🔥 “THE ELEVATOR TO NOWHERE: Inside RPM Management’s Neglect, Broken Promises & the High Cost of ‘Affordable’ Housing in New Jersey” 🔥

June 19, 2026

By Echo News TV LLC — Investigative Desk

Concerns Regarding Mixed-Income Affordable Housing Units in the Context of Social Justice

To have this article read to you, please click the blue link: https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/?s=V36cd0d0ab8e7b49ab9406432871e7eddb.txt&t=Shared%20Text%20File%202026-06-19T21%3A27%3A36.533Z

KEANSBURG, NJ — At The Cove by the Bay, a six‑year‑old mixed‑income housing complex operated by RPM Management, tenants say the elevators have become more like decorative sculptures than functioning machinery. Children, seniors, disabled residents, and working parents are forced to climb multiple flights of stairs daily — not because of a natural disaster, not because of a power outage, but because management simply refuses to keep both elevators operating.

As one tenant put it, “The Cove by the Bay has both children plus senior citizens who have to walk down flights of stairs as a result of their inability to manage to keep both of the elevators operating is ridiculous.” And ridiculous is the polite version. https://www.echonewstv.com/post/press-release-echo-news-tv-llc-calls-for-federal-investigation-into-rpm-management-s-neglect-at-t

A Multi‑Million Dollar Mystery: How Does a Company Making

Money Hand-Over-Fist Fail at Basic Safety?

RPM Management’s own numbers raise eyebrows:

• Estimated annual revenue: $525,000

• Revenue per employee: $75,000

• Staff reduction: 85% in one year

• Team size: 1–10 employees

Yet despite these Elon Musk efficiencies, tenants report:

• Non-functioning elevators

• Fire escape issues

• Black mold in units

• Broken amenities

• Unfinished construction

And a swimming pool that was promised, funded, and never built. Plus, a laundry room that smells suspiciously like sewer or gray water?

As the collected data states: “The complex was supposed to have a pool that they never, never, never built despite being given the federal tax dollars to include a clean operating swimming pool.”

Picture Source:  Mackenzie Marco Unsplash

Where did the money go?

Why are basic services failing?

Why are tenants — especially Black American families — bearing the brunt of this neglect?

Psychology of Neglect: When Management Treats Tenants Like They’re Disposable

Neglect is not an accident. It is a strategy.

When a landlord allows a building to deteriorate, it creates:

Stress and fatigue (especially for seniors climbing stairs)

Fear and instability (“Will the elevator ever work again?”)

Shame and helplessness (“Why are we treated like we don’t matter?”)

Displacement pressure (“Maybe we should just move out…”)

This is a classic psychological tactic used in slumlord operations nationwide:

Make the living conditions unbearable so tenants leave voluntarily.

Echo News TV LLC Report States:

“Some tenants share that they are using the disrepair of apartment complexes to force American citizens out of the affordable housing units so that they can illegally sell the affordable housing units.”

If true, this is not just unethical — it is illegal.

Picture Source: Law Rep Wix Media Unsplash

Federal Law Is Clear: Landlords Receiving Federal Dollars

MUST Maintain Safe, Habitable Housing

1. Fair Housing Act (FHA)

Prohibits discrimination based on race, disability, family status, and more.

By Derrick Treadwell Unsplash

Failing to maintain elevators disproportionately harms:

• Seniors

• Disabled tenants

• Families with children

• This can constitute disparate impact discrimination.

2. HUD Housing Quality Standards (HQS)

Any property receiving federal subsidies must maintain:

• Working elevators

• Safe exits

  
  

• Mold‑free units

• Promised amenities (if included in funding agreements)

Picture Source:  Maria Di Lorenzo Unsplash

If RPM Management accepted federal dollars for amenities like a pool, and never built it, that may constitute:

• Fraud

  
  

• Misuse of federal funds

  
  

• Breach of contract

  
  

• Violation of HUD program rules

3. New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD)

New Jersey has some of the strongest tenant protections in the country.

Neglect that disproportionately harms Black American families — especially in mixed‑income housing — may violate LAD.

Underwater Swimming Picture Source: Wix Media Unsplash

The Pool That Never Appeared: A Case Study in Broken Promises

When a developer receives federal tax credits or HUD funding, amenities listed in the development plan become legally binding commitments.

