Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, The Phoenix examined ongoing maintenance and health issues at Fairview Village. Today, similar issues are explored at King Terrace, the Housing Authority of Chester County’s other facility in Phoenixville.

By Brian McCarthy

bmccarthy@phoenixvillenews.com

PHOENIXVILLE — Today, April 2, borough Code Enforcement will conduct a re-inspection of King Terrace and Fairview Village following a previous inspection on February 28.

The facilities, owned and operated by the Housing Authority of Chester County, offer housing to low-income families (Fairview Village) and the elderly and disabled (King Terrace).

Located at 300 High Street, King Terrace has existed since the 1970s, consisting of 50 units spread out over three floors. The inspection on February 28 was conducted by rental inspector Rick Harris with borough Code Enforcement.

In his report of the inspection, Harris notes that eight of the units were vacant, three had bathroom vent fans that were inoperable, and two had ground fault interrupters, or GFIs (safety devices located by sources of water that help prevent electrocution) that “meant that one wasn’t there or needs to be replaced,” he said.

Harris also recorded two units lacking smoke detectors in bedrooms, which Harris has said is a common problem he finds in his inspections due to a recent code change requiring the devices in every bedroom, one unit lacking a light bulb cover, one bathroom floor creating a tripping hazard, and another bathroom containing mold and falling ceiling tiles.

He explained that the note of the tripping hazard refers to the linoleum floor in the bathroom that was “ripped up or torn,” creating an uneven floor.

“[People] could trip up and fall, and there’s a lot of things [they] could hit [their] head on,” Harris explained.

As for the issues with the other bathroom, “If there’s no fans or ventilation you get mold,” Harris said.

“It could be a housekeeping issue as well. I can’t tell them how to live.” He added that it could be a “deeper issue,” such as problems with the building’s water system.

“When I see those kind of things, it raises a red flag,” Harris said.

Harris classified the majority of the units, 32 out of 50, as “OK.”

“King Terrace has not been a problem like Fairview [Village] has,” HACC Executive Director Tonya K. Mitchell-Weston said when reached for comment. When asked of the state of HACC’s properties in Chester County, she said, “[Our property in] Oxford is good. Fairview, of course, by design, needs help. King Terrace is probably in better shape.” The HACC also owns property in West Chester and others “through limited partnership,” Mitchell-Weston said.

In his inspection, Harris also classified the “common areas,” including the first floor common area in addition to hallways and stairwells, as “OK.”

At least one resident of King Terrace, however, would not characterize her building as “OK,” as she has witnessed and recorded numerous incidents throughout her years there.

Speaking Up

Rosa Carey, a resident of King Terrace since 2003, speaks in her bathroom with the fan on, she says, because she does not want her conversation overheard through the thin walls in her unit.

She is not afraid, exactly, but

worried that if she is heard speaking negatively of the conditions of her building, she could face repercussions from the HACC.

Carey — which is not her real name, but one chosen at her request to protect her privacy — says that she is not the only resident unhappy with the conditions of King Terrace. However, she believes many residents do not speak out because of possible repercussions or because they are illiterate.

“There is a problem of literacy in here,” Carey said. “Many people may not be putting in work orders because of [that]. Most people are afraid of reprisals. People feel if they raise an issue they’ll be put out.”

Carey invited The Phoenix to King Terrace as her guest in March to view the conditions of her building. Photographs were taken of numerous stains on the walls of both stairwells and hallways. She said she had submitted work orders to the HACC to clean many of them months ago and that never occurred. She said previous stains appeared to have been blood and excrement with noticeable odors emitting from them.

Photos were also taken of loose tiles on the floors of the stairwell, exposed wiring and holes in the ceiling, as well as numerous covers missing from overhead lights. One cover to a wall light appeared to have previously fallen off and cracked in two, and was then placed back on the wall with the cover held together by cellophane tape.

On a hallway window, a Post-It note was placed reading “top window broken.” The window had previously fallen and allegedly cut a resident’s hand in 2007 when the resident attempted to open the window due to a strong odor of gas in the building. Litigation between the resident and the HACC in regards to the incident is ongoing.

Carey also pointed out a guide-rail along the wall, which she said a fellow resident was holding onto in late February when the rail broke, causing the resident to fall. She said the rail had since been fixed.

“It’s ridiculous,” Carey said of the conditions in her building. “That incident upset me very much. We’re not in the backwoods of Mississippi of 1908. We’re not in a war zone ... in 2008. These are the kinds of things we have to deal with. These conditions are affecting everybody.”

Carey has kept several calendars and notebooks since she has lived at King Terrace, in which she has recorded every incident of damage or poor conditions she has witnessed, as well as every work order she has submitted for these damages.

Many of the work orders, Carey says, were not responded to, while others were handled promptly. One of the more recent incidents occurred on March 3, when the building’s main elevator was stuck on the third floor and unable to be used by residents. Carey said the elevator was fixed the next day.

Carey added that many times she and other residents have attempted to bring maintenance issues to the attention of the site manager, but many times the manager was not present in their office. Since she has lived at King Terrace, Carey said three different site managers worked at the building.

