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Iowa City resident alleges landlord neglect and harassment at 715 East Burlington
Summary
Nicholas Bargren told the commission that landlord Mark Hamer owns multiple derelict properties including 715 East Burlington, accused him of failing to make repairs, cutting access to utilities and locks, and alleged a pattern of fraud and harassment; Bargren urged the city and housing authority to intervene for elderly tenants.
Nicholas Bargren, a long-time Iowa City resident, told the commission during public comment that a landlord he named as Mark Hamer owns multiple properties in the area and has failed to maintain them, leaving tenants in unsafe conditions.
"He’s literally a danger to me, and he is an unfortunate stain on this entire city," Bargren said, naming 715 East Burlington and several South Lucas Street addresses as properties he said are derelict and cited for violations. Bargren said city inspectors placed a rent abatement on his building less than a month after he moved in.
Bargren described a string of problems he said he experienced after working as a contractor on the buildings: he said locks were changed so he could not access a rented bottom unit, that a padlock was placed on the basement door blocking electrical-panel access, and that thermostatic controls were inaccessible, leaving his unit without heat for about a month. He also said a manager who hired him was fired after refusing to participate in what Bargren called attempts to extort him and that other tenants had been subjected to harassment.
Bargren alleged broader misconduct by the landlord, including prior professional sanctions: "He is in or has been engaged in multiple frauds, having lost his license to be able to practice law at one point in time for defrauding a couple $100,000 away from one of the people that he had tried to help with real estate," he said. Those are Bargren’s allegations; the commission did not receive a response from the landlord during the meeting, and no independent documentation was presented there.
Bargren also said police response had been inadequate and described an incident in which a neighbor’s boyfriend assaulted him; he said police did not pursue charges. He said pest control actions in a downstairs unit caused physical symptoms that prompted a visit to poison control.
The commission did not take immediate action at the meeting. Chair (S1) thanked Bargren for speaking. Staff and other commissioners said later that they could seek additional information or route concerns through relevant city departments, but no formal referral or vote addressing Bargren’s claims was made on the record at that meeting.
The concerns raised primarily affect tenants at 715 East Burlington, including elderly residents Bargren specifically asked the city and the housing authority to help. The transcript records the resident’s claims and the commission’s acknowledgment but does not record any immediate remedial steps, a landlord response, or enforcement outcomes.
