A Burlington landlord locked in a high-profile battle with the city has gone on the offensive.
Mayor Miro Weinberger’s administration is pursuing criminal charges against Soon Kwon, who has accrued — and challenged — a host of code violations in his apartments. The Burlington Free Press has documented the ongoing feud for many months, reporting that Kwon’s alleged violations include faulty smoke alarms and fire escapes and the presence of mold in his rental units.
The already contentious case took a bizarre turn Wednesday evening.
On the eve of his arraignment, Kwon, who contends that code enforcement director Bill Ward has unfairly penalized him for “petty cosmetic issues,” attempted to give city officials a taste of their own medicine.
His lawyer, Will Towle, emailed to Seven Days the results of an “inspection” of Burlington City Hall carried out by “agents of Soon Kwon.”
The report is addressed to Weinberger and consists of 18 photos that document peeling paint, cracked drywall, chipped tiles and more. The not-quite-centenarian city hall hosts the mayor’s office and several other city departments.
In an accompanying press release, Towle outlined the purpose of the stunt: “Obviously, we are trying to make a point. Code Enforcement has forgotten its job is building safety, not trivial cosmetic issues. Code Enforcement has issued violations to Mr. Kwon for the same minor cosmetic issues readily visible in city hall.”
Reached by phone Wednesday, Weinberger was not amused. “I see this press release as an attempt to trivialize what the city believes have been very serious violations.”
The mayor said the city is pursuing charges against Kwon because “We believe he has repeatedly put his tenants at bodily risk.”
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FINALLY! Our daughter Schuyler and her roommates are the unfortunate tenants in one of Soon Kwon’s apartments! Our daughters bedroom was declared “Unfit for Habitation” by Code Enforcement due to faulty electrical wiring that was so dangerous that she was unable to enter her room! It is a miracle that Sky was not electrocuted! This is AFTER the light fixture in the kitchen ceiling (code violation documented) fell…narrowly missing our daughter. A bathroom that has NEVER functioned. No working heat in her and another roommates two bedrooms. The list goes on and on. The Code Enforcement Division has documented all these violations and more since SEPTEMBER. This man has harassed these young women repeatedly. He has demanded rent (escrowed with an attorney) REFUSED to repair violations, and brought ‘space heaters’ declaring that was “good enough.” The front door had NO LOCK or door handle for 8 months! Please hold this man accountable for his blatant disregard for the Law! We owe many thanks to The Code Enforcement Division of Burlington and to Zach Despart a journalist with The Burlington Free Press.
Maybe if people would just refuse to rent from this dirt bag and on top of that have the city condemn every damned one of his properties he would get the message. It has gone on too long. What the hell is the city waiting for. Someone to get killed in one of these holes.
People don’t live in City Hall. Well, except the first floor bathrooms but officially, no one resides in City Hall.
My experience indicates the city is very very “cozy” with most of the multitude of slumlords in the city and loathe to strictly enforce the codes. So, to see them actually going after this guy means he must be a real piece of dreck. Hit him where it hurts! In his pocketbook.
Is he a US citizen or can we deport him?
??