“They’re supposed to come up [on a regular basis],” Carey said. “They would if they have regular posted office hours like they’re supposed to have.”

Carey says that on two separate occasions, residents grew so frustrated that they personally helped paint the walls of the first floor hallway and paid for carpets to be cleaned after no action was taken in response to submitted work orders.

She added that throughout her time at King Terrace, there have been problems with rodents, including mice, bats and squirrels, in the building, and in 2006 squirrels had entered the building and taken up residence in the ceilings and walls of one unit for several weeks until they were abated on October 6 of that year.

Carey also has notes and photos of the unit of another resident, who for 14 months had to place a bucket on his floor as ceiling tiles fell. The photos were taken in 2006, and the resident has since moved out.

This is the same unit Harris recorded as having bathroom ceiling and mold issues in his inspection conducted this February.

“He shouldn’t have been living like that,” Carey said.

Carey said she has contacted numerous people about the conditions at King Terrace besides the HACC, including members of Borough Council, Senator Andy Dinniman, D-19th, and Congressman Jim Gerlach, R-6th. She said that these communications have been helpful, but yielded few permanent results.

“This is a violation of civil rights,” she said, referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Carey continued that she is grateful for not being homeless, but added “a home should not have to be a place where you endure. It is unfair, unjust to have people being held hostage to a morally unjust system.”

Mitchell-Weston said she believes there are systems in place by the HACC for both proper communication and handling issues. She said that the HACC normally conducts three different kinds of inspections; annual housekeeping inspections, HUD inspections and follow-ups to work orders.

“I believe there is the opportunity for proper communication,” Mitchell-Weston said. She personally oversees quarterly tenants meetings held at King Terrace for residents of both that facility and Fairview Village, which are announced on tenants’ rent notices.

“I always end every meeting with ‘questions? comments? concerns?’ Fairview residents rarely attend these meetings, even when they’re in the evening. I have no idea why someone would be afraid to report anything. They need to report that to me, as supervisor.”

“Do I go through the stairwells every time I’m there? No. If there’s a problem, report it.”

Fire and Water

On November 21, 2003, HACC personnel circulated a memo to King Terrace residents about disposing grease and food after cooking.

“Over the years, the building has experienced various types of sewer backup on the first floor,” the memo states. “We have discovered that cooking grease is being discarded from your units, by way of kitchen sinks or toilet, on the upper floors of the building. This will create over time blockages in the sewer system that will cause back-ups ... creating hostile tenants in first floor apartment units and those who use the first floor hallways.”

“This memo [is] an effort to get your understanding to the problem that is being created. Yes, it is the HACC responsibility to assure that every tenant has a safe and decent unit as well as community space to enjoy. When the tenants, through bad decisions, add to the complexity of doing so (pouring cooking grease and food in the sinks and toilets), it makes a very difficult job much more difficult.”

Issues with water in the building did not end there. In 2006, a memo was posted notifying residents that on April 24 “the water for the entire building will be shut off so plumbers can make repairs.”

The memo states that the water would be shut off at 7 a.m., and could remain off possibly all day until repairs were completed. It includes advice to residents notifying them to make sure they had water to drink and cook with set aside before the repairs, that they could not use any drains while the water is off, and could not flush toilets.

On June 18, 2007, the borough of Phoenixville then posted memos in the building, stating “the Water Distribution Department of the Borough of Phoenixville has scheduled water shutdown for a repair on on Tuesday, 6/19/07.” The memo continued that the shutoff would last approximately six hours.

Carey says that these three notifications were not isolated incidents, and that there have been continuous water shutoffs throughout the five years she has lived at King Terrace. Many are announced, she says, though some are not. She has also experienced numerous problems with the plumbing in her unit, specifically her sink.

“These conditions didn’t get like this overnight,” Carey said. In reference to the 2003 memo on grease disposal, she added “some of these people have life challenges. Give them education in a respectful way.”

Throughout the month of this March alone, Carey recorded three separate instances of water shutoffs, which she believes were announced. On September 21, 2007, Carey met with building inspector Frank J. Tallarico Jr. of Code Enforcement to submit a complaint about the frequent water shutoffs.

“Water shut off all the time, sometimes notice [given], sometimes no notice,” Tallarico recorded in his report of his meeting with Carey. “Codes has contacted HACC several times in the last two years with same [issues]. [They] answer they are taking care of it.”

Mitchell-Weston says that the HACC is indeed taking care of it, and have recently hired an outside firm to conduct an energy audit on HACC properties. Following the audit, work will commence on repairing and replacing the galvanized steel pipes in the building, a procedure which Mitchell-Weston told residents in previous tenant meetings should take over a year to be completed.

“We are aware of significant issues with the pipes in King Terrace,” Mitchell-Weston said. She noted that a primary source of these issues were problems with water pressure and the age of the structure, adding “as the building shifts, pipes shift too. It has to be a major undertaking.”

