By Brian McCarthy

bmccarthy@phoenixvillenews.com

PHOENIXVILLE — A large plastic tarp covers a portion of the ceiling over Serephine Thomas’ kitchen counter in her family’s unit at Fairview Village, with notes reading “do not open” taped onto her kitchen cabinets.

The counter is bare, with all of Thomas’s cooking supplies and plastic containers moved onto her table on the other side of the room. She says she cannot use her kitchen, due to a leak concealed beneath the tarp.

The leak, Thomas says, is human waste from a sewage pipe connected to her bathroom.

“Sometimes it drips down, I have to keep the cabinets closed,” Thomas said. “I don’t like messing with it. One day I cooked and had to throw everything away.”

Thomas estimates she’s had to clean leaks in her kitchen at least 30 separate times since she first moved into unit 413 of Fairview Village in December of 2005 with her husband and son, who lives with his family when not pursuing his education. Thomas uses Lysol and bleach to clean the leaks because “that’s all I have,” she said.

Fairview Village is owned and operated by the Housing Authority of Chester County as a public housing facility on Fairview Street for low-income families. In Phoenixville, HACC also owns King Terrace, a public housing facility for the elderly and disabled, on 300 High Street.

Thomas said she had contacted the HACC about the leak, and over a year ago maintenance crews placed the tarp

over the leak, but have not done anything since.

Thomas’ inability to use her kitchen is not the only problem she deals with on a regular basis in her apartment. When Thomas moved in, she says, she saw what appeared to be mold on multiple windowsills throughout her apartment, adding that, when it rains, the smell of the mold becomes overwhelming. Over the years Thomas has developed allergies and breathing issues, and has been prescribed Singulair, Advair, Flonase and Nasonex. She says she did not have any of these conditions before moving into Fairview.

She added that under her lease she was entitled to a pre-inspection of the unit before moving in, but was not notified of this beforehand.

Underneath her kitchen window, outside the apartment, there is additional mold and rotted wood in the exterior framing, as well as cracks in the mortar between the bricks. There are also cracks and holes in the drywall along her front living room window, and Thomas says a bat once flew into the apartment through such a hole.

Thomas avoids opening the windows in her apartment whenever possible, she says, as many of them are off of their tracks. Outside her bedroom window, a loose cable dangles.

Thomas says another reason she avoids her windows is because in October of 2006 her living room window fell on her. She says she was hospitalized and placed on pain medication, along with several months of physical therapy.

Finally, when Thomas first moved into her apartment, there was no covering over her upstairs light switch, no fire extinguisher in her unit nor a working smoke detector, she says. Since then, the HACC has placed a covering on the light switch, as well as installing smoke detectors and an extinguisher. The detectors and extinguisher were not installed until last week; Thomas said that her neighbors in Fairview had these features installed following a fire at King Terrace in May 2007. She says her unit was the only one that did not receive them.

“See how we live here?” Thomas said.

“[The conditions here] are not good at all,” Thomas’s son, who’s name is being withheld by request, said. “Whenever I call home, there’s always a problem.”

“He doesn’t like it up here,” Thomas said. “Can you blame him?”

Thomas also has a four-year-old granddaughter, but does not like bringing the child to the unit because that would expose her to the living conditions there.

Seeking Action

HACC policy is to send maintenance employees to inspect damages in its units once a tenant files a work order. Thomas said that she had brought the above issues to the HACC’s attention through this process, but has not seen the repairs done. She has also requested to live in another unit while these repairs are being conducted, which she may be entitled to under her lease — the reason she has not moved despite these conditions — but that has not happened as well.

Tonya K. Mitchell-Weston, Executive Director of the HACC, says she was “shocked” when she learned of the conditions of Thomas’ unit.

“It’s important to know she never reported that,” Mitchell-Weston said, referring specifically to the leak above Thomas’ kitchen counter. “We are very quick to respond. Why not call someone and have it taken care of?”

The Thomases are currently involved in litigation with the HACC.

Thomas submitted a complaint to the Borough of Phoenixville’s Code Enforcement Department on October 27, 2006. Building inspector Frank J. Tallarico Jr. visited the unit and took pictures of the conditions, including the apparent mold on the window and the rotted wood on the outside framing.

