Groton ― A Brooklyn, N.Y.-based real estate company is sending out notices to people in duplexes on Ivy Court and in units at the Fieldside Apartments threatening them with eviction after it purchased rental property in town in multimillion-dollar transactions over the past two years.

It’s unclear exactly how many people are being threatened, but Groton Town Mayor Rachael Franco said during a City Council meeting last week that 25 residences on Ivy Court near Midway Oval and 60 units at the Fieldside Apartments off Grove Avenue just north of Interstate 95 may be affected. The Ivy Court properties were sold early this year in two batches for a total of more than $6.3 million, while Fieldside changed hands two years ago in another $6.6 million transaction.

About two dozen Ivy Court tenants meeting Thursday with state legislators and other politicians and activists at the Thrive 55+ Active Living Center were furious, saying their previous landlord, Fort Hill Development LLC, had not warned them of the impending change of ownership that occurred in February, nor did it tell them the new company, doing business as Up Realty, would be giving them 30-day notices to vacate.

“We believe they’re just trying to get us out to renovate and charge more,” said Shelley Evans, a 39-year-old single mother of four who spoke by phone before the meeting. She is finding it impossible to find another three-bedroom apartment at the $1,250-a-month rate she now pays.

“Investment groups are buying up a lot of property in Connecticut,” said Ivy Court tenant Greg Edwards, who is coordinating residents to fight their possible evictions. “Now it has hit Groton.”

State Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, and state Rep. Aundré Bumgardner, D-Groton, who addressed tenants’ concerns at the former Groton Senior Center now known at Thrive 55+, said they along with state Rep. Christine Conley, D-Groton, met with state Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno on Friday to try to gain state support for tenants in Groton at risk of eviction.

“We heard loud and clear that nobody should move,” Bumgardner said. “That’s a clear indication that the law, to an extent, is on their side.“

Bumgardner, in a previous phone call, said he also has notified the state attorney general’s office about what he considered to be “abusive” business tactics by Up Realty.

A tally taken Thursday among tenants who appeared at the meeting showed about a dozen had already received notices to quit their premises, the first step in what could end up as an eviction if they don’t leave voluntarily. Others said they had not yet received a notice but were afraid they might in the near future and would have nowhere to go. Some of the Ivy Court residents had lived there for a decade or more.

“This was an overwhelming turnout,” Bumgardner said afterward about the 90-minute tenant meeting in which renters expressed frustration at many of their interactions with Up Realty personnel. “It just goes to show the residents are extremely scared of what could happen to them over the next few days.”

Up Realty, owned by Gershon Eichorn of Brooklyn, N.Y., was once named among the top ten worst landlords on a New York City watchlist provided annually by NYC.gov, and it has an F rating from the Better Business Bureau, with 12 complaints alleging the company didn’t return security deposits, tried to rent an unlivable apartment and didn’t address concerns about lack of hot water, among other issues. Comments on the Up Realty Facebook page are also highly critical.

A message left Friday at an Up Realty phone number in East Hartford was not returned, nor was a LinkedIn message to the company’s chief executive sent a day earlier. In the past, the company has said similar eviction notices that have occurred after they bought apartment buildings in Connecticut were necessary to make improvements to the spaces.

It is unclear what, if any, plans Up Realty has for their properties. Politicians speculated it could include improvements to the current buildings or might involve knocking down all the structures and building anew.

Somers said she was unsure what could be done about the evictions legally, but vowed to intervene to get extensions on the 30-day window some tenants have been given to vacate, or perhaps to find help to pay for higher rents or the cost of moving.

“We can’t tell a private owner what to do, but we can talk to them about it,” she said, adding later: “We will do everything we can to make sure we’re a thorn in their side.”

“We’re hopeful to get an extension,” tenant Evans, a food service worker at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, said in a phone interview. “We should have at least a 60- or 90-day period.”

Edwards, the tenant leader, said he believes Fort Hill Development strategically stopped offering yearlong leases to tenants and started letting them go month to month in anticipation of its sale of the Ivy Court properties to two limited liability firms tied to Up Realty. This allowed the new owners to legally evict tenants since they were no longer tied to a lease, he said.

“We got no notice that they were even negotiating to sell the property,” Edwards said of Fort Hill.

Several of the tenants said they were being accused of being behind on their rent as an excuse for the eviction, even though they claimed to be current. Edwards said in some cases he believes the landlords were purposely not cashing tenants’ checks on time, while others recounted stories of Up Realty “losing” payments or claiming to have never received them.

“It’s a business now,” Edwards said in a phone interview. “They don’t want to get to know you ... they don’t want any contact with you.”

“We need to organize,” said Town Councilor Portia Bordelon, who stepped out of a town meeting to address the tenants. “We should protest. We should stand outside with our signs, ‘Not Our Home.’ ... We’re getting maxed out of the area.”

Bumgardner said the situation at Ivy Court is a perfect example of why the state needs to pass a bill to require so-called “just-cause evictions” that would protect tenants who are paying their monthly rent on time from being forced out of their residences. He said the law currently applies only to those over 62 years old or to people with disabilities or their families.

Luke Melonakos-Harrison, political director of the Connecticut Tenants Union, agreed that legislation is needed to stop what has become a “common business practice” of evicting people without cause to make shoddy repairs and then hike rents.

State Rep. Christine Conley, D-Groton, in a phone interview Wednesday suggested that tenants with legal questions should call 1-800-559-1565 or go to www.evictionhelp.ct.org She added that Connecticut Legal Services provides help to residents at their offices in New London at 125 Eugene O'Neill Drive (or call 860-447-0323).

“It’s very stressful for tenants,” Conley added, especially those with children who may be in school.

Schools Superintendent Susan Austin said in a note read at Thursday’s meeting that she would ensure any family wishing to have their kids remain in Groton schools through the rest of the academic year would be able to do so.

“People that live there, you know, we would really like to help you the best we can,” Mayor Franco said during a recorded Town Council meeting Tuesday. “This shows me that housing is of the utmost importance.”

“We need to build affordable housing all over Groton, and Mystic needs it too,” said Bordelon, addressing the tenants. “There’s nowhere to go. These people want to stay in Groton.”

Holly Doran posted on the Groton Community Forum Facebook page her notice to vacate an apartment at 15 Fieldside Drive. The notice was dated March 8 and it said Doran would have to leave by April 30. Doran could not be reached to comment, and no one from the apartment complex appeared at Thursday’s tenant meeting to comment on how many people there might be affected.

Trina Charles, executive director of Step Up New London, told the crowd of about 45 Thursday at the senior center that this wasn’t the first time companies had taken similar tactics to rid themselves of low-paying tenants when they wanted to raise rents dramatically. She said a similar event occurred after the Phoenix Apartments on Long Hill Road in Groton were sold four years ago (for $10.5 million), and another at the Sutton Place Apartments on Brandegee Avenue.

“I’m very concerned about the process,” said Bordelon. “It’s hard to just pack up and relocate ... in a market that’s very hard right now.”

Somers suggested that people look into all the land that is being set aside as open space in Groton. Much of that space, she said, could be used for new housing projects in town.

l.howard@theday.com