Tenants Rage At Bloomfield Landlord Over Evictions, ‘Harassment’

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A group of fed-up tenants at an apartment building in Bloomfield are accusing their landlord of harassing them, cutting off their power and water, carrying out wrongful evictions and neglecting crucial repairs.

The kicker? He’s not even supposed to be renting out the building in the first place, they claim.

Several tenants at 34 Cross Street in Bloomfield recently reached out to Patch, saying that they’ve hit the limit with their landlord, Alex Pavlovsky. In a joint statement, they accused him of refusing to maintain the property – which apparently isn't legal to rent.

“In September 2023, we were informed by the former property manager … that the property was in foreclosure and that Mr. Pavlovsky does not have a certification of occupancy for the building,” they wrote. “As we looked more into our tenancy, we confirmed that Mr. Pavlovsky does not have a certificate of occupancy for the building and the building is not up to code.”

After confronting Pavlovsky with their concerns about “illegal renting,” he allegedly began to retaliate with eviction filings. He also began cutting off power to individual and common areas and shutting off their water, the tenants said.

“He has gone to the point of even stealing PSE&G meters from the building, leaving us without power for days,” they continued. “This rash behavior has resulted in live wires in our basement. He has even sent us disgusting texts and threats.”

Patch reached out to Pavlovsky with multiple emails and a phone call seeking comment about 34 Cross Street. We also reached out to the Bloomfield mayor’s office and township administrator, getting no replies in either case. We will update this article with any statement we receive.

TENANTS: ‘WE’RE LIVING IN SLUM-LIKE CONDITIONS’

According to the tenants at 34 Cross Street, they’ve been trying to hit Pavlovsky where it hurts: his wallet.

“Some of us have chosen to withhold rent – advice given to us from Bloomfield township detectives, Bloomfield township building authorities, Bloomfield township police and lawyers until he proves his tenancy legal,” they wrote.

“Some tenants continue to pay, but he is retaliating against all of us, which is unfair and illegal,” they added.

Tenants say they’ve filed several police reports and informed township officials about the situation – including their landlord’s attempts to sabotage their building (see the police reports below, or view them online here).

“At this point, we have just been advised to get a lawyer and to call the police whenever anyone is trespassing,” they wrote.

According to documentation, that’s exactly what they’ve been doing.

On Oct. 17, a Bloomfield police officer responded to 34 Cross Street to find all of the building’s tenants standing outside. According to his report:

“I spoke with the callers and spoke with Mrs. Jamie Lewis who stated that their landlord (Alex Pavlovsky) shut off their water and is threatening to evict all tenants from the building. I asked Mrs. Lewis if anything happened that Mr. Pavlovsky would shut off the water. Mrs. Lewis stated that they recently confronted Mr. Pavlovsky about not having a legal license for the building and to be renting it out to tenants. At this time, this is when Mrs. Lewis stated that she started to receive threatening text messages from Mr. Pavlovsky about evicting her and all the tenants if they didn't pay their rent. Mrs. Lewis stated that this month all the tenants would all not pay rent to try and have Mr. Pavlovsky listen to their requests as tenants. By doing so they stated that Mr. Pavlovsky had someone come in and shut off their water to the whole building.”

The police officer continued:

“Ms. Lewis and all the tenants stated they are nervous that something bad may happen to them. Mr. Pavlovsky is now not answering any phone calls from any of the tenants. At this time, one of the tenants was able to go to the basement of the building and turn the water back on for all the tenants in the building. Mrs. Lewis and the rest of the tenants were advised that a report would be made and forwarded to town hall for further investigation.”

‘RENT SHOULD COME WITH RESPECT’

Despite their efforts to get Bloomfield township involved, things continue to go downhill at 34 Cross Street, tenants say.

“We will soon be living in slum-like conditions due to failed/unfinished repairs and damages/vandalism done out of his anger when confronted,” they told Patch.

“Now we are a part of an illegal tenancy and may have to move in the near future – without anywhere to go,” they continued. “[Pavlovsky] continues to send fake handy men to barricade basement doors, turn off power, cut off water and even steal mail sent from Pride Funding LLC’s (the loan/mortgage lender) lawyer for the building, who has asked us to redirect rents to them.”

