Judge approves Philadelphia Housing Authority ownership of Brith Sholom House, ending years of stress for tenants

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Tenants of the run-down Brith Shalom apartments, in West Philadelphia, won a victory in court on Monday when a Common Pleas Court judge approved the sale of the building to the Philadelphia Housing Authority.

For more than a decade, tenants have fought fire code violations, vermin, major system breakdowns and squatters, as the building’s owner took their rent but reinvested nothing and failed to pay utilities, taxes and fines. The building is now in receivership.

At the tenants’ request, PHA offered to pay $24 million to buy the building. Judge Anne Marie Coyle approved the deal, on the condition the previous owners not get a cent from the sale.

“They created this mess,” Coyle said.

The judge was also concerned that PGW, the Philadelphia Water Department and L&I had agreed to accept just half of what they were owed by the previous owners, but city attorneys argued the cost was worth the benefits of keeping the units affordable, rather than risking purchase by a for-profit company that might convert them to market-rate.

Tenant Gail Peddle said she believes the sale to PHA is the solution they’ve been looking for.

“They’ll fix the water, they’ll fix the heat, they’ll fix the trash room. They’re going to bring everything up and address all of the fire codes because if you’re in a PHA building, that’s what they do,” she said.

“Hopefully our pain is over. And how I feel right now is that the stress has been lifted. And to all of those who are in the situation we’re in, they need to know, the people united is what works.”

Marguerite Byrd, spokesperson for the tenants union, says there’s a lesson for others in their situation.

“You’re more important than you believe, but you gotta come together. That’s how you win. You gotta come together as seniors.”

PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah released a statement Monday, reading, in part:

“I am pleased that Judge Coyle has approved the sale of Brith Sholom to the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Judge Coyle’s decision brings us one step closer to preserving affordable housing for the seniors living at Brith Sholom. PHA will make a full announcement once the purchase is finalized.”