JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development has promised to improve living conditions here in Jacksonville after hearing complaints from residents about horrid conditions in HUD-funded housing developments.
"We will get some of this fixed, I can't promise you it will be tomorrow, but I give you my word we will get it fixed," Marcia Fudge, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said.
People like Lisa Manners described conditions of rats, mold, and unanswered maintenance at the Eastside Terrace Apartments during a round table discussion on Monday.
"They still have not fixed the light, it's still dark over in the area where I fell at and now, like I said, I'm dealing with nephropathy, just throbbing pain 24 hours a day for the last three months, they still have not fixed the stairwells," Manners said.
The Eastside Terrace Apartments receive federal funding, and have been the target of complaints by both Mayor Lenny Curry and Senator Marco Rubi
"The appliances, they don't want to do nothing about the appliances. I've been having mice in the appliances since I first moved in, in 2014. My smoke detector doesn't work," Veronda Powel, Eastside Terrace Apartment resident, said.
Fudge also toured the Hilltop Apartments in Northwest Jacksonville, where conditions prompted Jacksonville city councilwoman Ju'coby Pittman do demand 'justice for hilltop' due to squalid conditions.
Since June 2021, HUD leaders spent at least $325,000 to address these concerns.
During her tour, HUD officials looked to see what progress had been made.
"We're going to then take this information and talk to the owners and those who are responsible for the upkeep of the properties… we're going to find out who is responsible and we're going to try to fix it," Secretary Fudge said.