Harbour Point property manager said he shares residents’ frustrations

Rent hikes at Harbour Point Gardens Apartments in Troy are the latest blow to residents who were forced to evacuate in June due to code violations.

Property Manager Michael Evangelista is addressing their concerns, but told NewsChannel 13 he’s not the one to blame.

Families from 58 units had less than 24 hours to evacuate when Troy code enforcers deemed the building unsafe, noting bricks from the building could fall at any moment.

These issues existed long before Lexington Property Group took over as new owners about eight months ago, Evangelista argued.

They’ve been in and out of court trying to correct the violations, he said.

Some people have already returned to the property, but now they want to know why they’re expected to pay more after all the trouble they’ve already endured.

“I really don’t have much of a comment on that. I do know that we recently just bought this property and that’s one of the biggest things a lot of people don’t know about,” Evangelista said. “What happened, like, why weren’t they doing this 10 years ago…where was everybody? Now all of a sudden, they wait until somebody new buys it, and then a couple months in yell at us for being neglectful.”

Work continues on the building, and the hope is to get everyone back home soon, said Evangelista.