Residents Ripped Off By Landlord In Kensington Seek Help From City Council
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – City Council this past week heard horror stories from Kensington residents, whose landlord has defaulted on hundreds of mortgages and left them at risk of eviction.
Witness after witness told a City Council hearing that landlord Robert Coyle promised them rent-to-own deals on properties in disrepair. Many spent their own money to fix the homes up, only to learn that Coyle had defaulted on the mortgages and the properties were at risk of foreclosure.
Leslie Reyes said she and her parents had three such properties and she tearfully vowed to fight on, ""I'm working hard day and night, just to put everything into the house that I want as mine. And I know its mine to the end, because I'm going to still work hard to the end for this house to be mine. It's hard for us.'
The havoc wreaked by the Coyle foreclosures were first reported in the Daily News, prompting Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez to call the hearing.
She said she hopes the city can ultimately acquire the properties and then help the residents not only remain but eventually own. Coyle did not attend the hearing.
Reported By Mike Dunn, KYW Newsradio.
