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First Posted: 4/16/2014 WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The troubled Sherman Hills housing complex is under a federal microscope once again, but an official representing the property&#8217;s new owners told a task force they are vowing to make upgrades at the property.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development&#8217;s Office of Inspector General were at the property off Coal Street on Tuesday, Public Affairs Director Marta Metelko said Wednesday, although she was unable to comment on why the investigators were there or even whether there is an investigation into the property.
But John Van Metre, director of property management at The Aspen Companies &#8212; a sister organization of new owner Treetop Development &#8212; told members of U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright&#8217;s Sherman Hills task force &#8220;the ongoing investigation concerns the prior owner&#8217;s financial practices,&#8221; according to a statement released by Cartwright&#8217;s office.
A $15.8 million sale of the complex was completed last week according to court records. Officials said the property passed from Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Sherman Hills Realty LLC to Teaneck, N.J.-based Treetop.
Sherman Hills Realty is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brooklyn-based Park Management Inc. A woman who answered Park management&#8217;s telephone on Wednesday said the office was closed for Passover.
Previous problems
Metelko said her office&#8217;s role is to conduct oversight of all HUD programs and operations.
Whatever HUD&#8217;s investigators were doing at Sherman Hills, their visit Tuesday was not the first time federal officials have had the 344-unit property in their sights in recent months.
The apartment complex has for years been plagued by violent crime, but 2013 was especially bloody, including the shooting of two girls in August and the fatal shooting of a woman in November.
HUD inspected the complex in September, and was critical of the management and the lax oversight that exposed tenants to life-threatening security issues.
According to a 20-page HUD report released to The Times Leader in November, a two-day inspection of six buildings in September revealed inoperable and unplugged surveillance cameras, more than half of exterior lighting not turned on, broken windows and overgrown vegetation.
HUD inspectors also reviewed the finances at the complex, determining that management may not be operating the property with generally accepted accounting principals. Tenants are continuing to reside within the complex on government subsidized rent while management fails to obtain their income and wages, the report says.
HUD also found &#8220;errors and omissions&#8221; by management in processing tenant applications.
Overall, HUD gave the apartment complex an &#8220;unsatisfactory&#8221; ranking for its management operations.
Cartwright, D-Moosic, convened the task force of local, state and federal officials in response to the HUD report.
Planned upgrades
Last month, a security consultant working for the former owners said work on a proposed $100,000 improvement plan was underway with the installation of an 8-foot-high, 1-inch mesh fence around the property.
Also proposed was a plan to have an armed guard from a local security contractor patrolling the property 10 to 12 hours each day, as well as staffing a gatehouse to be built at the entrance on North Empire Court.
Those improvements, as well as upgrades to lighting and a camera surveillance system, were presented to the city Planning and Zoning Board in February.
Cartwright said he met with HUD Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Jane Vincent in February and March to receive an update on the progress of Sherman Hills. Cartwright, on behalf of the Task Force, insisted in the event of a possible sale that any new owner must make the repairs that have already been promised.
&#8220;Aspen Companies will continue work to strengthen the complex&#8217;s security and is moving forward to obtain the necessary permits to do so. Additionally, the management company is preparing to make immediate cosmetic improvements to demonstrate their commitment to changing the atmosphere,&#8221; the statement from Cartwright&#8217;s office said.
Aspen and Treetop are based in Teaneck and share common leadership: principals Adam Mermelstein and Azi Mandel. Messages left this week for a Treetop spokeswoman were not returned.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s a new beginning, and there is every reason for optimism at this point,&#8221; Cartwright said.

HUD: Investigators were at Sherman Hills