Tenants on Sterling Place rally for better apartment conditions two years after strike

It’s been two years since a group of tenants went on strike to demand fixes to their apartments, and community members are still hard at work to get the fixes they need.

Residents lined Sterling Place on Tuesday, telling News 12 that their floors need to be repaired and that there is a rat infestation in their building.

Tenants say that the problems at 1402 and 1408 Sterling Place have been going on for years, and they’ve been on strike since 2022, refusing to pay rent until their homes are restored.

"I've seen the building go from a nice building with different landlords to down, down, down," said tenant Brenda Morris. "I ask for in my apartment is new flooring and they just said 'No.'"

News 12 reached out to Chestnut Holding Management and they say they have cleared over 200 violations at those two properties. They add that since acquiring those buildings, there’s been over $500,000 invested in building repairs and improvements.

According to the Housing Preservation and Development agency, there are currently 143 open violations at 1402 Sterling Place and 134 open violations at 1408 Sterling Place.