POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Legislator Randy Johnson, who represents the City of Poughkeepsie, has denounced the actions of the management company that operates the Rip Van Winkle apartment complex at the corner of Rinaldo Boulevard and Main Street in Poughkeepsie. The lawmakers sent a letter to PK Management Company, based in Ohio, following a community meeting organized by Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers and Councilman Ernest Henry.
It was at the community meeting that Johnson and colleagues learned of what he said are “deplorable living conditions” tenants are subjected to. Johnson said it’s “complete mismanagement” exhibited by PK Management that is the problem. During the meeting, Johnson said, “Residents complained of improperly working heat and hot water, holes and cracks in windows that have not been repaired, vermin infestations, and elevators that go out of service for months at a time, and management does not seem to care.”
Knowing that most tenants in the building receive some federal assistance, Johnson sent a letter to PK Management that said in part “To put it bluntly, your company is benefitting from a sizeable amount of taxpayer funds in exchange for providing adequate housing to low-income housing. The fact that these residents continue to live in these conditions, while your company receives rent payments and federal subsidies is unconscionable.”
Johnson’s letter, endorsed by Legislature Chairman Will Truitt asks for PK Management to invest time and money into their building to make the necessary repairs. “We are prepared to explore any avenue available to us to make sure our constituents are no longer subject to such abhorrent living conditions,” Johnson warned the company.
