Mice, mold, faulty heat: Atlantic City public housing development flunks city inspections

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. said a city inspection of the federally owned Stanley Holmes Village found “inhumane” conditions, and said the city had issued a notice of violation to the housing authority.

“If we did an occupancy inspection in these units, not a single one would pass,” said Dale Finch, the city’s director of licensing and inspection, according to a Thursday release from the mayor’s office.

The city conducted an inspection of 320 of 415 units in the last week and found 220 with infestations of mice, roaches, or bed bugs; 106 with mold; 67 with heat issues; 45 with hot water issues; 57 with malfunctioning smoke detectors; 60 with faulty stoves or ovens; 51 with faulty carbon monoxide detectors; and 20 with faulty refrigerators.

Finch said the units, some of which date to 1937, now all have heat, as a result of the city’s actions.

“There remain concerns with the heating system,” he said at a news conference Thursday. “Some units had hot water issues too. There were malfunctioning smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Infestation of mice, bed bugs, and roaches were a horrendous problem, and that’s just not acceptable. Mold issues too, that has to be addressed. Some stoves and ovens were malfunctioning. A few bathrooms had plumbing issues.”

The mayor’s office said the results of the inspection were sent to the Atlantic City Housing Authority, which has the jurisdiction of running the federally owned aging development.

Stanley Holmes is scheduled for a complete rebuild in 2023, but the city stepped in, in recent months, to deal with trash not being picked up and ongoing issues with heat and hot water. Council member Bruce Weekes and Ducktown Tavern owner John Exadaktilos have been collecting and donating electric heaters to residents. In addition, Rep. Jeff Van Drew has been involved. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has denied it froze the ability of the local housing authority to spend any money, as officials had claimed.

The city said the housing authority “did not provide the City of Atlantic City with a rent roll, assistance handing out fliers to make the residents aware of the inspections, or assistance getting into the units where nobody was home when the inspectors arrived.”

A meeting is scheduled for next week between the city and the housing authority “to discuss the next steps,” the city said.

“The numbers show these residents continue to live in inhumane conditions,” Mayor Small said. “This is a HUD issue, but we’re stepping in because the people at Stanley Holmes don’t deserve to live like this. Nobody deserves to live like this.”

Small said the city would attempt to fine the housing authority if conditions did not improve.

The city said it would be distributing blankets to the units with heating issues, but added that,based on the inspection, space heaters were not needed. “The city has researched the appropriate space heaters to utilize, and will distribute those space heaters to residents if at any point it is deemed necessary,” the mayor said.