“Last year they said every pipe in the building would have to be replaced,” Carey said. “How are you going to do that with people in the building, tearing up their floors?”

The water infrastructure of King Terrace is not the only ongoing issue in the building. In August of 2006, Carey filled out a Phoenixville Community Watchband Problem Report stating that in the late afternoon of August 4 she “saw fire trucks in parking lot but no alarm [sounded].” She says that this is not the only time this has happened, and on at least one other occasion woke up in the middle of the night to find fire trucks in the parking lot, with no alarm being sounded.

In a handwritten statement dated September 28, 2006, another resident, whose name is being withheld by The Phoenix, wrote that “on September 6, 2006 the fire alarm did not go off in my apartment ... when there was a fire incident.”

Phoenixville Fire Department Chief Jim Gable said that in 2006 his apartment responded to 37 fire alarms at King Terrace. He noted “serious problems” between 2006 and 2007 with malfunctioning alarms.

“The whole third floor would have no activation whatsoever,” Gable said. “The second floor would have no strobes. Only audible [alarms].”

He added that the issues with alarms have since gotten better, when in 2007 the building was briefly shut down, which Gable said “gave us the opportunity to correct [the alarm] system once and for all.”

The reason? On May 10, 2007, a fire, which fire officials labeled as arson, blazed throughout the building, causing over $200,000 worth of damages. There were no injuries caused by the fire.

“It’s probably the only reason that alarm system got fixed,” Gable said.

He also said that in the past his department has found one exit way that was blocked, but he added that those issues have been addressed.

In 2007, the fire department responded to 32 calls at King Terrace, including the above incident. So far this year, the department has responded to 10 alarms at the building, two of which occurred this past weekend.

On January 1 this year there was a fire alarm at approximately 6 p.m., and when Carey heard it, she used a stairwell to evacuate the building, but found that a light in the stairwell was out.

“I had to walk down a dark stairwell. This is unsafe and needs to be fixed,” Carey wrote in a work order request she filled out that day. She noted in her records that the light was not fixed 24 hours later, and a maintenance worker informed her that he had not fixed it yet as he could not find a replacement bulb. She said that the light was fixed by January 3.

Gable said that the majority of alarms at King Terrace are caused by smoke created by food cooked by residents.

“Anything greasy sets off the fire alarm,” Gable said. “The [kitchen exhaust] fan is not exhausting the smoke correctly.”

He described the kitchen ventilation system as “inadequate,” saying it has “no filters, no nothing. I have no idea where it goes in the building.”

Gable added that “from time to time” burnt food will be discovered in the unit that set off the alarm. But more often than not, these calls are due to poorly ventilated smoke.

“It’s not good,” Gable said. “It needs to be well ventilated.”

The problem is bigger than just unventilated smoke, however, Gable says.

“Less and less [residents] evacuate their apartments,” he said, due to the frequency of alarms. “When the alarm goes off [some] don’t even leave their apartment anymore. We have to physically evacuate apartments now.”

When the fire department responds to calls at King Terrace now, Gable says he can see “dozens of people” still in the building looking out through their windows, and has to send a firefighter in to physically check each apartment for residents.

The need for change

Pa. Sen. Dinniman said he is familiar with King Terrace through his previous work as a Chester County Commissioner ever since he was first elected to that office in 1992.

“The problems that King Terrace has are ones that have been ongoing,” Dinniman said. He explained that while he was still a commissioner, his office spent money to solve safety issues, such as the poorly secured doors and entrances as mentioned above.

Dinniman acknowledges that “there is a real need for public housing.” However, he adds that there are “options” besides the proposed expansion of Fairview Village, which Mitchell-Weston has said there are no definite plans for yet.

“[HACC] ... and the Chester County Commissioners ... should consider whether [it] would be better for a private sector to operate these facilities, [or] perhaps a public private partnership,” Dinniman said. “If you have this many vacancies there must be a lot of people who don’t want to move in. It may be true [that] King Terrace’s life span as a building has come to an end. Perhaps some new sort of facility could take place on that property, [or HACC] could use the new housing for both [low-income families and the elderly and disabled]. The Housing Authority and Chester County Commissioners need to take the lead in creative approaches ... think outside the box.”

Regardless of whether any of those ideas come to fruition, Dinniman strongly believes something first needs to change.

“Enough’s enough,” Dinniman said. “[King Terrace] could conceivably be a very nice place to live. The Housing Authority is trying, but that doesn’t mean they’re always succeeding. Before you plan to build more, ask why no one wants to live in what [you] have.”

“[The HACC] deny, dismiss and delay,” Carey said. “They cannot dismiss [residents] as just elderly and disabled. They cannot deny there’s serious problems in here. They can’t keep delaying any substantive action. These conditions are bad.”

“They’ve delivered promises for a long time and we’ve received next to nothing,” she continued. “[Residents] just have to accept living up here like this.”

“Disabled doesn’t mean dumb.”

Editor’s Note: The Phoenix will continue to follow issues at King Terrace and Fairview Village as they develop.

Posted by

Brian McCarthy