Leger Fernández, Heinrich, Luján Urge USDA and Law Enforcement Agencies to Protect Tenants at La Vista del Rio Apartments
Washington, DC,
September 11, 2023
Tags:
Local
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) and U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong urging them to investigate Bosley Management’s potentially illegal conduct.
U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) and U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong urging them to investigate Bosley Management’s potentially illegal conduct. Bosley Management owns and manages USDA-subsidized La Vista del Rio (LVDR) apartments located in Española, New Mexico. Community members have reported repeated attempts by Bosley to intimidate, lie to, and illegally evict residents of the property, including threatening to call child protective services. The letter calls for an administrative and criminal investigation into Bosley Management’s actions. The lawmakers also sent the letter to NM Attorney General Raúl Torrez and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies for appropriate legal action. “Our offices have received reports that Bosley has repeatedly attempted to lie and intimidate low-income residents of LVDR in order to try to illegally evict them from the property. It appears Bosley has a pattern of not only mismanaging properties it owns and that are enrolled in USDA’s Rural Housing Program in Española, but also attempting to illegally evict its residents. “The population housed at LVDR apartments is particularly vulnerable. Many LVDR tenants are elderly, disabled, Latino, have children and have limited English proficiency. We are concerned that Bosley has engaged in a pattern and practice of falsely and unlawfully intimidating residents in order to evict the tenants so it can more easily sell the property. The lack of affordable housing in the area would likely lead to displaced LVDR tenants facing homelessness,” the lawmakers wrote. In November 2022, The City of Española condemned a separate Bosley owned and managed USDA-subsidized housing facility in Española, Santa Clara Apartments, due to unsafe conditions, lack of maintenance, and poor management. Although USDA provided housing vouchers to displaced residents, numerous tenants became homeless after being forced out due to the lack of affordable housing options. The full text of the letter is available here. |