Trenton mayoral candidate Darren Green finds new home after eviction
TRENTON » City mayoral candidate Darren “Freedom” Green has found a new place to hang his hat.
Green is renting a property owned by his friend, Tracey Syphax, after the candidate was recently evicted from a previous residence, The Trentonian has learned.
“He’s paying rent,” Syphax said Wednesday. “He gave me a deposit, paid his first month’s rent and he has a lease.”
According to information provided by the city clerk’s office, Green changed his address Tuesday to a residence on the first block of Washington Street. Property records show the home is owned by Syphax’s real estate company, Phax Group, LLC.
The Trentonian reported this week that Green was recently evicted from a property on the 300 block of Parkway Avenue in Trenton by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, according to documentation provided by the candidate.
“I’m the victim,” Green insisted in a phone interview Monday, noting he had lived at the property for 18 years. “I haven’t done anything illegal.”
Property records show the home once belonged to former Trenton health officer Richard Salter, who died in 2012.
The property was foreclosed on by Actlien Runoff on Feb. 22, 2018 for $21,303, according to information provided by the city tax office.
However, questions remain if Green had been living at the property legally or if he was a squatter.
Green said last week he would bring in documentation to show The Trentonian that he was a bonafide resident, such as a lease, old rent checks or utility payments.
Instead his campaign manager, Elijah Dixon, showed up to the newspaper’s offices on Monday with just the eviction notice.
“He does not have a lease,” Dixon explained. “His agreement was that because he knew the owner of the property, he was to take care of the interior and exterior of the building in exchange for a subsidized rent.”
Syphax, an entrepreneur and author who owns a construction company, admitted he is friends with Green. But the contractor says he did not give his pal any breaks in rent.
“I don’t give my own family members breaks when it comes to rent,” Syphax said. “I run a business. I can’t afford to do that.”
Syphax said Green’s lease started at the first of this month.
Green, a Trenton Housing Authority employee, is mounting a grassroots effort to replace the establishment in Trenton. Last week, Green put out a press release calling those who have held office the past 20 years as “false prophets.”
“I work very hard for my reputation,” Green said Monday. “I’m not part of no inner circle. I don’t have any $80,000-to$100,000 no-show job. I’m a grind up, righteous citizen who’s trying to make it in the city that I love and trying to make it better for others.”