Good morning, readers.
Earlier this month, we published a story by INDY contributor Cy Neff about the conditions at North Durham’s low-income senior housing complex JFK Towers, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s decision to bar the complex’s owner, Millennia, from entering into contracts with the federal government over alleged financial mismanagement.
Now, residents, who have complained about health and safety issues at JFK Towers since at least last summer, have filed a class action lawsuit against Millennia.
The 46-page lawsuit cites frequently out-of-service elevators (many residents have mobility issues), termination of residents’ water supply without notice, insect infestations, unsafe and unsanitary apartments and common areas, neglected waste management, unauthorized or excessive late fees, a general lack of property maintenance and unresponsiveness to tenant complaints, and a disregard for fire safety and building security.
“This is a long-going situation in Durham as it relates to our seniors of low means,” activist and former Durham City Council member Jacqueline Wagstaff said at a city council meeting last August. “JFK has been experiencing problems for a long time.”
JFK Towers isn’t the only senior living complex in Durham that’s faced issues and received public criticism from its residents recently.
In late 2022, when the Triangle was enduring much colder-than-usual temperatures, J.J. Henderson Senior Apartments experienced a power outage that lasted around 35 hours trapping residents in their units, shutting off power for elevators and medical equipment, and leaving the doors to the building unlocked. No one came to check on the residents for four days as the blackout occurred during Christmas.
Following the blackout, several residents spoke out at a Durham City Council work session last January.
After she complained publicly about the blackout, J.J. Henderson’s management company, California Commercial Investment Companies (CCI), charged a resident, 62-year-old Pearlie Williams, with arson when she burned a bagel in her apartment. CCI also threatened to evict Williams, who is partially blind.
But last week, CCI dismissed the case against Williams. The company declined to comment.
“When institutions and organizations know they are dealing with people who do not have means or resources, they will do things to push an agenda,” said Williams’s lawyer, Ernest Smith. “But it makes a difference when disadvantaged people have someone in their corner to fight for them.”
Have a good Monday.
—Jane
Earlier this month, The Assembly reporter Tim Funk wrote about Mark Harris, the Baptist minister and politician who stepped aside in 2019 after ballot fraud tainted his congressional race. Harris now says the seat was stolen from him—and he wants it back.
Join The Assembly’s team next Friday for a virtual discussion about the story with Funk and contributing editor John Drescher. You will have the opportunity to hear about the reporting and writing process, and ask your own questions about the story.
Who: Reporter Tim Funk, in conversation with contributing editor John Drescher
What: Live discussion and Q&A
When: Friday, Feb. 2, 1-2 p.m.
Where: Virtual; register here
Hope to see you there!
Durham
Durham Public Schools’ CFO resigned on Friday following a raucous school board meeting at which the board assured classified employees that they will be able to keep money they’ve already been paid as a result of a clerical error DPS made when paying out raises. But questions remain about how the workers will be compensated going forward.
DPS is asking families who use 10 bus routes in the district to find their own transportation today due to staffing issues.
Wake
Community Health, a Raleigh-based health center, is working to reduce rates of Black maternal and infant death.
A pro-Palestine protest blocked streets near Moore Square in downtown Raleigh Sunday.
Orange
A former Town of Chapel Hill worker was ordered to pay back $1 million and sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for running a Ponzi scheme that targeted residents in the local Indian American community.
North Carolina
A federal judge has declined to block new state Senate districts in northeastern North Carolina that two Black voters argued were racially gerrymandered. The plaintiffs are appealing the judge’s decision.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 55 degrees.
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