In the face of gushing adversity – no heat, no hot water, funds fleeced without accountability, taxes and utility bills not paid by the governing board – the roughly 2,000 residents of Success Village co-op straddling Bridgeport and Stratford both endured and galvanized awaiting resolution to the injurious predicament through no fault of their own.
And with it a sense of humor from gallows to dark to snarky.
The forum for the collection, the Success Village Community on Facebook, captures the camaraderie among the maelstrom, with board director Ty Bird – wings clipped as a result of court-appointed receiver Barry Knott taking over – the receiver of the unleashing.
When residents heard the court news and Knott’s first action to change the locks on the administrative buildings, the justifiable relief ensued. Some of the comments:
“Bye Bye Birdie.”
“Whoooooo Hooooo the locksmiths are at the door of the office we should all celebrate!!!”
“Did they file a restraining order?”
“It’s official! After the seemingly outrageous time, we are free of the tyrant Thank you one and all who believed this day would become a reality!”
“I hear people are driving by and honking their horns in support of us!!! it is a good day to be a member of SVA”
“The brutal honesty, I was feeling was that SVA went downhill too quick and that we were gonna lose our homes. What I couldn’t get over all the kind and wonderful people that live here. People you don’t see on a regular basis. People with full-time jobs, people with handicapped children, elderly folk. And I just couldn’t comprehend that Tye Bird could do this to Success Village. But to be brutally honest, I am happy for this receivership and I pray that anyone who is trying to take over we’ll just lay it to rest and let the professional professionals do their job. I don’t know if this is what you were looking for but hey, it’s 5:47 in the morning.”
“Good morning SVA!! What a great morning knowing we aren’t being run by a dictatorship!!!”
Attorney Barry Knott has a lot on his plate during the next several months, a short-term resolution for consistent heat and hot water with the weather cooling and a long-term plan to rebuild the boiler infrastructure. After all the suffering, at least now residents know they are no longer rudderless.
Success management wired about $2 million the past two years to lawyers and consultants completely draining the bank account flouting the priority of heat and hot water.
Meanwhile federal investigators are all over this, following the money, the financial transactions, cash withdrawals from bank accounts where it went and those who benefited criminally. It will take some time, six months, perhaps a year or more, a timeline that includes interviews, statements, subpoenas, production of records, emails, texts and a flow of other stuff.
Some of the same people who decided it was more important to shell out millions to lawyers and consultants, rather than providing basic needs, will themselves need lawyers.
A local lawyer with real estate practice, business experience, and a reputation for integrity, will provide an initial report in 60 days on Success Village events of the past several years in the person of Barry Knott of Stratford. As the weather enters fall and wintry patterns, he will be busy getting to the facts.
Those residents who have deeds as evidence of their rights have reason to be upset. But it is more about their past participation and knowledge of the demands of self-governance under CT law that I wish to remind readers about. When the last ‘real’ Board of Director election occurred, how many folks voted of the pluc 900 units? And when the new Board met what happened? The sources of heat and hot water did not automatically shut off, I suggest, and these are the central health issue faced in the community today. But there was no more communication about, money, meetings, following by-laws, or court actions from those in the know who thought they had the authority to dictate and act in other authoritarian style.
City of Bridgeport continues to fail in putting life into an Ordinance signed into force by the City Council in 2022, for a Fair Housing Commission absent in action for 20 years but awaiting appointments from the Mayor currently as part of the City Charter process. It may result in an expensive Mayoral failure when the situation has a full audited report, but that will take more than 60 days.
Evidence of criminality appears with funds certain Board members had responsibility and management authority of as well as the sums paid in cash or employment compensation will be most interesting to review by the taxpayers who are likely to face an expense for this ‘private neighborhood’ that may not have understood the role they had to play to ‘own’ and benefit from their Co-op membership. Possibly it will be an expensive Civics lesson for each party. Time will tell.
Birdie got his wings clipped — but he’s still a flight risk….
The Byrd flew the Coop!