Letter to Hon. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Hastings, Deutch, Frankel, Mast, Nelson and Rubio Send Letter to HUD Secretary Carson Expressing Health and Safety Risk for Tenants Living at the Stonybrook Apartments

Letter

Dear Secretary Carson:

On behalf of the residents of the Global Ministries Foundation (GMF) owned properties, we write to express concern for the current state of disrepair stemming from years of neglect. Tenants have come to our offices with reports of leaking ceilings and water pipes, exposed wires, asbestos, and toxic black mold that poses an immediate health and safety risk. These slum-like conditions have made some of the GMF complexes throughout Florida virtually uninhabitable and have rendered dozens of units at Stonybrook, a 260-unit complex occupied predominantly by low-income, African American residents, "unfit for human occupancy" by the City of Riviera Beach.

While we understand that GMF is expected to finalize the sale of these properties to Millennia Housing Management, Ltd., and that many of the structural repairs are expected to be completed in the near future, we are concerned with the length of time families will be forced to wait, in terrible conditions, for these repairs to be made.

With this in mind, we request the Department of Housing and Urban Development to continue to work with the GMF properties and swiftly approve requests to access Section 8 Pass-Through Leases. This will help to ensure tenants of these dilapidated complexes will have access to safe and sanitary temporary housing until necessary repairs are made. Doing so will protect tenants from health and safety risks during this transition period while not dismantling tenant access to federal housing assistance.

We appreciate your commitment to providing safe and affordable housing options for Florida's low-income families and look forward to working with you on this important issue.

Sincerely,