Shanice Harris – who moved to 34 Cross Street in June 2022 – is among the people speaking out.

Harris said she’s been paying $1,600 per month in rent: about $25,000 in total since she’s moved in. And she’s well aware that “rent holds no equity.”

But it should come with respect, she’s quick to add.

According to Harris, Pavlovsky threatened to evict her in October, later following through with eviction papers. And if she’s forced to leave the property, she has no clue where she’ll go next.

“Imagine worrying every day about the state of your living arrangement, while constantly being bullied for repair requests and asking simple questions,” Harris said. “I’ve seen tenants cry and lose sleep – which affects us all. We are scared and his physical vandalism to the property amplifies our fear.”

Harris, who works from home, said she’s having a hard time sleeping and concentrating due to the ongoing shoving match with Pavlovsky.

“He has lied to tenants about court rulings, leases, lease renewals, repairs, rent payments, appliances, water shut offs and the list goes on,” she told Patch. “He didn't even notify us about the foreclosure – a former associate of his did. All of this during the holiday season.”

Jaime Lewis, who has been living in the building since March, is currently paying $1,550 per month in rent. And like Harris – if forced to leave the property – she doesn’t have another option.

“I would have to scurry to find a clean, well-managed apartment to move into or seek assistance from the state,” Lewis said, which could take months, if not years.

“I’ve worked so hard to get back on my feet over the last few years, so this situation is extremely disheartening,” she said.

According to Lewis, the situation is impacting her mental and physical health.

“Since I suffer from generalized anxiety disorder, I've been having severe anxiety attacks and sleepless nights,” she said. “My blood pressure has been through the roof (167/110). I now have to monitor it daily because of the amount of stress this has caused me.”

Lewis said she and her boyfriend have been getting “harassing” text messages from their landlord, which include threats of eviction, threats to ruin their credit, and threats to have their wages garnished.

“I know he doesn't have any grounds to evict me or to garnish my wages, but the messages are extremely intimidating and unnecessary,” she said.

“At some point, Mr. Pavlovsky has to be held accountable for his hurtful and deliberate actions,” Lewis urged. “His actions are not normal, and he shouldn't be allowed to own anything in the state of New Jersey.”

Tenants at 34 Cross Street have pointed out that Pavlovsky has faced similar allegations of mismanagement in another North Jersey town.

In 2021, the mayor of Cranford announced that a township violation was issued to Pavlovsky – the owner of 24 South Avenue West – after plywood signs with messages of “danger” and “don't walk in front” were put on the façade of the building. In addition, the town’s fire inspector was unable to get into the building for regular inspection and issued another violation.

Pavlovsky had sought to build 75 units of housing on the property. However, the application was eventually dismissed due to an escrow deficiency, TAPinto Cranford reported.

According to an online Essex County database, a company associated with Pavlovsky also owns another property in Bloomfield at 144 Orange Street.

34 CROSS STREET: A BRIEF HISTORY

According to property records, the building at 34 Cross Street in Bloomfield was constructed in 1924. It sold in 2011 for $100 as part of a foreclosure sale held by the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, and traded hands again in 2013 for the nominal sum of $1.

The property was purchased for $535,000 in 2019 by its current owner, Connecticut Preservations Inc. of Matawan, which lists Pavlovsky as its registered agent.

The current total assessed value of 34 Cross Street is $1.21 million.

In June 2019, the Bloomfield Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a site plan to build 14 apartments at 34 Cross Street, citing Pavlovsky as the applicant/owner.

Records show that the property has failed several inspections from town code officials since 2020. Other times, inspectors weren’t able to gain access to the building, according to township documents obtained via an Open Public Records Act request (view the documents online here).

The records show that Bloomfield township code officials notified the owner that construction work was taking place at the building without a permit in June 2022. Code officials also noted that the owner was “occupying a building without a certificate of occupancy.”

In November 2022, mortgage lender Pride Funding LLC initiated foreclosure proceedings against Connecticut Preservations and Pavlovsky, claiming that the company defaulted on its loans. The case dragged on until June 2023, when a foreclosure judgment notice was finalized.

A foreclosure sale is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2024.

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