I used to live at River Isle and I am deeply offended at what the Mayor said about the tenants that lived there. I understand that several years ago River Isle had problems with drugs and other criminal activities. But within the last 2 1/2 yrs that I had lived there before LMHA bought it, the place was cleaned up. It was not a problem place for the city of Willoughby anymore.There is no possible way that River Isle still had the “…highest incidences of police calls….”
For recent comparison, two other apartment complexes in the area have needed the assistance of police officers at there complexes at least 10 x’s a WEEK versus maybe 2 x’s a MONTH, if that, at River Isle..It had 42 apts. available to rent, on average, only about 35 stayed rented, give or take a few at different times. Of those 35, I can personally name 28 tenants that have NEVER had the cops called on them & of the remaining 7, 2 were called about only once! River Isle had 5 ” trouble makers”…5 out of 35!
We, the tenants, were the people who were calling on those 5 “trouble makers” so we could get rid of them! We looked out for each other and we cared about where we lived! Many times we even took care of the landscaping ourselves because the property manager wouldn’t!
We improved and repaired what we could inside our apartments because the property manager wouldn’t, unless we called the city officials about it. Many of the apts. had been very nicely renovated and didn’t need any repairs. So please don’t confuse the integrity of the tenants with the incompetency of the property manager! I will agree with the Mayor that we had “a bad landlord”, but we, as a whole, were NOT “trouble makers!”
We are hard working citizens of the city of Willoughby. We were not a “problem” that needed to go away! We were simply low income families trying to make the best of what we had. Where else in Willoughby could you find a 3 bdrm for $650? Or $550 for a 2 bdrm? You simply can’t. Low income is not synonymous with “low-life.” River Isle provided us with a decent home within our financial means. It’s ironic that LMHA is kicking out low income people to put other low income people back in. And the relocation process? Don’t even get me started what a circus that was! It definitely was not as professional as it is/was being betrayed in the media.
We had to get a lawyer involved to protect our rights! Need less to say, I am writing because of the comments the Mayor made. I feel an apology should be given for publicly misrepresenting the tenants of River Isle. 80% of us were educated, hard working, and law abiding citizens. It is not morally right to attack and judge, let alone publicly, the integrity and pride of the majority, based upon the actions of the 20% (5 people) who didn’t seem to have any. Therefore, I feel the 80% of law abiding citizens who lived at River Isle DESERVE a public apology!
Submitted in response to the article: New Condominiums Coming to Willoughby Click here to read the article
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I was also a resident at River Isle an I am just now hearing about the mayor said about our old apartment complex. Yes River Isle USED to be associated with drugs, USED TO BE being the key words there. I wish people would learn their facts before they open their mouths!
I hired into River Isle apartments in Dec of 2009, At that time I had no idea of its reputation, or condition of the apartments I hired in as Maintenance man and later became the Manager for a short period of time them went back to Maintenance. During the first few months we did have a “Drug problem” but I can say I played a MAJOR part in getting rid of that problem. In the first 5 months I played a major part in getting rid of 7 residents that were known “drug” offenders. and in my 2 and 1/2 years of being employed their I along with the help of the Willoughby Police Dept, reduced by a good 95 to 98 percent of the drug problems in River Isle. When I first started, the Police were there several times a week and sometimes several time a DAY dealing with the drug and other problems at River Isle, in the last year to 1 and 1/2 years those incidences reduced to Police being called to once or twice a MONTH. In the beginning I would get calls from tenants at 2/3 AM about drug activities. I PERSONALLY would call the Police Dept and get out of bed and BE THERE when they arrived. I am proud to have lived there, MOST of the problems had been taken care of and for the MAYOR to insinuate that River Isle is STILL a problem for the city of Willoughby. I PERSONALLY worked with the Willoughby Police dept to make River Isle a better place to live, I PERSONALLY worked with the Willoughby Fire dept to keep the place safe for its tenants. I was sent a notice to inspect EVERY smoke alarm [Including inside the apartments] to make sure they all were in working order,and turn in a report on it. I was asked to inspect the Fire extinguishers and have them replaced as needed. I was told to put up EXIT signs in the “common” areas in case of a fire, I COMPLIED with all notifications from the Fire Dept. The Mayor’s implication that River Isle is STILL a bad place to live is WRONG in my opinion and I took this as a personal slap in my face. His own Police reports should tell him of the reduction in calls to River Isle. As far as LMHA, he speaks highly of them but he does not know the real story of how some of the “displaced” persons have been dealt with. I WOULD BE HAPPY to discuss this face to face with the Mayor. The Mayor spoke of the Federal Govt NOT putting anyone of the streets, I know of one Veteran that will be made homeless as of Oct 15 of this year as of this writing.