If the pool was funded but never built, tenants can argue:

1. Breach of the Land Use Agreement

2. Violation of the Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) compliance rules

3. Failure to deliver federally funded amenities

4. This is not a “nice to have.”

5. It is a legal obligation.

Construction Corner-Cutting: When Cheap Labor Creates Expensive Problems

“They chose to utilize non-American workforces… insourced from Mexico… who have done a terrible job… That’s why these buildings have black mold and have only been operating for six years.”

Picture Source: example of black mold that happens in very old homes & apartment buildings. Wix Media

Regardless of nationality, unlicensed or undertrained labor leads to:

- ✓ Mold

- ✓ Structural issues

- ✓ Electrical hazards

- ✓ Failing elevators

- ✓ Long-term safety risks

If RPM or other mixed-income construction hired workers who were not properly certified, that is a code violation and a liability issue.

SAMPLE LEGAL TEMPLATE TENANTS CAN USE (HUD + COURT)

Below is a legally appropriate, court‑ready complaint paragraph

that tenants may include in filings:

Sample Legal Complaint Language

The Bad Dream Part 1 & 2: An American Prophecy: Brittingham-Edmond, Karen: 9798278385844: Amazon.com: Books

“I am filing this complaint because RPM Management, the operator of The Cove by the Bay in Keansburg, NJ, has failed to maintain safe and habitable living conditions as required under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601), HUD Housing Quality Standards (24 CFR § 982.401), and New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq.).

The property has had non-functioning elevators for extended periods, creating unsafe conditions for seniors, disabled residents, and families with children. Additionally, RPM Management failed to construct the promised amenities, including a federally funded swimming pool, and has allowed hazardous conditions, such as mold and structural deterioration, to persist.

These failures constitute discrimination through disparate impact, breach of federally funded development obligations, and violation of state and federal housing codes. I request immediate investigation, enforcement, and corrective action. ”

Where Tenants Can File Complaints

Picture Source: Charlota Blunarova Unsplash

HUD Fair Housing Complaint Portal

https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint (hud.gov in Bing)

New Jersey Division on Civil Rights

https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-on-civil-rights-home/ (njoag.gov in Bing)

New Jersey Attorney General – Consumer Affairs

https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/

Keansburg Housing Authority

Local enforcement for code violations.

Why This Matters for Black American Families

According to the relaunched Echo:

“Black citizen families + children have faced long-term disenfranchisement… including the manipulation of affordable units and the shit needs to stop!” https://www.echonewstv.com/post/echo-news-tv-advocacy-report-stolen-homes-stolen-peace-the-psychological-toll-of-new-jersey-s-aff

Affordable housing was supposed to be a bridge — not a trap.

When landlords exploit federal programs, they deepen:

• Wealth gaps

• Health disparities

• Housing insecurity

• Generational instability

And yes — reparations would have prevented much of this.

But until that day comes, tenants deserve justice, safety, and dignity right now."

Echo News TV LLC’s Message to Tenants

You are not imagining things.

You are not overreacting.

You are not powerless.

Your voices matter.

Your complaints are valid.

And help is on the way.

This report is not the end — it is the beginning of accountability.

https://www.echonewstv.com/contact

📚 References (APA 7th Edition)

American Bar Association. (2024). Source of income discrimination and fair housing enforcement. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/

Human Rights Research. (2024). Affordable housing and human rights: Global inequities in access. Retrieved from https://www.humanrightsresearch.org/

National League of Cities. (2023). Credit barriers and housing inequality in U.S. cities. Retrieved from https://www.nlc.org/

New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. (2025, April). Attorney General files antitrust lawsuit against RealPage and major landlords for rent‑setting collusion. Retrieved from https://www.njoag.gov/

New Jersey Monitor. (2023). Lawsuit targets landlords for refusing Section 8 voucher holders in Newark and Jersey City. Retrieved from https://newjerseymonitor.com/

Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. (2024). District files RICO lawsuit against Razjooyan family for slumlord practices. Retrieved from https://oag.dc.gov/

The Washington Informer. (2024). D.C. slumlord empire exposed: $16 million in housing fraud uncovered. Retrieved from https://www.washingtoninformer.com/

WJLA News. (2024). Thousands of housing code violations found in D.C. affordable housing units. Retrieved from https://wjla.com/

TIME Magazine. (2023). Housing voucher waitlists and the crisis of limited supply. Retrieved from https://time.com/

WashU Source. (2023). Racial and economic segregation in subsidized housing markets. Retrieved from https://source.wustl.edu/