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Threatening to enter elderly residents homes uninvited, verbal harassment, menacing notes on doors, hurling insults, forging signatures on voting documents are some of the assertions made by senior citizens against Maria Pereira that led the management company overseeing public housing units in the city to ban the councilwoman from stepping foot on its properties.
“This has been added to the collaborative on-going investigation” against Pereira, according to police spokesman Scott Appleby.
“I have been getting complaints from across the community, from residents about harassment by the councilwoman,” says Jillian Baldwin, president of Park City Communities. “We try to fly under the radar to be good partners with the city. To be quite clear, we are not taking a political side we are taking action on behalf of the residents we serve.”
Pereira singularly delivered the most absentee ballots on behalf of John Gomes campaign for mayor in the Democratic primary won by Mayor Joe Ganim. Ironically, Gomes is challenging the results of the primary claiming absentee ballot abuse. OIB has reached out to Gomes’ Campaign Manager Christine Bartlett-Josie for comment.
Pereira represents the absentee-ballot rich 138th District with a high percentage of elderly housing units. She has harvested absentee ballots for years, something that rescued her from a primary defeat. She lost the walk-in vote handily.
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Last month PCC received a complaint, communicated by the daughter of an elderly resident of Fireside Apartments, that her mother’s unit had been illegally entered by Pereira. The daughter explained that she had authorized power of attorney on behalf of her dementia-suffering mother. She installed a Ring camera device that captured Pereira entering the elderly woman’s vacant home in search of an absentee ballot.
PCC forwarded a complaint of criminal activity to the police department.
Since that time PCC conducted several meetings, including a town hall session with about 20 residents and police officials in attendance. Seniors explained they had been continuously harassed and bullied by Pereira.
“For my entire tenure at Park City Communities, residents, vendors, Board members and staff have complained about harassment and bullying that say they’ve experienced from the Councilwoman,” Baldwin explained. “In addition, 20 plus residents have been in contact with PCC since the Councilwoman entered one of our resident’s units on September 7.
“Despite the alarmed and disapproving response from PCC residents, the housing authority, and community stakeholders it’s reported by our residents that she has not been deterred, nor impressed upon, to improve her interactions with the Fireside Community,” Baldwin continued. “In fact, residents of Fireside have called the Bridgeport Police Department on several occasions since the incident to report what they say is continued negative behavior.
“Residents have reported that Councilwoman Pereira has threatened to enter their unit uninvited if they did not open the door willingly, has verbally harassed them, has left intimidating notes on their doors, hurled insults and made defamatory statements about them. Most concerning is that more than one resident has alleged that she forged their signature on voting documents. PCC has not filed any reports against Councilwoman Pereira. We forwarded a complaint we received regarding alleged unauthorized entry into one of our units. However, residents have reached out to the Police regarding this issue. PCC is not privy to what those interactions with police entailed.”
hearsay
Unverified information heard or received from another; rumor.
Evidence that is not within the personal knowledge of a witness, such as testimony regarding statements made by someone other than the witness, and that therefore may be inadmissible to establish the truth of a particular contention because the accuracy of the evidence cannot be verified through cross-examination.
Information communicated by another; report; common talk; rumor; gossip
Of course, 20 senior citizens must be making it up, right?
Post the Names!
I will not post names of senior citizens vulnerable to retribution. I’ve spoken to enough to know Pereira has menaced them, as she has many others.
It will be easy to find 20 Housebound Agoraphobic’s in a 300 unit housing Tower complex and then having them sign their names for an Absentee Ballot while holding their Drool Cups.
Sonny, sounds like you have practice in this area! Sonny says….
I never did that, It’s Just when the Hearsay is getting a little thick around here., lets keep it real.
I have on more than one occasion forwarded my comments to the City Council at public speaking sessions, the same comments spoken to the Council, and archived by the City. They have commented about conditions in one or more City housing centers including those that PCC as the Housing Authority of Bridgeport is currently named. I will offer my opinion once again on such a broad subject.
As everyone knows who has read one or more of my iterations, oversight of many unfair conditions in such concentrated HUD subsidized housing receives no formal attention to invite such tenants to form action groups with representatives who can reach their voices together to City departments to receive concerted attention. You have heard many times the saga of Fair Rent and Fair Housing boards eliminated because mayors failed in Charter duties to appoint representatives to serve. Why no explanation ever from Ganim2 for failure of attention to this duty??
Whatever the story about Maria P happens to be, and I have not talked to her about this specific subject, it seems to have galvanized Jillian Baldwin,CEO, the PCC Board, and OIB into a heroic focus on this event. Unfortunately I believe that this is about one incident in a much broader story about maybe 5,000 folks who are our neighbors, likely older, and many with health issues prominent in their lives. If not currently disabled, many have no significant forms of wealth or income. Those facts create their opportunity to be eligible for HUD assistance. Each person has a story. Who will attend to them, our neighbors? I salute the City Council members who meet their constituents in such housing arrangements and listen to them 24/7 all year round.
When meeting these renters as I have with frequency at least monthly for two years or more, I have met many proud individuals who feel isolated, intimidated, and threatened at times of eviction by owners and the managements of these properties as well as City personnel when called upon. Who is listening? Who cares? When voluntary democratic bodies to serve the tenants are created and formed by, for, and with tenants into an interested representative group with fair elections, will the power imbalances and practices change? Can routine issues in the City including “renter rebates” funded entirely by CT State not Bridgeport, but confused by political activists; “absentee ballot” assistance outside of State provisions; miscellaneous “charity” events and giveaways as well as control of entrances and exits to favor access by political powers (unconnected to basic safety of persons residing there or the security of their property) get straightened away? What is necessary from City leadership? Time will tell.
And what is necessary from the organization you represent, JML, the local NAACP? What does it have to say on this subject, local seniors, people of color, bullied by their council representative for absentee ballots? Once again, you’re so selective in your observations. Habit forming.
Lennie, Maria assertive, NOOOOOO! 🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LCpPMG3PCM
I am with Jim on this, Sure the senior’s daughter perhaps may have felt her mother was being manipulated vie’
the vote and set up a hidden camera but where in this tale does the welfare of her mother to say IDK, keep your door locked? 😂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFELzJbp_ts