PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Tenants at Centennial Towers, a Section 8 apartment complex that houses many seniors and people with disabilities, announced Wednesday they formed a union to seek a collectively bargained lease with their corporate landlord, alleging residents have been nickel-and-dimed while living with broken elevators, roaches, rodents, and other conditions.
“I know a woman here who’s in a wheelchair and she’s been going for chemotherapy, and during that time, when both elevators were down, she missed treatments because of that,” said Mary O’Brien, 60, a tenant who has lived in the 101-unit complex at 35 Goff Ave. for more than 13 years.
“They completely ignored the left elevator for nearly a year, and the right one was breaking down a lot,” said O’Brien, who is legally blind. “So people who couldn’t walk well or at all, were stuck in their apartments. They couldn’t get to appointments.”
