Public housing residents are suing the Milwaukee Housing Authority, accusing the agency of letting a bed bug infestation fester inside College Court, a pair of apartment towers on the city's near west side.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Wednesday, claims conditions inside College Court are "uninhabitable," and asks a court to grant tenants rent relief if the Housing Authority doesn't "swiftly address" the infestation.
"For months, and months, I've been scratching and scratching bites on my arms and legs," said College Court resident Carmella Holloway, 66, at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. "I went to the emergency room at Mount Sinai earlier this year. I was bleeding all over. I thought maybe I had shingles, but I was told it was bed bug bites."
Holloway — one of five named plaintiffs in the suit — shared her emotional testimony to a crowd of reporters and tenant organizers gathered on College Court's front lawn on Wednesday. The apartments are in the 3300 block of West Highland Boulevard.
Holloway and her College Court neighbors are being represented by attorney Michael Cerjak, who has handled high-profile class action lawsuits, including a claim against Kia and Hyundai, and another against the developer of a contaminated affordable apartment complex.
The lawsuit also has the organizational backing of Common Ground, a coalition of Milwaukee-area churches, businesses and other organizations that has been demanding change inside Housing Authority properties for the past year and a half.
Housing Authority spokesperson Amy Hall declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Thousands of calls for pest control inside notorious apartment complex
About 4,000 requests for pest control have been filed inside College Court since July 2019, according to the Housing Authority's work order logs.
The apartment complex, which was originally built in 1968, has become one of the Housing Authority's most notorious properties. This spring, the Washington Post ran an in-depth story about College Court on the Sunday front page, documenting residents' concerns about crime, trespassing and management.
In the past year, reports of fraud risk and hazardous conditions inside Milwaukee's public housing have pushed city officials to more closely scrutinize the Housing Authority.
More: Federal inspectors find Milwaukee's Housing Authority in disarray, 'at risk for serious fraud'
In May, the Milwaukee Common Council ordered city building inspectors to begin investigating reports of code violations inside Housing Authority properties. For decades, Milwaukee building inspectors did not respond to complaints from Housing Authority tenants, believing, mistakenly, that they lacked the authority to police another public agency.
The Housing Authority operates about 5,200 units across the city, making it one of Milwaukee's largest landlords.
Rift between Mayor Johnson and Common Ground grows
Housing Authority residents, organized by Common Ground, have been ratcheting up pressure on public officials in the past several months, demanding that Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Biden Administration officials intervene.
Johnson has been hit for his continued support of the Housing Authority's top executive Willie Hines , who has been widely criticized for his management of the Housing Authority's finances and properties. Hines — a former Common Council president — is a close ally of Johnson and other top Milwaukee officials.
In an open letter to Johnson earlier this month, Common Ground organizers and residents questioned whether he was defending Hines in order to let him retire with his full pension when he turns 60 at the end of the year. At the news conference outside College Court, residents and organizers renewed their criticisms of the mayor.
"We emailed Willie Hines about five times since March," Holloway said. "He didn't even respond to us. No reply. No answer to our request to meet. He's hiding from us while Mayor Johnson protects him."
More: Milwaukee Housing Authority leader Willie Hines criticized for secrecy, high pay
On Wednesday afternoon, Johnson fired back, calling Common Ground "Trumpian" and accusing the organization of "just throwing things at the wall, whether they're true or not."
Johnson said he recently toured College Court and spoke with residents himself, which left him with a different picture of the conditions inside.
"It seems as if Common Ground would lead the public to believe that every single person in the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee is living in squalor, and in conditions that they don't appreciate," Johnson said. "That's not the case."
In a statement, Common Ground responded by saying its organization "is on the side of the low-income residents, seniors, people with disabilities and folks of color fighting for decent and safe housing," and asked: "Whose side is Mayor Johnson on?"
Council President Pérez says mayor's comments left him 'speechless'
Johnson also said "there are issues we have to solve" inside the Housing Authority, and it's now up to the Common Council to approve his new, "solutions-oriented" nominees to the Housing Authority's oversight board.
When the council returns from its August recess, however, it's unlikely to let those nominees sail through the confirmation process. In June, when Johnson put forth his nominees, 10 of the council's 15 members wrote an open letter to Johnson , criticizing him for not consulting them in the vetting process.
Common Council President José Pérez has called for the removal of the Housing Authority's top leadership — including, but not limited to, Hines. Any nominees who don't support "complete reform" of the agency will not have his support, Pérez has said.
Johnson's comments about Common Ground on Wednesday drew criticism from Pérez, who told the Journal Sentinel: "To invoke Trump’s name in reference to a group like Common Ground, I’m frankly speechless."
Common Ground represents "religious principles, and they take on big challenges on behalf of the downtrodden," Pérez said. "And I stand on behalf of the residents, and the residents I’ve met are decent people that deserve to be heard."
As for the board nominees, Pérez said the council will take its time and move deliberately.
"We’ve waited a long time for nominees, and this is our only chance, and we want to get it right," he said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Housing Authority tenants filed more than 4,000 complaints about bed bugs and pests. Now they are suing.
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