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Rent at Park Gardens in Scranton to increase 33%, housing authority board calls for greater transparency

Rent at the Scranton Housing Authority's Park Gardens complex will increase 33% by July.
Sarah Hofius Hall
/
WVIA News
Rent at the Scranton Housing Authority's Park Gardens complex will increase 33% by July.

Residents of a Scranton Housing Authority complex will see rent increase 33% by July.

Authority members voted 4-0 Monday night, during an emotional meeting that included pleas from residents, allegations of mismanagement and patronage and concerns from neighbors that the complex could be turned into Section 8 housing.

Park Gardens — consisting of 166 units along Morel Street in the city’s Green Ridge section — is unique. The highly-sought apartments have no age or income requirements, so the complex cannot accept federal housing funds. Expenses are paid solely by residents’ rent – which the authority says isn’t high enough to cover debt and utility costs.

Without a rent increase, the complex has a projected deficit of almost $400,000 for this year. Executive Director Karl Lynott started the meeting dispelling two rumors: that Park Gardens was for sale or that it would be turned into Section 8 housing. Neither is true, he said.

“We do need a new plan of sustainability based upon all the money that was borrowed against the property,” said Lynott, appointed to the position in 2023. “But to start, we have to raise the rents. Otherwise, there's nothing else we can do at this point.”

Scranton Housing Authority Executive Director Karl Lynott speaks to the crowd at the meeting on Monday.
Sarah Hofius Hall
/
WVIA News
Scranton Housing Authority Executive Director Karl Lynott speaks to the crowd at the meeting on Monday.

Rent will increase by 10% in February, May and July, for a cumulative total of 33%. By July, rent costs will go from:

  • One bedroom, $600 to $798.60
  • Two bedroom, $645 to $858.50
  • Three bedroom, $730 to $971.63

Garage rental will go from $25 to $50 a month. The rent covers all utilities except electric.

Questions, concerns from residents

About 150 people filled the basement of St. Clare Church, many of them senior citizens who live in the complex. They initially feared a rent increase of 25% — not the 33% the board approved. The jump in the proposed rent increase came after a closer look at finances, Lynott said.

Maryanne Sweeney has lived in Park Gardens for 40 years. She proposed raising rent by 15%, which would be more in line with Social Security cost-of-living adjustments.

“I always thought it was safe and it was a nice neighborhood, and people were friendly. I never had to worry,” she said. “I might have to move to a high rise if they raise it this much.”

Part of the complex’s deficit is due to loans for roofs and for parking and lighting improvements completed 10 or 15 years ago. The authority still owes about $2.5 million on the loans, with a monthly payment of $26,666.

Resident Joe Gilhooley questioned why the authority is still paying for work done in 2007.

“(Park Gardens) is a jewel. Green Ridge is a jewel. And I understand everybody's concerned. I just don't know where the money went,” he said. “This is bizarre … you are cleaning up the mess on the backs of people that can't afford it.”

Several members of the Green Ridge Neighborhood Association spoke, concerned with the future of the complex and whether it could be turned into Section 8 housing — or apartments for those with low incomes.

“As I have said many, many times, as Green Ridge goes, so goes the city,” said Laura Agostini, president of the neighborhood association. “We pay a lot of taxes. We are one of the areas that subsidize the rest of the city, and so it's important that the character of Green Ridge stays the same.

Transparency needed

Park Gardens opened in the early 1950s as a “middle income” complex through a state program. The state controlled it until the mid 1970s, when it was ceded to the Scranton Housing Authority.

Unlike the authority's 10 other complexes or high-rise apartment buildings throughout the city, Park Gardens receives no HUD money — federal funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

There are no income requirements or policies on how tenants are selected. There are 451 rental applications on file, dating back as far as 2008.

“It is, I think, well known in the city that individuals are given preference based on who they know,” said Sarah Cruz, the new chair of the housing authority board.

She and the rest of the board — Megan Alpert, Michael Hanley, Julie Schumacher Cohen and Devendrabhai P. Dave — have asked authority solicitor Jim Doherty to draft policies for Park Gardens, including for establishing a waiting list and for tenant selection. Dave, the housing authority resident representative on the board, was absent Monday.

Scranton Housing Authority board members are Michael Hanley, Julie Schumacher Cohen, Megan Alpert and Sarah Cruz. Devendrabhai Dave was absent Monday.
Sarah Hofius Hall
/
WVIA News
Scranton Housing Authority board members are Michael Hanley, Julie Schumacher Cohen, Megan Alpert and Sarah Cruz. Devendrabhai Dave was absent Monday.

Before the 4-0 vote, board members — most of them recent appointees — pledged transparency and a closer look at the authority’s finances at Park Gardens and beyond. As of this month, Electric City Television began recording and televising meetings.

The board also has discontinued a housing authority newsletter, paid for with Park Gardens funds. None of the residents at the meeting said they had ever seen the newsletter, which cost $24,000 annually.

“We want to stabilize (Park Gardens) and have it be a place that can continue to serve the community in the city,” said Cohen, who joined the board in October.

While no one wants to pay more in rent, $600 for a one-bedroom apartment is 35% below the fair market rate in Scranton, and it’s 25% below the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) price, she said.

“So the reality is, is that these rents have been too low when the complex is not managed with income verification requirements,” Cohen said. “So we have a mismatch.”

Michael Hanley, who has served on the board for three years, said he was unaware of any financial issues at Park Gardens until the new leadership brought it to the board this fall.

“I'm very troubled that I'm sitting here tonight, not because of you folks, but because of this situation,” Hanley said. “This is a situation that never should have happened … Unfortunately we’re at a situation right now where we can’t pay last month’s bills.”

Alpert joined the board in November.

“It's very emotional to see all of you struggling, but we do have a responsibility to make this housing authority solvent,” she said.

Cruz called Park Gardens a “financial and operational nightmare.”

“I receive no joy in knowing and stating this. Rather, I am grieved with the knowledge that the task set before me and my colleagues as a steward of this authority is greater than I originally thought when I joined in June,” she said. “However, I am never more determined to see what we can do going forward, to utilize our resources wisely and ethically.”

Cruz also took the opportunity to address some of the comments and social media posts about how Section 8 housing would change Green Ridge. Cruz lives in the neighborhood, and up until three years ago, received Section 8 benefits for her apartment there.

“I have felt nothing but friendship, love and support from the Green Ridge community, which is why, over this past month, the words my ears have heard and my eyes have seen have grieved my heart so deeply,” she said, holding back tears.

“Low income eligibility does not automatically equate to criminality, nor does possessing a housing subsidy mean possessing a low or bad character. I know I have been very fortunate in my life to be able to break cycles and defy the stereotype, and I was able to do that, not just with my own self determination, but by following the example of others, many in this room,” Cruz said. “So my plea tonight is for you to continue to inspire others with your life, with your example and with your words, as you have inspired me.”

Sarah Hofius Hall worked at The Times-Tribune in Scranton since 2006. For nearly all of that time, Hall covered education, visiting the region's classrooms and reporting on issues important to students, teachers, families and taxpayers.

You can email Sarah at sarahhall@wvia.org