In his written report of the complaint, Tallarico included the pictures of the windows, writing underneath one that his department “contacted HACC... they stated they would fix ASAP.” According to code enforcement procedure, the property owner typically has 30 days to respond to conduct the repairs.

Mitchell-Weston said that a mold remediation specialist was sent to unit 413 to inspect the windows and conduct testing that month. She said that the specialist was “denied access” to the unit by Thomas, and “honestly [doesn’t] know” why he would have been denied entry. Thomas said such an incident never occurred.

Thomas contacted Tallarico again with another complaint on July 17, 2007. In his record of the complaint, Tallarico notes that the rotted wood still existed and had not been fixed, as well as the incident of “storm windows falling on people,” referring to the incident when Thomas was injured when her living room fell on her. In the report, Tallarico underlines “no corrective measures” that were taken by the HACC. He also includes a call log between himself and Mitchell-Weston; according to the call log, Tallarico left at least three voicemails for her over a 10-day period, with no response.

Thomas met with Tallarico again on September 5, 2007. Tallarico noted in his report that he spoke to HACC “over a year ago... they agreed to repair damages. Repairs were never made.” The report also includes photos taken again of the damages in Thomas’ unit, and notes that the last photos taken are over a year old and on file.

On September 21, 2007, Thomas met with Tallarico at his office to discuss health issues related to the mold.

“I would recommend she and or [HACC] have a mold specialist test her unit... for air quality and health safety,” Tallarico wrote in his report. “This was also recommended as far back as 2006 when HACC was to repair issues.”

When reached for comment, Tallarico said “we came out, documented everything as we saw it, [and] turned it over to the Housing Authority.”

When asked about Thomas’ complaints with Code Enforcement, Mitchell-Weston said that she did not have the records of meetings between Thomas and Tallarico on file.

Tallarico said that the HACC “were made aware of everything” and in the report of the September 21 meeting wrote “copy faxed to HACC 9/21/07.”

“If there’s a situation of mold remediation, we can’t make them do it,” Tallarico said.

A mold remediation expert did visit Thomas’ unit last week to inspect the windows, with no further action taken yet.

“Specifically, sewage inside of a house is not a good thing,” he added. He explained that he has been to both Fairview and King Terrace to respond to tenants’ complaints, but that rental inspector Rick Harris is the Code Enforcement officer who has conducted inspections of both facilities.

“I feel that we [Phoenixville Code Enforcement] have fulfilled all of our responsibilities at this point,” Tallarico said.

The future of Fairview

Harris conducted inspections of both HACC facilities on February 28 this year for safety and health issues. Of the 26 units, at least 12 units were either missing smoke detectors in the second-floor bedrooms or the detectors needed batteries, according to Harris’ inspection report. Harris explained that this was most likely due to a codes change in 2006 requiring smoke detectors in every bedroom of a unit, and that Fairview was not the only facility he has been to that has had this problem.

In the inspection, Harris also notes that ground fault interrupters, or GFIs, need replacing or repair in four units. GFIs are safety devices that are located by areas with running water such as kitchen sinks and laundry rooms that intercepts electrical currents to prevent electrocution while water is running. He said that they are easily fixed or replaced. He also recorded one unit lacking a cover plate on an electrical outlet and covers on light bulbs, another having a “rear door not secure,” three others with missing light bulb covers and another missing an outdoor light.

As for Thomas’ unit, Harris recorded the need for bedroom smoke detectors and a missing fire extinguisher, which the HACC has since placed there. He said he did not make a note of the mold issues or kitchen leak because he “didn’t put anything down that wasn’t in process already.” He said he did know that the HACC was aware of those issues through Thomas’ previous interactions with Code Enforcement.

“If I don’t see the leak, I can’t take the tenant’s word, I need to see it,” Harris said. He added that such a leak would be “no good.”

Harris is conducting a re-inspection of both Fairview and King Terrace this Wednesday, April 2.

