Springfield Gardens residents protest over living conditions

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Residents at Springfield Gardens still say they are still looking for relief from what they call unsafe living conditions. This time, they are taking their protests to the attorney’s office that represents their landlord.

About a dozen Springfield Gardens residents protested Friday afternoon. Western Mass News has been following their issues closely for the past several months. Tenants said nothing has changed with leaks in their bathrooms, unsecured doors, and more.

Tenants said they are still dealing with the same issues that they were in July with no relief in sight. On Friday morning, they were back in court for the eighth time.

“We’re constantly asking them to make the repairs and they keep giving them more time and it’s not completed…We’ve missed work, we’ve missed family events to be dragged in and out of court,” said tenant Anna Smith.

They said the court system has asked the landlord and management company to remediate the issues and they haven’t done so in a timely manner. Out of desperation and getting no results from the city or the court system, they took their complaints to the front doorstep of attorney Rich Herbert’s office. Herbert represents the landlord of Springfield Gardens apartments. Tenants told Western Mass News that they want to see Herbert hold his clients accountable.

“You’re representing them, you need to make them do these repairs. This is not fair to continue to ask for more time and more time,” Smith said.

We asked Herbert if he’d like to respond to the protests and he declined to comment.

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