ELMIRA, NY (WENY) -- Tenants at Woodlawn Court, an income-based apartment complex in Elmira received notices on Friday, April 26th about NYSEG preparing to shut their utilities off. According to a spokesperson for the ownership management company, they were notified last week about the posted shutoff notices.

"[I] called the main office and asked them, what happened? They said, well, the costs just build up, the utility bills just got astronomical, and rent collections have not been great and it's been difficult to collect rents. [Some] people just don't want to pay," said Michael Abreu, spokesperson for Woodlawn Court's management company, All County Management.

While he's unsure of how many months worth of utility bills it would take to accumulate a bill worth nearly $393,000, Abreu said it's been at least a few. He said the rise in utility rates exceeded the ability to maintain the payment plan because it included an 'x' amount of dollars going towards arrearages and also paying the amounts going forward.

"When the amounts going forward just keep rising because utility costs are rising, it creates a perfect storm, especially for a property that's like this, where there [are] no increases in rents. It's a flat market so, the cost of things like utilities, insurance, things [like] that keep going up and rents are just flat. It's impossible to maintain that," said Abreu.

Abreu said the accounts payable team is reaching out to NYSEG to work something out. He added, "We are also going back to our lender to request funds that they're holding in reserves that are used for other things, but we're gonna try to get them to allow us to use it for this, which would cure most of the arrearages. We have a gentleman who handles a lot of our large sort of capital improvement projects, he's got a lot of relationships through NYSERDA and some of the other energy groups. I've already asked him to see if there [are] any programs out there that might be able to help us in offsetting or subsidizing some of the utilities [and] costs of this property. I'm sure this is not unique because most affordable housing properties right now are really being affected by the rise in interest, in insurance rates, interest rates, and utility costs."

NYSEG issued a statement to WENY News statement on the matter saying:

'Customers, which includes residents, businesses and landlords in arrears are provided multiple communications in advance of a disconnection. These contacts will include a bill, a reminder notice or a phone call, a termination notice with an additional payment period, an additional call, and then an in-person field visit to the residence to collect or shut off service.? Additionally, when multiple dwelling units and common areas in a building are served by one meter, notices are posted at the property and letters are mailed to give residents and public officials ample notice before services are disconnected. These measures are required by the New York State Public Service Commission and are intended to provide customers significant advance warning before any disconnection is performed. When past-due bills are taken care of, it benefits all customers, as the burden of unpaid balances is shared by all rate payers. NYSEG can make deferred payment agreements and other assistance available for eligible customers, which are available online or by calling us so we can find a solution together.'

Abreu said tenants don't have to worry about anything being turned off. 

"I know that it's unsettling when you get those notices and I do realize that from a tenant's perspective, I can certainly appreciate and understand their concerns. I know it doesn't give them peace of mind saying this, but I can assure them that this will be addressed and taken care of. The utilities will not be shut off on May 14th."

Moving forward, Abreu said hopefully at this point they can start keeping up with the current utilities, and as well as paying back what's owed. 

"So, we're paying this huge amount of money for the arrearages, plus a huge amount of money for the existing utility. With this, by using the funds, [it] will offset a significant portion of that. That'll get us back on track again and a fresh start," said Abreu.

Abreu also wanted to point out to tenants not to single out the on-site manager at Woodlawn Court. He said it's not her fault, as this is something upper management is working on. Abreu added, "To post her license plate number, the type of vehicle she drives, and where she lives is reckless and uncalled for. The utility issue is not something she has control over."

Abreu said there are 274 total apartments at Woodlawn Court and to date, there are about 190 to 200 of them that are occupied.

He said right now, tenants owe a total of about $53,000, which represents about 50% of the monthly rent invoiced. He claims during COVID, it was $159,000 outstanding, which 'made it extremely difficult to pay operating expenses.'