Attorney General Tong supports Bridgeport/Stratford efforts to provide relief for Success Village residents
Sep 18, 2024
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today filed a letter with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut-Bridgeport Division, asking the Court to grant a request by Bridgeport and Stratford for relief to allow the Superior Court to proceed with adjudicating the pending request by the municipalities for the appointment of a receiver to manage Success Village.
The text of the letter is as follows:
Honorable Julie A. Manning
United States Bankruptcy Court
District of Connecticut-Bridgeport Division
Brien McMahon Federal Building
915 Lafayette Boulevard
Bridgeport, CT 06604
Re: In Re: Success Village Apartments, Inc. Case No.: 24-50624 Chapter 11
Dear Judge Manning:
The Attorney General’s Office has received numerous requests for assistance from both desperate residents of Success Village, as well as concerned local and state elected officials, to help prevent a major public health and/or safety crisis from occurring given the rapid onset of colder temperatures that fall/winter brings.
"I share the concerns of local and state elected officials and am deeply concerned with the public health and safety of the reportedly two thousand impacted residents of Success Village—which includes many vulnerable elderly and minor children that reside there," Tong wrote. "Equally concerning is both the decision and timing of Debtor’s bankruptcy filing amid pending Superior Court hearings regarding whether that Court should grant the municipalities' request to appoint a receiver for Success Village (see FBT-CV24-6137211-S). Winter is coming and very little time remains to allow remedial steps to be taken to protect the vulnerable population of Success Village and the municipalities' efforts to do so fall squarely within the Code’s police and regulatory exception to the automatic stay, per 11 U.S.C. section 362(b)(4)."
Tong further noted that even if "the Superior Court ultimately rules in favor of the municipalities and appoints a receiver" there would be limited time "to fully account for Success Village’s present finances" and assess all viable options "to ensure the complex’s heating/hot water needs are addressed before temperatures drop."
"Out of concern for the larger public health and safety interest of the residents of Success Village," Tong concluded, "and [for]the larger community that would be negatively impacted should this crisis worsen in coming winter months," he urged "this Court to grant municipalities’ request for relief as outlined in their motion filed September 9, 2024," allowing "the Superior Court to proceed in adjudicating whether to grant municipalities’ pending request."
Very truly yours,
WILLIAM TONG