Residents of Centennial Gardens say they are "fed up"

Residents of Centennial Gardens, a low-income public housing complex for the elderly on Babylon Turnpike — on the border of Roosevelt and Uniondale — say they are fed up with the Town of Hempstead’s lack of upkeep of their home.

The town’s housing authority — the largest housing agency in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the 10th-largest in the state — operates more than 280 apartment units for residents requiring federal senior citizen, family housing or housing choice vouchers. Most of them are at Centennial Gardens.

Residents pay rent based on their monthly income. The town’s low- and moderate-income housing is an essential service that helps a large number of the community’s senior citizens afford a place to live.

But according to those living at Centennial Gardens — like 64-year-old Arnold Wilson, who has lived in the building for six years and says he has always paid his rent early — the housing authority is not holding up its end of the bargain.

Wilson describes his living situation as “terrible.”

“You freeze in the wintertime here, and I’ve been complaining about the same issues for years,” he said. “They ain’t fixing anything, but they damn sure take the money.”

Wilson and other tenants, such as Girtha Sawyer, say living conditions deteriorate with each passing year. Their complaints include dirty hallways and floors, mold and mildew, issues with heat in the winter, bugs and rodents, and repair requests that go unanswered.

Tenants also claim there have been no modernizing upgrades, despite the fact the complex was built a half-century ago. For example, old windows are inadequate protection in the cold of winter.

Sawyer, 83, said there is constant miscommunication from the building superintendent, Ronell Hubbard, and claimed that he has exacted random additional charges as he sees fit. Sawyer said she had to move into a vacant downstairs unit because her mobility is limited, and she can no longer manage the steps leading up to her apartment.

Hubbard charged her $500 for the move, she said, adding that another tenant who had to do the same was charged $595.

“They’re just making numbers up,” Sawyer said, “and we had no choice but to pay, because what can we do?”

Hubbard did not respond to requests for comment. Edward Cumming, executive director of the Hempstead town housing authority, said in a statement his organization is “committed to providing eligible and qualified families with safe and sanitary housing.

“All housing authority apartment complexes are maintained and repaired in compliance with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and New York state law, and are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Residents looking for repair work should contact the housing authority’s main office.”

The town housing authority operates under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which, according to the town authority’s website, provides construction funds for local housing.

Other complaints at Centennial Gardens include broken security cameras, a nonfunctioning front-door intercom, easy-to-break locks on the doors, and an overall lack of a sense of safety. Tenants say the building is not properly maintained, yet no one from the housing authority has held any member of its management accountable.

Wilson and other residents have repeatedly spoken out about Hubbard — both online and by submitting official complaint forms. They also say they’ve brought it up at various in-person town forums.

Following those forums, Wilson claimed Hubbard became spiteful.

“He got mad at me because I spoke out against him in the meeting, and he said I shouldn’t have been talking about him,” Wilson said. “This is business. It’s got nothing to do with friendship. I want to live in peace. I’ve worked my whole life, and I want to live somewhere nice.”

A number of the building residents say they’re afraid to speak on the record because they feared retaliation. One, who declined to be identified, said, “It’s hard enough to get them to get things done around here as it is.”