Overdue Rent Notices Persist for On-Campus Residents
Photo Courtesy of Mandie-Beth Chau
Students living in the Albee on-campus housing have continued to receive statements concerning The King’s College’s overdue rent, with many citing a 14-day deadline.
On-campus residents received letters in the mail from Kucker Marino Winiarsky & Bittens, a debt collector on behalf of the Albee residences concerning the overdue rent on Thursday, Feb. 23.
Students then received notices from Spencer Albee Equities, the building management, on Friday, Feb. 24. These stated that the leaseholder (King’s) has 14 days from Feb. 21 to pay their rent.
“There’s been no communication about when [King’s] is going to pay,” said the building owner and landlord in an interview with the Empire State Tribune.
The landlord further explained that he has attempted to negotiate with King’s but has not received any response or payment for 4-5 weeks. He requested that King’s “pay something until they can pay it all,” but according to him, King’s has failed to do that.
Many students said the balance due on the most recent notices is slightly lower than the initial notice. The Empire State Tribune was unable to confirm the reason for the lower amount with King’s or the landlord.
“I’ve tried to reach out to the CEO and COO [of King’s], and they’ve said nothing,” the landlord said.
Regardless, King’s stated in an email that they have been in communication with building management to resolve the issue.
The letter from the debt collector says that the tenant has until Apr. 7 to dispute the debt or pay the outstanding balance. 14 days from Feb. 21 is during midterms week and before spring break.
The unidentified man who passed out the building notices on Friday and again on Monday, Feb. 27, asked students for their names and ages. King’s sent out an email later on Friday advising students to withhold their personal information and instead direct any questions to the college. Many students gave their personal information, and those who directed the man to the college were still directly asked for personal details.
“A rather unpleasant person knocked on the door, and my roommate answered. The guy demanded his name and he said he was uncomfortable sharing it, but told him that The King’s College is the leaseholder,” Joshua Story, a junior in the House of C. S. Lewis said. “The guy continued to insist that he must have my roommate’s name, to which he continued to express his discomfort. I edged in and offered him my name, at which point he glared at us and made a point of both writing down and saying aloud, ‘Alright then, it’s John Doe, Male, Black,’ before moving on in a bit of a huff.”
Some students received a notice from the building management in their mailboxes on Monday, Feb. 27, which also stated roughly the same sentiments as the other letters.
King’s did not address the 14-day notice at the Community Update on Monday, Feb. 27, nor did they respond to the EST’s request for comment.
Mandie-Beth Chau is the Campus Editor at the Empire State Tribune. She is a freshman studying Journalism, Culture and Society.