Today, April 1, marks the deadline for a letter from HACC requested by the Borough of Phoenixville explaining that the HACC has the capacity to fill and maintain its units. The reason for the letter lies in the proposed expansion of Fairview Village, which would see HACC funds used to construct additional units on Fairview Street. The St. John’s United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth, located adjacent to Fairview Village, is located on a HACC parcel of land where the units could be constructed. The HACC Board of Directors announced during their February meeting at King Terrace that the garden would remain on the parcel while the units are constructed.

Mitchell-Weston said that there are still no detailed plans for the expansion or an idea of how many units would be constructed, and that previous plans had been dropped. She said that requests for quotes, or RFQs, from developers should be finished by Thursday, and expects to have preliminary plans submitted to the borough planning commission this month.

The letter, Mitchell-Weston says, states that “we’re aware of the current zoning and we have every intention of following [the proper] procedures [for the expansion plans].” Mitchell-Weston said that the letter does not address capacity or maintenance issues due to comments on them in prior public meetings.

“Issues with vacancies have been responded to numerous times,” Mitchell-Weston said. Eight units at Fairview are currently vacant. She said this is due to a screening process for residents and there are prospective tenants on waiting lists for these units.

As for the conditions of Fairview as a whole, Mitchell-Weston acknowledges there have been problems with the area.

“When I first started [with HACC] it was horrible in that neighborhood,” Mitchell-Weston said. “We have an opportunity to change the face of public housing. We want, we need to change that image.”

Barry Cassidy, Executive Director of Main Street Community Development Corporation, has acted as a liason between the HACC and the borough in regards to the proposed expansion of Fairview. He has sat in on several meetings between Mitchell-Weston and other HACC officials and representatives of the borough.

“If they can’t maintain what they’ve got, I will be opposed to building anything new,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy has visited Thomas and observed the conditions of her unit, and informed Borough Council of what he saw during public meetings. Council President Henry Wagner, D-Middle, said that when Cassidy informed him of the state of the Thomas’ unit, he thought the conditions were “deplorable.”

“Nobody should have to live like that, it’s outrageous,” Wagner said. “It’s outrageous. Common sense says that if you have the money to build new facilities, you should use to improve [existing facilities].”

Wagner added that he would like to take a look at creating an ordinance that “doesn’t allow a permit to be given” if existing facilities are not up to standards and codes.

Council Vice President Richard Kirkner, D-North, represents the ward in which Fairview and King Terrace are located. While he has not been to Thomas’ unit, Kirkner drove through Fairview Village three weeks ago.

“I think on some level [the expansion] is necessary,” Kirkner said. “[There is] a need for quality low-income housing.”

He added that while there is a need for low-income housing in Phoenixville, there are other portions of Chester County in need as well.

“Ten to 12 years ago [HACC] spent money rehabbing the units in Fairview,” Kirkner said. “A lot of money they spent up there. I’ve walked a few times out there since then... a renovation of that magnitude had a very short life. Based on what I have seen, they’ve not proven [they] had capacity. Maybe that’s changed in recent years. This has been a long-standing issue.”

Thomas certainly feels it has been long-standing; besides Code Enforcement and Cassidy, she has also contacted other officials and politicians, including Congressman Jim Gerlach, R-6th, last December and Senator Andy Dinniman, D-19th last September,

In his response letter to Thomas, Gerlach told Thomas “HUD has already been working with the housing authority to address issues at Fairview Village and will continue to do so in order to improve the property.”

In a letter to Mitchell-Weston he copied Thomas on, Dinniman writes, “[Thomas] said that she has not been able to get any help with this matter and feels that there needs to be better communication with managment. She says that the meetings are not always announced at each living facility and would appreciate a chance to attend meetings if they are announced at each building.”

In the end, Thomas hopes that the issues with her unit, including the mold, rotted wood and the leak, are all permanently resolved.

“These conditions didn’t get like this overnight,” Thomas said. “In a way, we’re stuck. It’s like, ‘what can you do?’”

“We try so many things,” she added. “I shouldn’t have to live like that.”

Editor’s Note:

Future stories in The Phoenix will provide an in-depth examination of the situation at King Terrace and further coverage of these issues.

Posted by

Brian McCarthy