangs Ave., which has 42 apartments, with an exemption that expires on Aug. 10, 2048.
550 Cookman Ave., which has 26 apartments, with an exemption that expires on Aug. 10, 2042.
521 Lake Ave., which has 60 apartments, with an exemption that expires on Aug. 1, 2052.
"Essentially what it seems like they are trying to do, is drive us out of there at the end of the day. It is like they want us to leave, and they are doing everything they can to push us out," Dalatri said.
"We are paying all this money to live in a place that we love to be in," Dalatri continued. "We have given them no issue, the only issue is from them. I have never missed a payment, I never had the police, any kind of law enforcement, any kind of issues where I would be a problem tenant and I feel like I am treated like a third-class citizen."
Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com @CharlesDayeAPP
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park Cookman Avenue tenants complain of mice, $500 rent hikes
