Barker Terrace Residents Face Eviction for Falling Behind on Monthly Charges

About 10 residents of a Mount Kisco middle-income Mitchell-Lama housing development have been threatened with eviction after falling behind on their monthly maintenance charges that spiked by 54 percent late last year.

Barker Terrace residents who are in arrears were served on or about Aug. 14 with a notice of summary proceedings for non-payment. Most of those residents must appear in Mount Kisco Village Court this Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m.

One of those residents, Brenda Tollinchi, said since she moved into Barker Terrace in 1999, she had never been behind in her monthly payments. But the 54.28 percent increase that was approved by the co-op board and signed off by the state Department of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR), which went into effect last November, ballooned her monthly charges from a little more than $900 to $1,507.

It gave Tollinchi no choice but to withhold the extra money. Currently she said she owes $5,217 in back charges, and with late fees and penalties, that figure is now $6,717.

“There are a lot of people that are ashamed, embarrassed that they got those letters,” Tollinchi said. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. What they did was wrong. A 55 percent increase, that’s a crime.”

Barker Terrace was one of five Mithcell-Lama buildings in the state outside of New York City that was cited in a December 2023 state comptroller’s audit that criticized HCR for its poor financial and maintenance oversight of the 92-unit building.

Attorney Steven Waldinger, representing the co-op, said the co-op corporation does not want to evict any residents. However, the only source of money to maintain the building is to collect all the monthly charges from the shareholders. Otherwise, the cost for upkeep falls on the other 82 shareholders, which is unfair, he said.

“The costs to operate the co-op, unfortunately, are what they are, and the only way to continue to operate as a middle-income housing source, which is the cost of operating the building to be met, and the only way those costs can be met is by distributing those costs among the shareholders,” Waldinger said.

He said the co-op board is receptive to working out a reasonable and mutually agreed upon payment plan to allow the residents that have fallen behind on their payments the ability to catch up.

“It’s not like the board or anyone wants to evict anyone or price anyone out of the building,” Waldinger added. “It’s just a simple fact that the financial burden has to be met.”

However, Terrence Gallimore, who has lived in the building since 1977 and is one of the residents that was served, said many people don’t have the ability to pay such an exorbitant increase. Gallimore, 66, a Mount Vernon teacher’s assistant, said what is most galling is that the increase surprised most residents, many of them seniors on fixed incomes, on short notice in a building that has income restrictions.

“If I give them what they’re asking for it would destroy my budget,” Gallimore said. “I would not be able to function, frankly.”

Instead, he continues to pay last year’s monthly maintenance of $979 a month rather than the $1,518 he has been charged since late last year.

Gallimore said he has confidence that local, county and state representatives will work together to head off any evictions.

On Monday afternoon, counselors from various Westchester County and state agencies as well as non-government organizations are scheduled to meet individually with the residents who have been served in hopes of making them aware of services they may be eligible for, said County Legislator Erika Pierce (D-Bedford). Representatives from the Department of Social Services, Office for Seniors and housing experts will sit down in the one-on-one meetings at Barker Terrace.

Later on in the afternoon, all shareholders will have an open meeting with the same personnel so in case any resident may need help in the future, they’ll know who to contact, Pierce said.

For example, seniors might benefit from having their benefits rebalanced, or if they are eligible to get money for their healthcare that could free up other money to go toward maintenance, she said.

Having a contingent of residents unable to pay their charges will only make the situation at Barker Terrace worse.

“I really feel terrible for them,” Pierce said of the residents unable to pay. “This is a frightening situation. We know we have a housing crisis in Westchester, in New York, in the United States, period, full stop. It’s everywhere. The problem is there are not many places for people to go.”

One of the residents who was served said she and her husband were able to move out of Barker Terrace late in the spring. Carol Meighan said they entered multiple lotteries for subsidized housing developments around Westchester and Putnam counties and were fortunate to be chosen for an apartment in Carmel.

Since moving out after 31 years, however, their unit has not sold to another shareholder, Meighan said.

Gallimore said it’s not surprising if future residents shy away from Barker Terrace because of the steep increases in expenses.

“With what’s been out in the public, and the mess that’s here, and raising the rent to live here, who do you think is going to want to live here?” he said.

Assemblyman Chris Burdick (D-Bedford) said he’s working with the county and his colleagues in Albany to find relief. In the state’s 2024-25 budget, there is $300,000 for building maintenance for Barker Terrace. Furthermore, there may be a loan for HCR to help it with funding additional repairs.

However, HCR has a statutory requirement to make sure maintenance charges meet operating expenses, Burdick said.

The assemblyman also said they have also engaged Legal Services of the Hudson Valley to help advise the affected residents.

For Tollinchi, who until the pandemic worked a second job to supplement her $49,000 salary as a teacher’s assistant in the White Plains School District, worries about the future, and not just what might happen in court starting Thursday evening. She intends to fight, and she also remains concerned what monthly hike may be in store for residents in 2025.

“I’m not going to move into a closet because they want to push me out,” Tollinchi said.