Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I recently moved out of an apartment at ** ******* Street, Rochester, NY 14612 on May 28, 2022. The landlord did a walk through move out inspection on Friday 6/3/2022 and used the most offensive, vulgar, language towards me during the moveout inspection. The apartment was left in exceptional condition upon moveout. Photos and a video were taken of the apartment upon moveout by myself, so that I would have proof of the condition of the apartment upon move out. The landlord stated that he was going to hire a cleaning person to come in and clean the bathroom vanity drawers, that were unfortunately missed being wiped down by myself prior to moveout, underneath the vanity was completely cleaned. The bedroom blind was broken and hanging sideways during our moveout inspection, it was not like that when I had moved out. I lived in the apartment for 5 1/2 years. Craig Ristuccia is a "slumlord landlord" who has never fixed anything in the apartment the whole time I resided there. I have had to hire someone every time something needed repair or was not working, because "landlord" does not respond to tenant work requests at all. This man treats his tenants horribly and is the worst "landlord" that I have ever dealt with in my 33 years of being a renter.

  Business response

  06/15/2022

  We received a complaint via mail about a past tenant’s security deposit. This tenant's name is ****** ******* and she filed a complaint against Craig Ristuccia, the owner of 56 Stutson Street Apartments, as well as **** **; a very respected and cherished local restaurant as well as many commercial properties in our Charlotte community. ****** had been renting a very nice, updated apartment from Craig Ristuccia, owner of 56 Stutson St for 5 and a half years. She was a family friend and Craig had agreed to help her out in a situation by renting at a very low rate of only $700 a month. In 5 years, he had never attempted to raise the rent or disturb Ms. *******. Last year, he attempted to raise the rent to $750, a very reasonable and low-cost price considering the inflation rates we have incurred over the last several years. Ms. ******* was not cooperative and said it was illegal for rent to be raised any higher than 5%, so Craig and Ms. ******* agreed on $735. It is clear Ms. ******* has a personal dislike for Mr. Ristuccia. She went as far as to call the health department over a small mishap on behalf of the City of Rochester sanitation department. We use the city of Rochester dumpster service, and they are emptied weekly on Mondays, they were not picked up one Monday. The dumpsters are located in between **** ** restaurant and Stutson St apartments. The following day Ms. ******* called the health department to file a complaint. When the health inspector arrived Thursday the dumpsters had already been cleared. The health department inspector has had a good relationship with us over the last 12 years since opening and informed us it was in fact the tenant in apt ** who filed a complaint, Ms. *******. In Ms. *******’s complaint of having to hire someone every time she needed something repaired, I believe she is referring to the time her toilet was running. You can imagine with many commercial buildings, a restaurant, and multiple rental properties, we are not lacking the maintenance staff and ability to address issues are they occur and are more than willing to resolve any maintenance for our renters right away. Mr. Ristuccia had been informed by Ms. ******* he nor his staff was allowed to enter the apartment unless she was present. They were trying to arrange a time that worked with both of their work schedules and maintenance staff. However, during this time, Ms. ******* took it upon herself to hire a plumber and bill Mr. Ristuccia, which he paid for by taking it off her rent. In the future she was asked to contact him for maintenance issues. As for the condition Ms. ******* left the apartment in, I’ve attached photos for your viewing. I’ve also attached photos of what the apartment looks like typically as we’ve already rented it out. Mr. Ristuccia was not available to do the final walkthrough with Ms. ******* when she requested because it was Memorial Day weekend, and he was not available. Not only were the bathroom vanity drawers not cleaned out but also the kitchen drawers and cabinets as well. The blinds were also left broken. A cleaner has been hired to get the apartment ready for a new renter. Mr. Ristuccia takes great pride in how he runs his business and his reputation in this community. To be labeled as a “slumlord” is incredibly insulting and frankly a slander to his name. He prides himself on being a respectable landlord, business owner and positive member of the community. ****** ******* took advantage of his generosity for many years and clearly doesn’t respect or like Mr. Ristuccia. Plain and Simple. Thank you for your time and please let me know if you have any questions going forward, Devan G***** Executive Assistant CR Venues 

  Business response

  06/28/2022

  Attached are photos as well as a letter to the previous tenant ****** regarding her security deposit. We mailed out her check today as well as photos of the apartment, and copies of checks paid to maintenance and the cleaners for her reference. If you need any copies of the checks please let me know and I can provide those to you as well. Thank you and have a great day, Devan G***** Executive Assistant CR Venues 

  Customer response

  06/29/2022

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. This is absolutely unbelievable, $70.00 to clean bathroom vanity drawers, Molding and binding repairs $125.00 and drywall & Painting $325.00.  The bathroom had not been painted in 5 1/2 years, how can someone be charged for wearing of the paint by the corner of the shower.  A blind in the bedroom that was not broken until Craig Ristuccia yanked on the blind string during moveout and broke the blind. Scratches on the wall behind where the dryer was in the bedroom, that is normal wear and tear, how can someone be charged for normal wear and tear???  Drywall and painting charges $325.00, how am I paying for the apartment to be repainted (Drywall repairs) what drywall repairs??, this is something that would have been standard to prpearing the apartment for a new renter. This is not OK to take advantage of a person with false claims and photos Craig Ristuccia and withhold returning my security deposit. This is Craig Ristuccia's word against mine and because he has money, he can railroad people?? Regards, ****** *******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