LANSING, Mich. (December 4, 2023) — Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit), Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and Warren City Council President Angela Rogensues are advocating for residents of the Landmark Estates mobile home community in Warren and the Jeffersonian apartment building in Detroit. In October, Sen. Chang sent letters expressing concerns to the respective property management companies after receiving multiple complaints from tenants regarding the condition of the properties.
In response to these tenant complaints and the unsatisfactory responses and lack of action on the part of the property management companies, Sen. Chang, Rep. McKinney, Pres. Mary Sheffield and Pres. Angela Rogensues are uplifting their residents’ concerns and calling on the property management companies to address the urgent issues raised by their tenants.
For three years, Landmark Estates residents have experienced persistent sewerage issues, roof issues originating from fallen trees, and electrical outages from water leaking onto DTE circuit breakers. Residents have also feared retaliatory action from management after voicing their concerns.
In the last year, Jeffersonian residents have endured building maintenance issues, including cleanliness concerns around the property, and numerous safety concerns, including a recent shooting. Residents are advocating for the building to increase the number of maintenance staff, improved safety measures to prevent unauthorized visitors, and the installation of security cameras in the parking structure.
“Throughout my time serving the community, I have done my best to fight for housing justice and a good quality of life for residents in my district and beyond,” said Sen. Chang, “I believe change starts with uplifting the voices of our residents. My office has received communication from Landmark Estates that failed to substantively address the concerns I raised in my letter. Detroit City Council President Sheffield and I have previously met several times with Jeffersonian residents and the management personnel to discuss the need for improvement of conditions and better communication with the property management company. Unfortunately, communication between residents and the property management company has come to a complete stop. Currently, we are working alongside other Detroit officials to ensure residents are attended to in a timely manner. Detroiters and Warren residents deserve to live with a good quality of life in safe housing and I will keep working to achieve that goal.”
“The issues at the Jeffersonian have gone unresolved for far too long,” said Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield. “I’ve engaged with building management and held community meetings with hopes of resolving the ongoing issues in the building to no avail. I stand with Senator Chang, and I am joining the call for change and improved living conditions. The residents of the Jeffersonian deserve to live in a clean and safe building with responsive management to address concerns.”
“I have met many constituents in my district and throughout the state that have shared with me significant concerns over the condition of their mobile home community,” said State Representative Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit). “The lack of a proper response to resident complaints and concerns from mobile home community managers such as Landmark Estates is not surprising and is unacceptable. It shows that we need to do more as a State Legislature to hold bad actors accountable for their failure to maintain a safe community to live in. I am proud to have co-sponsored legislation that would look to give residents in mobile home communities a greater voice as well as hold bad mobile home community managers responsible for their actions or lack thereof. All residents in our great state deserve to live in an affordable and safe community and should not be treated unfairly just because they are poor. I look forward to continuing to work with my legislative colleagues to ensure we put Michigan’s residents first.”
“I have been working alongside my colleagues in the City of Warren and residents in Landmark Estates for over a year now to improve their living conditions,” said Warren City Council President Angela Rogensues. “Their private equity ownership group continues to drag their feet in large capital improvements, bully and fearmonger residents, and provide lackluster services. Our community deserves better, and I will continue working to ensure our residents have quality living standards.”
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