Residents urge council to act on deteriorating conditions at 440 Washington Street; city says receivership is a possibility

Residents of 440 Washington Street told the Newark Municipal Council on Jan. 22 that building conditions — including intermittent heat, unreliable hot water, sewage backups, broken elevators and security lapses — have made daily living unsafe and unsanitary.

Several tenants urged the council to take immediate action, including suspension of the building’s tax abatement until repairs are completed. Administration officials said the city is moving aggressively to address the property and is preparing legal steps that can include receivership and the rescission or default of tax abatement when owners fail to make necessary repairs.

Why it matters: Tenants said living conditions at 440 Washington Street threaten health and safety and that remediation is urgent. City directives such as receivership or abatement default could create a legal path for the city to compel repairs, secure funding for work, or temporarily replace management to restore habitability.

What residents said - Nasheeda (Nasheeda) Singleton, identified herself as a resident placed at 440 Washington Street in July 2021, told the council there has been insufficient heat, unreliable hot water, ongoing overflow garbage and broken elevators that leave elderly and disabled tenants stranded. “The flooded lobby caused by backed up sewage poses a significant health hazard,” she said. - Deborah Brown, who said she has lived at 440 and tried to move but could not find affordable alternatives, said the building had lacked a management team since Dec. 31 and accused management of giving out master keys and entering apartments without notice. Brown asked the council to cancel the building’s tax abatement until repairs are completed.

Administration response Business Administrator Eric Bennington told the council the mayor directed the administration to address problems at 440 Washington Street. He said the city formed a task force led by engineering and code enforcement and involving multiple departments. The administration is issuing notices to the owners and is evaluating whether to ask a court to appoint a receiver, an action the city has taken for other properties that failed to maintain safe conditions.

Bennington said the law department and Economic and Housing Development are reviewing whether tax abatement should be put in default for owners who have not cooperated. “We want to make sure that they have enough resources to do the repairs … They have failed to do so. So we’re heading down the path of looking at receivership, looking at repealing a tax abatement…,” he said.

Next steps and oversight Council members representing affected wards said they will meet with residents and attempt to convene property owners before the tax-abatement committee. Councilman Scott Rountree said the tax-abatement committee is trying to get the owners or managers to appear at a meeting set for Jan. 29 so the committee can demand a plan for repairs and discuss whether the abatement should remain in effect.

Ending: Tenants asked the council for prompt action and for direct follow-up; the administration said it has opened an interdepartmental enforcement process and is prepared to pursue legal steps if owners do not remedy violations.