Seeking solution & stability: one Roc mom’s journey for justice

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — One Rochester mother of four is struggling to find safe, affordable and stable housing for her family, saying she's spent most of this year seeking help from the city, county and state. The problem is a familiar one; she was having trouble getting the landlord to fix a series of issues, which continued to mount.

Elizabeth Robinson reached out to News8 at the end of the summer after continuing to try and seek answers from the landlord, property management and city following several code complaints about the property she was renting on Wellington Ave. Then by mid-September, after News8 inquiries as well, the home was issued a vacate notice, meaning Elizabeth and her four children needed to leave.

"The house is basically falling apart," Elizabeth Robinson told us in an interview inside the house at 279 Wellington Ave. in early September this year.

Elizabeth is on a fixed income and had just moved in with her family in the first few months of 2024 (it was supposed to be ready end of year 2023, but was delayed). Our camera captures visible mold, electrical sockets unsealed, warped walls, chipping paint, etc. According to public records, the landlord is Kenyan Mcgahee and the property is managed by Red Oak Management Group.

"I've complained about mold, I've complained about the fecal matter backing up in the tub on the floor; my two younger girls were in the shower and I'm washing them up and you see fecal matter backing up on them all over the floor," Elizabeth described in her September interview.

Due to Elizabeth being a recipient of public assistance services, the county pays the landlord directly. The City of Rochester had implemented tougher policies for landlords/owners, including a more aggressive timeline to address complaint issues, which went into effect January 1, 2024.

"The county's involved because they're the ones that's paying him, and the county — I have lived with several other people and the county has said — we don't pay for violations. So these other places that was habitable that I was living in, they weren't getting paid because DSS was so slow with paying these people, then I found this place," said Elizabeth, again in September.

Documents show Monroe County had first denied Elizabeth's request for Emergency Temporary Housing Assistance in earlier in the year, citing there was no eviction notice for the property. At the end of May, a Financial Assistance Division Health and Safety Violtions Bureau form states there are 'major health and safety violations at 279 Wellington Ave,' and Elizabeth would have a Fair Hearing in June, taking the issue to Albany. Still dealing with continued code violations while living at Wellington Ave., on August 7th, she requested a Fair Hearing with the state, appealing the denial.

"And it says on August 7th 2024 the appeallant requested this hearing stating that the appellant was denied Emergency Temporary Housing Assistance. And I won my case," Elizabeth said.

"This was August 28th was the decision — now this says they have to reverse that... factual issues found in *favor of the appellant. both times!"

The county told News8 in a September 17th email, specific cases cases cannot be discussed due to privacy. The County does say the Department of Social services does not conduct inspections of rental units. "We rely on municipal code enforcement to know if there are open health and safety violations."

Additionally, the county explains that "if the City of Rochester cites a property for code violations, DSS notifies the landlord with a 30-day notice stating that rent will cease if the violations are not addressed. Failure to make the correction(s) within 30 days will result in the county withholding rent as per the Spiegel Law."

Elizabeth continued to ask the city about code violations, and after News8 inquires, then a 'notice to vacate' was issued for the property on September 19th. At that point, Elizabeth and her four children were directed to go back through DSS and eventually were placed in temporary housing at a local motel. Another fair hearing had been scheduled for September 17th. By mid-October — Elizabeth was still left searching for answers.

"September 19th the City came out and condemed the house – they put the vacate notice on the door, my landlord was just paying the city and was able to get away with that for almost a year and within that year so many problems occurred to the property and they just got tired of it and just said we're gonna put this up here – its not safe for you and your kids to be here, which put me and my kids out on the street," Elizabeth said, this time in the hotel parking lot in October.

The third fair hearing was held on September 27th after the county denied Elizabeth Temporary Emergency Housing again, this time citing a lack of verification for social service spending for the month of September.

"And then the county – oh well we made a mistake – when the agency makes a mistake, it's okay but any recipient receiving their services, if we make a mistake, we gotta worry about our case being discontinued, sanctioned and all of that other stuff. You can't make mistakes like this that can cost people their children," Elizabeth said in the October interview.

In the county's explanation of the process of these types of incidents, it states the following:

Obviously, it is appalling when landlords fail to make good on their obligation to provide tenants with habitable living quarters and we are pleased to see the City of Rochester's renewed focus on housing quality and holding landlords accountable for their failures. Individuals who are under a vacate order may contact DSS to be placed in emergency housing.

Please note that DHS doesn't usually place individuals in apartments. Usually the tenants look for an apartment and enter into a contract with the landlord, then subsequently request DHS pay the rent."

Should a renter have issues with an apartment, they can request DHS to withhold rent. The process begins with having such code violations on record. In the city, we direct them to the City's NET office. If code violations are noted, we notify the landlord that rent will be withheld unless repairs were done.

Along with City inspections, DHS will also visit the property to determine if the health and safety violations cited rise to the level of a vacate order.

There needs to be a formal application for emergency housing. Placement in a shelter should always be the last resort. A legal eviction or a vacate order are usually required for eligibility, however, we will evaluate each application for shelter placement on a case by case basis. When there is no legal eviction or vacate order, and a tenant is unhappy with their living conditions, we encourage tenants to find a new unit ASAP and we will help to facilitate a move on their behalf.

Monroe County legislator, Rachel Barnhart, a Democrat, tells News8 these types of incidents are not unheard of, stating more system should be in place to 'catch' people in dire moments.

"I think we need to understand, this is not a unique situation. This is the third one I've seen in the last year where tenants are fighting to get their units repaired, then they fight to get the unit condmened thinking – oh someone will help me and I'll get to go to a new place and they discover that help is not always waiting. Or they discover that the burden is on them to get that unit condemned, then to get that Emergency assistance and it's just a lot," Barnhart said in an October interview at the same hotel where Elizabeth was placed.

"You're talking about people who have to leave their home; they have to leave their home because it's a substandard living situation and we're asking them to move mountains just to get basic help," she added.

In mid-October, the City of Rochester provided an update on the poperty code violations since the 'vacate notice' had been issued on September 19th, stating, "Once a notice to vacate is issued, the City encourages the tenant to seek help from the Monroe County Department of Human Services to see if they can be put into emergency housing. The City cannot forcibly make the tenant leave the dwelling; but if they do not leave, the City moves to get the violations resolved as soon as possible or begin ticketing the property owner. The City has taken steps in the past for the case to be heard in City Court."

Elizabeth was since told DSS would no longer pay for the hotel expenses and she has been staying with some family but it is not by any means a long-term solution. She is continuing to try and find a suitable location for her and her four children everyday.

"Don't judge a person by their looks and by why you know what you think about them or what you heard about them cuz some of us are really fighting a lot of demons to just be able to get through the day and for me, losing my kids, if I lose my kids I have no reason to live," Elizabeth said.