I used to work at Alloy Condo managed by Barkan in Somerville. Everyone's complaints on here about Barkan's is true. Me and my coworkers witnessed the alleged illegal practices below by Barkan and a small group of trustees/unit owners, especially our managers Ed and Rose. They mistreated minorities, particularly hispanics, latinos and blacks. These folks were refused service, turned away, treated differently or harassed. Some were confronted and told its a luxury property for a particular type of people and they're not welcome there. Residents or guests who we felt had some type of disability or defect were also refused service, treated with hostility and sometimes violence. Lgbtq guests were mistreated the same way. We were told to turn away potential renters/buyers who receive public assistance, lie to them we don't any vacancies or tell them we no longer accept section 8 or any public assistance. If anyone complained we were told to lie about them or write false reports about them. When that doesn't work they had lawyers intimidate and threaten these victims against using their rights or reporting to the government. One of the more serious cases involved our black tenant who went by Dave. We were surprised he lives there. He was clearly autistic, shy, soft spoken and respectful to everyone. They told us to mistreat and fear him because of negative stereotypes they had toward his disability and racial appearance. They excluded him from activities we offered to other residents, refused him our services and threatened to have him arrested if he used common areas like the social lounge, public restrooms and other facilities in the building everyone else were allowed to use. They monitored his private activity, built a dossier on him with photos and personal details, and shared information about him with third parties. They told us to threaten to call police to intimidate or arrest him whenever he tried asking us for basic assistance or accommodations for his disability. We were told they didn't want him living in the neighborhood. They said it was because his racial appearance made them uncomfortable and his request for disability accommodations were considered a misconduct, an annoyance, a violation of his lease and a harassment. They spread false rumors in the community against this tenant and it made people hostile or violent towards him. It was hard to watch. We were afraid to speak up against what they were doing to that tenant because Barkan threatened us with retaliation, negative performance reviews, false write ups or termination. The poor kid was routinely harassed and was assaulted a couple of times. The local police wouldn't help him because of the preferential treatment we received and our relationship with officers who automatically went with whatever we told them. What concerned me most is they told us to find something bogus they can use to arrest the tenant or get him out of the neighborhood. We saw Barkan, some trustees and the tenant's unit owner jointly do things just to intimidate, harass and humiliate him. They intentionally cause him unnecessary distress and embarrassment. One example was routinely not allowing him to enter the property and requesting he show ID to enter even though we weren't asking other residents for ID. Me and some coworkers witnessed them make foul comments about his disability, race and section 8 voucher. They routinely threw his disability accommodation requests in the trash and told us to ignore him. They put that poor kid through hell. We later we learned he tried to take his own life because of what they put him through. I hope he moves out before something really bad happens to him there. read more

Zero stars is more like it. I'm telling you what it is. Barkan owns Hamilton park apartments in Norwich ct. The worst management ever and forever! The maintenance enters my apartment illegally many times and he still has his job. There is a woman prostituting children that lives here. Drug dealers come and go. Neighbors begging for free rides, food, clothes or even drugs. The office manager harasses me, intimidates, and threatens me not to mention interrogates me about my own complaints. Famous for quarter ass jobs done. This place is not right!!!!! I am now told from some good sources who do not even live here that this housing complex is the worst in norwich. That is the truth! I made several complaints this fall about the heat needing to be turned on and i was told it was not an emergency to turn it on. Ridiculous. The doors have gaps on the bottom to let all the cold air in. So much for free heat. If you need to get in your house because you forgot your key then all you need to open your door is some type of card! How terribly unsafe is that for a housing complex for children and parents. Not to mention the rottwielier dog off the leash roaming around. You really can hear someone sneezing on the other side of the wall the walls are so thin. This place is a joke. They call these crap apartments actual townhouses. I have looked at actual townhouses that are beautiful and up to date. The worst thing about this place is the rude and unprofessional manager and the residents who let their very young children wander into the woods and parking lots. I have even over heard a couple of Norwich police officers saying this place has horrible management that even they are harrassed. The police do not even want to show up here because there are continuous fights and disturbances that go on in this area. On a more positive note I am out of here for good! Do not learn the hard way! Living through this management is the worse mistake. If you are extra curious go pick up a police log of adelaide road in norwich and just see what you will find: murder,wanted persons,theft, etc. Just giving a statement and dont worry there is much more to talk about! read more

A Jekyll and Hyde company: if you are doing business with them, you get Dr. Jekyll, and deal with eager to please, seemingly competent individuals. if you are merely a resident unfortunate enough to live in a property they manage, but with no *real* power to affect their earnings (even if you are a member of your condo or coop's board), you get Mr..Hyde: you will be misled, price-gouged, treated at best rudely, and forced to shoulder the burdens resulting from their chronically-poor judgment - and I am being charitable there, giving them the benefit of the doubt; the terrible hiring/contract choices and management style might be the products of perfectly good judgment, used to exploit every possible source of financial benefit to Barkan, regardless of the scale of potential harm to properties and residents. read more

It doesn't matter how pleasant or generous (Christmas time tips) you are to the staff...they knife you in the back and diss you at every opportunity; they seem to believe the residents work for the staff, rather than the other way around. The staff at 16 Harcourt Street were in the habit of reporting any resident conversations they overheard to the property manager, who then in turn took residents (and I'm talking SHAREHOLDERS) to task for any opinions the property manager disliked. Do not buy into this property - the staff have forgotten their place. They've all been in their jobs way too long, and have an entrenched and entitled attitude! read more

I've worked for Barken Mtg, for several years. and it didn't take long to figure out that Barkan Mtg out of Newton Ma. is a management company that needs to be managed, "case in point". everyone is new and inexperienced, that equals to high turnover with employees, there's NO HR, dept. every quoted and everything is outsource, when the VP quits, that's speaks for it self and harsh property managers run the staff till they leave. The pay was the worse I've every seen .12 per hour raise, is insulting. This is how they push people out. I would never recommend having any ties to this company. read more

Very bad management company with unethical practices. One of the General managers "Evan Dimmock" has a tainted reputation for abusive management practices and costing his employers big money in harassment lawsuits. If you asses all the other reviews they all send a consistent message about this company. read more

If I could I would give negative ten stars. I use to live in a building in Cambridge managed by this company. They are the scum of the earth. Horrible deseptive people. They are crooks. The woman who runs the building is a horrible person. I can't even begin the crap they did. read more

Awful. The. Worst. Employees. Don't. Care. Batman. Don't. Care. Do. Not. Renew. Your. Contract. With. This. Lowlife. Company..

Great management company, highly recommend!