‘I hate where I live’

By Paul Leighton

» Staff Writer

BEVERLY — Susan Lukas has lived in senior housing at Apple Village for 10 years and says life at the subsidized apartment complex has always been “quite nice.”

“Actually peaceful,” she said.

And how, Lukas was asked, would she describe the atmosphere there now?

“Very toxic,” she said. “It’s a place you don’t want to live in anymore.”

The state of affairs at Apple Village might normally be just a topic of conversation for the people who live at the development, which is tucked away in the woods at the end of a road that can only be reached from an exit off Route 128. But over the last three weeks, the rancor and division among the 100 residents of its two senior housing buildings has been on full display in a courtroom in Salem. During three sessions in front of Housing Court Chief Justice Timothy Sullivan, a parade of residents, some using walkers, others requiring hearing-assisted headphones, took the witness stand and traded accusations of bullying and harassment. They told stories under oath of meetings dissolving in shouting matches, one resident driving her car threateningly close to other residents, management changing the locks on a resident- run store in retaliation for complaints filed against him. Police have been called to the scene on an almost regular basis, they said.

By the time the hearings concluded, the longtime property manager, who at one point testified to making what he called “Section 8 syrup” from the maple trees

See VILLAGE, Page A8

Donna Lee is fighting eviction from her apartment at Apple Village in Beverly.

JAIME CAMPOS

The Apple Village apartment complex off Route 128 in Beverly.

PAUL LEIGHTON

Continued from Page A1

at Apple Village, had been removed from his job. “Section 8” refers to the type of federally subsidized housing at Apple Village.

While it might sound like a bad reality show, the problems at Apple Village reflect a serious issue of bullying in public housing and subsidized developments. State Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, has co-sponsored a bill in the state Legislature that would specifically prohibit bullying in public housing and require anti-bullying training for all employees and residents.

Lovely, who has visited Apple Village to try to help resolve the conflicts, said public housing seems to create a “hierarchy” in which those at the top of the scale bully those beneath them, whether it’s management versus tenants or tenants versus tenants.

“It’s all across the state, and I bet it’s all across the country,” she said. “Some people don’t open their mouths because they’re afraid if they say something they’re really going to lose their housing, and it’s wrong.”

Facing eviction

The divisiveness at Apple Village ended up in court after the company that manages the property, APT Management Inc., filed a notice to evict Donna Lee for “disturbing the quiet enjoyment” of the property. Lee, 76, is a retired personal care attendant who has lived at Apple Village for six years. She lives in one of the two side-by-side brick buildings for seniors and people with disabilities at Apple Village, which includes housing for families.

Residents pay rent based on their income under the federal Section 8 housing choice voucher program for low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities, which is governed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

At the trial over Lee’s eviction notice, a dozen residents testified that Lee was a bully who intimidated other residents and insisted on getting her way when it came to things like running the resident store and organizing community events. But others testified it was Ed Roaf, the property manager, who was the bully and ran Apple Village as if it were his own “personal kingdom,” as Lee’s lawyer said.

As the trial played out, residents supporting Lee or Roaf sat on opposite sides. At one point, Judge Sullivan told two people to leave the courtroom for making comments while Lee was testifying.

“I understand the emotions are high,” Sullivan said. “But we have to proceed with some decorum.”

Residents testifying against Lee gave several examples of what they called bullying and disruptive behavior. Lukas said she was distributing flyers for a Christmas party when Lee scooped them all up and threw them at Lukas’ door. Another resident, Patricia Post, said Lee yelled at residents for such benign activities as holding a pancake breakfast and cleaning up puzzles. One time, Post said, she was afraid Lee was going to hit her and her service dog, Bruin, with her car.

“I fear for my neighbors,” said Post, a former police officer. “I fear for myself. I fear for my dog.”

Delores Pollard, who went to the witness stand using a walker, said she is “scared to death” of Lee and rarely leaves her apartment.

“This is my last place that I have to live,” Pollard said. “I can go nowhere else. I love my apartment and my neighbors. But I am scared to death of Donna Lee.”

“Why should old people have to live the end of their life with this kind of thing?,” said another resident, Rebecca McIntosh. “I hate where I live, and I used to love it.”

Five residents testified on behalf of Lee, saying she organized holiday parties and spent her own money to supply items for the resident store. “She’s done a lot for the community,” Rebecca Amnott said. “I think she really cares about the residents. She got me a turkey dinner when I was in the hospital. I think she’s great.”

“I’ve never seen Donna Lee scream at anyone,” said another resident, Joan Rossi.

Rosa Steward, who has lived at Apple Village for 30 years, said she didn’t understand all the criticism of Lee. “I don’t think it’s the same woman I know,” she said.

Manager on move

Residents who supported Lee painted Roaf as the bully and said he retaliated against Lee and other residents for forming a tenants association.

They accused Roaf of shutting down the resident store t h at wa s being run by Lee and selling off items, including some that Lee had bought with h e r ow n money. The day after one of the court hearings, they said, Roaf removed, dismantled and threw out exercise equipment owned by residents that had been set up in a common area.

“I felt that he was a bully,” Amnott said. “He was mean and vindictive. I personally feel that because I was in the (tenants) association with Donna that I was harassed.”

“He’s very intimidating with his size,” Steward said. “He puts tenants against tenants.”

Michael Kane, the director of the Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants, said he attended a meeting with Roaf regarding Lee’s eviction notice in which Roaf was “hostile, arrogant and rude.” He called Roaf ’s behavior “one of the worst examples (of bullying) I’ve seen in the last 40 years.”

Roaf, who had been the property manager at Apple Village for 17 years, testified that Lee bullied residents and was verbally abusive to him. He said her behavior was so egregious that it caused his “entire staff ” to quit at one point.

The last straw came when Lee took pictures of a woman who had fallen in her apartment and showed them to other residents, telling them the woman had been assaulted by an intruder, which he said was untrue and caused a “panic” among residents, Roaf said.

Lee said she went to the woman’s aid and took the pictures to be used as evidence in what she thought was an attack.

In his testimony, Roaf acknowledged making what he called “Section 8 syrup” and “Section 8 soap,” but denied that he used the term in a derogatory manner.

“I am enormously proud of the work we do (with Section 8 housing),” he said. “I will not countenance its use a pejorative.”

Where it stands

Roaf attended the first two sessions of the trial. But by the time the third and final session took place last Thursday, he was no longer working at Apple Village. Three days after Roaf’s testimony, Carol Dempsey, senior vice president of APT Management, posted a notice at Apple Village saying that Roaf “no longer works” for the company.

Reached by phone after the trial was over, Roaf declined to say why he was no longer working at Apple Village.

“I’ve moved on,” he said. “I think I did some really solid work and brought a lot of happiness to Apple Village in the 17 years I was there. I put my heart and soul into it and I thought it was pretty successful.”

As for Lee’s eviction, no decision has been made and she is still living in her apartment. After the trial, the two sides did agree on one thing — to enter into mediation with a court housing specialist. The first session is scheduled for April 29.

Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-3382535, by email at pleighton@ salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

Donna Lee is fighting eviction from her apartment at Apple Village in Beverly.

JAIME CAMPOS

Ed Roaf