HUD nominee promises Van Drew he'll visit Stanley Holmes Village in Atlantic City

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Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, said Tuesday that Scott Turner, the nominee for secretary of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, is concerned about conditions at Stanley Holmes Village in Atlantic City and has committed to visiting the public housing complex. "He has to be confirmed yet, but we had a robust conversation this morning," Van Drew said Tuesday. "We're getting a packet together for his chief of staff.



" About 150 residents are suing the Atlantic City Housing Authority over a lack of reliable heat and hot water, gas leaks and other poor conditions at Stanley, in a lawsuit first filed in November 2022. Residents of the 420-unit complex have lived with heat and hot water failures for at least three winters. Despite many court hearings, and orders from a Superior Court judge to replace the heating system by last Oct.

1, the authority is just now coming close to finishing a large-scale renovation of the heating system. Atlantic City casinos to light up yellow for Stockton Holocaust remembrance campaign These 30 Atlantic County public officials and employees have been charged since 2022 ACIT withholds raise from teacher over reading text using racial slur without context 1 arrested following US Marshals, State Police operation in Egg Harbor Township Somers Point council member says Route 9 work frustrating but necessary Ocean City hotel president says Boardwalk doesn't need Mita resort 6 displaced in Egg Harbor Township fire 3rd time the charm? New Jersey may ask Miss America pageant to return to Atlantic City. Will proposed Caspian Point development in Atlantic City materialize this time? Poll shows New Jersey governor's race is wide open, especially among Democrats Atlantic City has a 'home' for the LGBTQ+ community at ByrdCage restaurant Stanley Holmes Village dog dies during second time owner moved to hotel Atlantic City mayor reports Bader Field progress in State of the City address New Jersey drone sightings were approved for FAA research, White House says Indiana man shot dead by police had been pardoned for Jan.

6 Capitol riot New boilers are being installed and much of the underground piping has been replaced, and the authority has approved spending up to $5.5 million on that effort with Kisby Shore Mechanical of Atlantic City. The Housing Authority runs eight complexes and has other properties scattered around the city.

Residents from all of those are also dealing with problems such as mold, pest infestations, broken appliances, and heat and hot water failures. Van Drew has called on HUD to take over the Atlantic City Housing Authority and has toured Stanley Holmes Village and other properties, and worked to help residents in recent years. The Atlantic City Housing Authority board voted to increase its annual purchasing services contract with Jerry Volpe’s Governance & Fiscal Affairs LLC by $95,000 at its meeting Thursday night.

In a news release Tuesday, Van Drew said the authority's failure to protect pets of residents who must move out for a time while work is done on and around units is heartbreaking and unacceptable. Van Drew cited the case of Tammy Bethea, one of many residents who had to leave her Stanley Holmes apartment and live in a hotel room from early December though Jan. 16 while the authority worked on underground piping to fix longstanding problems with the heating system.

Bethea said she was not allowed to take her two dogs with her to the hotel but went back daily to care for them and turn on space heaters to try to warm the apartment. However, when she returned home the morning of Jan. 16, one of her dogs — a bulldog named Lorenzo, 3, was dead.

The low that day was 18 degrees. The authority will work to create a policy for providing alternative housing for pets when families must move out for a time through no fault of their own, Executive Director Tom Sahlin said Monday. Bethea said she believed the cold conditions in the apartment and the stress of daily separation were responsible for the dog's death.

Sahlin, however, said Bethea told him her dog "committed suicide" and said her heat is now working well. When he visited last week she had a window open upstairs and a fan on, he said. He also said Bethea left her other dog outside unleashed for a time when he visited Friday.

Tammy Bethea's two dogs survived the first time they had to stay alone at her Stanley Holmes Village apartment with no heat, after the Atlantic City Housing Authority moved Bethea to a hotel. Her apartment's downstairs radiators were working Monday, but the upstairs radiators were cold to the touch. She is still supplementing the heating system with space heaters, she said.

Many of the buildings in the worst section of the complex have been emptied, with residents moving to other authority properties or to private housing with Section 8 vouchers, leaving about 300 units occupied. Turner agreed problems at Stanley Holmes Village need to be addressed, Van Drew said. "He is committed to coming here, touring the facilities and seeing the situation for himself," Van Drew said.

"I look forward to working with Secretary Turner in his new role, and I will keep pushing to make sure the residents of Stanley Holmes Village get the help they need. The people of South Jersey deserve safe and decent housing." REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.

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