The Resident
News
Neighbors say apartments owned by local councilman rife with problems
By Stephen Baxter
Several San Jose apartment buildings owned by Cupertino City Councilman Gilbert Wong and his father, Allen Wong, have chronic problems with cockroaches and graffiti, according to reports from San Jose Code Enforcement and tenants.
Issues with the Wongs' apartments this summer prompted San Jose Councilwoman Nancy Pyle and San Jose Police to summon Gilbert Wong to a meeting.
The Wongs own at least 10 fourplex apartments in the Hoffman Via Monte neighborhood of San Jose near Almaden Expressway and Blossom Hill Road. Gangs, crime and poor living conditions there prodded San Jose leaders to include the area as one of the city's 19 Strong Neighborhoods Initiative areas in 2002, making it eligible for special improvement grants.
The Wongs have owned apartment buildings since 1995 on Almaden Road and Via Monte, Mesa, Carlsbad and Tucson drives. Since 1998, San Jose Code Enforcement officials have opened 22 cases on the Wongs' buildings and his tenants, and other neighbors have complained of cockroaches, graffiti, noise and drug use.
In September 2007, a 15-year-old was stabbed to death at Chris Hotts Park, a few blocks from the apartments. Some residents have since collaborated with police and organized themselves to try to clean up the neighborhood, but problems persist.
In an interview, Gilbert Wong described his investment properties and the area as a "rough gem in the Almaden Valley." He said he and his property manager fix problems within a day of notice.
"If there is a problem, we proactively address the issues," he said.
Neighbors tell a different story.
On the ground floor of Allen Wong's apartment building at 5659 Via Monte Drive, a window has been broken and covered with paper and red tape since May.
At 5733 Almaden Road, a property owned by Allen Wong has had a persistent roach problem, tenants told the property manager and others.
The manager gave them cockroach bombs to get rid of the insects, but the roaches remain.
Gilbert Wong declined to comment specifically on 5733 Almaden, but he indicated that the blame for insect problems lay with his tenants.
"Are they keeping the premises clean? Are they emptying all the refuse in the Dumpster?" he asked. "If you keep everything nice and clean, you won't attract these type of vermin on my properties."
Wong added that the problems were "normal stuff." He said, "You should have seen the neighborhood in 1995."
Sometimes tenants do not report problems, other landlords say, because they fear they will be evicted because they allow too many people to live in their apartment.
At 5689 Via Monte Drive, another owner was responsible for a leaky roof, missing shingles, a broken door, mildew, lack of paint and a "severe cockroach issue," according to a Feb. 22 code enforcement report.
An April 22 code report about 5731 Via Monte Drive said the unit lacked hot water.
The Wongs' properties at 5659, 5669 and 5697 Via Monte Drive have carports that face the fields at Pioneer High, and the alley and fields are separated by a black metal fence. People have been loitering and making trouble in the alley facing the fields, Wong said, and he said each property owner there -- including him -- should install motion-detecting lights to curb problems.
Neighbors said they have not noticed much improvement since Wong met with Pyle and police.
Wong, on the other hand, said the meeting "was very positive."
"This is one of the things I like about the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative," he said. "You get city staff and police to be proactive in a neighborhood that is blighted."