Norwich — Several tenants of the Artspace Norwich apartment complex expressed frustration this week that they have been living with no heat, windows that get stuck, broken appliances and the sudden closure last month of their beloved art gallery.

The city fire marshal’s office, which says the building owners have not responded to requests to schedule fire safety inspections, is threatening to seek criminal action through the State’s Attorney’s Office.

The tenants brought their complaints to the City Council Tuesday, saying the building’s owner or management officials have not responded to repeated tenant complaints.

The 69-unit Artspace complex opened in 2001 at 35 Chestnut St., offering affordable apartments to artists with a large, free gallery space for public art shows and events.

But long-time tenants said the building has declined under the new ownership of 35 Chestnut LLC, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based company that purchased the building in 2020 for $2.55 million. The parent company also owns an Artspace apartment building in Willimantic.

The tenants said they have complained to the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and to Uncas Health District about water and mold issues. City housing and fire inspectors said they have received no recent complaints from Artspace tenants.

But Norwich Fire Inspector Bill Wrobel said the fire marshal’s office had tried to schedule routine, mandatory inspections at Artspace last April but had to make repeated attempts to meet with owners’ representative before finally inspecting part of the building in August.

After violations were found, including faulty smoke detectors, Wrobel said fire officials have been unable to re-inspect the building to ensure corrections were made and to inspect areas not available during the first inspection.

On Dec. 6, the fire marshal’s office sent 35 Chestnut LLC a letter notifying the company that if access was not allowed for reinspection, the city would request the State’s Attorney’s Office consider prosecuting the owners for violating state fire safety codes.

“Please contact this office upon receipt of this letter to re-inspect the units with violations and conduct first inspections for the ones unavailable at the first inspection to avoid the referral being filed with the Housing Prosecutor,” the Dec. 6 letter stated, giving a Dec. 20 deadline for a response.

Wrobel said Thursday he still had not heard back from the Artspace owner or property manager, and he is consulting with the state housing prosecutor for New London County on how to pursue criminal prosecution.

Norwich Building Official Dan Coley said his office responds to complaints about lack of heat and other housing issues, but he has not received complaints. After the tenants addressed the City Council Tuesday, city officials have been in contact with the building office. But inspectors need permission from tenants to enter apartments.

Coley, Wrobel and the tenants said one problem is that Artspace does not have an on-site property manager.

Current property manager Barbara Cuadrado, could not be reached for comment this week.

On Wednesday, the day after the tenants complained to the City Council, Cuadrado sent an email responding to Norwich Housing Code Enforcement Officer James Harriott's inquiry concerning the tenants' comments. He wrote to her that he did not have a formal complaint, but referred to similar complaints made by tenants at an apartment house at 88 Chestnut St., owned by the same company and managed by Cuadrado.

Cuadrado questioned whether Harriott was responding to "second-hand information." She wrote that the tenant in one apartment had complained of no heat and Cuadrado said she immediately notified the owners.

"No one else has placed a maintenance request stating they have no heat," Cuadrado wrote to Harriott. "It's very unfair to come with a complaint of no heat when even you cannot provide a list of units that supposedly have no heat. Is the landlord supposed to guess if the tenant does not report it?"

Tenants want answers, action to ongoing problems

Jennifer Tyler, 44, recounted numerous problems with her top-floor apartment. Leaks from the roof drip what she described as “like Coca-Cola syrup” streams onto her furniture, carpet, clothes and artwork.

Only one stove burner works, and the oven heat is spotty. Her refrigerator temperature is faulty. Some food freezes and food in other spots isn’t cold. She keeps a plastic crate in her sink. If she turns on the faucet, the water just leaks below the sink. The dishwasher also does not work.

In October, just days after she finally got a new toilet to replace a leaking, moldy unit, her wall vent air conditioning/heating unit started leaking. Artspace management told her to turn it off. But no one came to repair the unit, and she now has no heat.

And she leaves two of her windows open about two inches. If she closes them all the way, she said, she cannot reopen them. She relies on residual heat rising in the building, as she lives on the top floor.

She attaches notes about the problems to her rent checks each month and takes photos of the notes and the checks to keep a record.

“I need to schedule work in my apartment ASAP, because it is causing me breathing issues,” she wrote Oct. 10.

“Please call me ASAP,” she wrote on the Jan. 10 rent payment. “I have a new, serious problem in my apartment.”

Tyler also said the buzzer system that should allow her to let visitors in from the front door does not work. Tyler, who said she is disabled and on medication, said she must rely on neighbors, including her ex-husband, Bryan Tyler, who rents a different unit in Artspace, to let delivery services into the building.

Bryan Tyler, 45, said his heat works “on and off,” and his carbon monoxide detector does not work. Another issue, he said, is that the owners have shut down garbage shoots and removed recycling collection bins. Now, only two residential-sized blue curbside recycling bins sit outside for all tenants to use, often full and overflowing.

Bryan Tyler, a portrait and streetscape artist, said he was the very first Artspace tenant in 2001, when the complex opened with the promise of bringing economic revitalization and cultural opportunities to downtown Norwich.

Tenants still want Artspace to thrive

As vital as restoring heat and fixing appliances, the tenants said reopening the artist gallery on the ground floor is also important. The gallery had participated in monthly downtown First Friday art shows, hosted events during downtown festivals and allowed artists in the region to display works for free.

“It’s the art in Artspace,” Bryan Tyler said.

Artspace tenant Suzy Boada, 43, a painter, sculptor and professional cake decorator, volunteered to run the art gallery seven years ago. She bought a baby grand piano, decorated with several large plants and brought in lounge furniture for guests. She built a gallery wall for mounting artwork. For events, Boada provides the refreshments.

On Dec. 11, she checked on the gallery in the morning. When she returned in the evening, a stereo with two tall speaker towers had been stolen. She tried to reach management without success and called police to file a report. She repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to obtain security footage for police.

Four days later, she tried to enter the gallery to find the locks changed. She was told the gallery was now closed, and the space would be used for storage. Her piano, plants which she hasn’t been able to water and artwork remain locked inside.

She said on Friday a maintenance worker checked her heat. She brushed off that her own apartment vents blow “ice cold air” instead of heat and preferred to concentrate on the gallery and its importance to artists from the Norwich area and as far away as New York City. She said seniors could sit and enjoy piano music, and she often allowed children to play on the keys.

Boada said on Feb. 7 from 5 to 8 p.m. she will have a table outside the gallery with one of her cakes and will be collecting signatures on a petition urging the owners to reopen the gallery.

“The place is beloved,” Boada said of the gallery. “I live here. This is my passion."

Twelve-year Artspace tenant Michael Brathwaite, 74, said he too loves the concept of Artspace and is disheartened by its decline. Brathwaite opened his own gallery at 31 Clinton Ave. in Norwich.

Brathwaite is upset that the exterior of Artspace has become run down. He said the historic building, once home to Gordon’s Shoe Store, should be an integral part of the historic downtown streetscape. At one point in frustration, Brathwaite painted the exterior doors himself in a slate blue.

“It’s absolutely horrendous they let this deteriorate,” Brathwaite said, shaking his head. “I’m at the point of moving. I want to move.”

c.bessette@theday.com