Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Residents of federally subsidized apartments in Memphis say mold and other contaminants are making them sick.
The Commercial Appeal reports (http://bit.ly/1OF2XgX ) the ceiling of Ursula Ware's Cypress Garden home leaks whenever her upstairs neighbor uses the bathroom or kitchen sink. An air test paid for by the newspaper shows the presence of mold spores inside Ware's apartment.
Ware says the conditions give her asthmatic attacks that send her to the emergency room. She was diagnosed with asthma as a child , she says, but her breathing worsened last year when she moved to Cypress Garden.
"I feel like I'm being suffocated," Ware said.
Attorney Brian Yoakum represents the apartment owner and manager. In a written statement he says management "works hard to maintain safe and quality living conditions for its residents."
"In fact, on three separate occasions over the last ten months, we have performed thorough inspections of each unit — room by room," Yoakum wrote in the statement.
Management began repairing some problems after City Code Enforcement cited the property for violations following inquiries by the newspaper. But tenants say the leaks that cause mold haven't been fixed.
Tenants say they can see the mold growing in the bathroom, ceiling and other places. Residents say the 24-unit building has poor living conditions, including cockroach infestations, bedbugs, rats, bad wiring and holes in the walls, and they contend the conditions are making them sick.
Asthma can be triggered by the mold, cockroaches, mice and dust mites, which thrive in apartments with high levels of humidity, said Cornell University Professor Joseph Laquatra. He wrote a study that determined low income households have a disproportionate exposure to indoor pollutants.
In 2006, Christopher Cavanaugh, of San Diego, bought Cypress Garden for $650,000, the newspaper reported. The complex receives federal subsidies every year, including $160,954 last year from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The property received a passing score of 75 in federal inspections.
Joseph Phillips, a HUD spokesman, declined to answer questions about the federal inspection. But Phillips said the agency is looking into complaints about living conditions, including the presence of mold. Phillips encouraged tenants to contact the agency to report problems.
___
Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
