New company may buy and renovate Newburgh's crumbling Kenney Apartments, but only if it gets a tax break
"This is a vote between keeping them with the current slumlord or giving them a chance at renovation," City Manager Todd Venning told the city council. "Without this deal they don't even have a chance at renovation."
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The city of Newburgh is trying to broker the sale of a crumbling apartment complex with a heating system on its last legs to a new buyer who promises to renovate it completely - as long as that buyer gets a property tax break from the city.
The heat is coming back at Jacqueline Strong's unit at Kenney Apartments on Walsh's Road after another several days of tenants being without heat and after pressure from the city and New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
Still, Strong wants someone to rescue the complex because she says it is still a wreck and property maintenance is almost non-existent.
Strong is not even sure who to ask to fix her broken oven.
She said the current owner, Bourne & Kenney Redevelopment Company, and the property management company have "abandoned" the complex and its residents.
"They had done that before. They fixed whatever the problem was," she said of property maintenance in previous years." But now, who can you call?"
Attorney General James is suing the property owners and managers seeking full repairs and restitution for residents.
Meanwhile, city administrators are trying to move along a sale from the current owners to a new company with a similar name, Bourne & Kenney Housing Development Fund Company.
Under the deal, the new company would also take over the nearby Bourne Apartments.
Executives from that new company told the City Council earlier this month they will need up to $3 million in tax relief over 33 years to make the numbers work.
Some council members are skeptical, considering the current operators of the complex are also benefitting from a similar tax agreement despite their numerous unresolved code violations.
The council voted Monday to postpone a vote on the new tax agreement until it can be strengthened to make sure the new owners complete a renovation as planned.
City Manager Todd Venning wants the council to move on the measure.
"This is a vote between keeping them with the current slumlord or giving them a chance at renovation," Venning told the council. "Without this deal they don't even have a chance at renovation."
The prospective owners said they would renovate the whole complex and hire an on-site property manager.
It is unclear how long the renovation would take, but the company wants to complete the sale by August.
Several tenants, including Kayla Reid, told News 12 a new tax break for a new company would be worth removing the current owners.
"They didn't really take care of the place," Reid said. "They barely did maintenance or anything like that. We've had plumbing issues. There was just so much going on."
The current owners did not return messages Tuesday seeking comment.
A spokesperson for Attorney General James could not comment on how a possible sale might affect the current lawsuit against the current owners, other than to confirm the case will proceed whether or not the property changes hands later this year.
