West Side senior apartment residents protest poor living conditions and management

CHICAGO — Residents of a Chicago Housing Authority senior apartment building on the city’s West Side sounded off Wednesday over the inadequacies within the structure and its management.

A group of seniors living in the Fannie Emanuel building on West Washington in Garfield Park protested the conditions inside.

“One of my concerns is the infested bed bugs in our building. They’re not treating them and I feel it’s unacceptable,” said resident Joyce Pratt.

Resident Freddie May Moon told WGN News that maintenance at the property remains an issue.

“When our microwave breaks, it takes months to get another, and some tenants are still waiting,” Moon said.

Resident Joe Chambers added: “I’m in the position of losing $500 worth of food red meat, turkey hamburger, and ground beef. It took four days to get a refrigerator. They said the maintenance man was more important in cleaning the floor than getting me a refrigerator.”

According to residents, the list of grievances includes broken key fobs and elevators in the complex.

“We got the elevators so bad both of them be down at the same time,” Chambers said.

“The paramedics have had to take the stairs to get to the sick tenants. We could lose our lives because the elevators doesn’t work. Paramedics have had to take steps up to the 19th floor.”

WGN checked city inspection records, and cables were replaced on an elevator in April. Repairs were also done in March 2023 and back in 2020.

Owned by CHA, Habitat manages the building.

Residents say they have filed multiple complaints with both agencies.

“The reason this issue is so important is that people get boatloads of money to manage buildings like this, and when they get that money, they don’t see it as a sense of purpose of treating our elders with dignity and respect. They see it as a money grab,” said Jitu Brown, an Austin resident with the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization .

Responding to a WGN News request for comment, CHA said:

CHA values our residents and we take their concerns seriously. Repairs to the elevators and the HVAC system are in progress and expected to be completed this month. We will continue to work hand in hand with resident leadership and the building’s private property managers to address any issues in a timely manner.”

Matthew Aguilar, Chicago Housing Authority

The tenants are asking for new management and have contacted Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office in hopes of change.

“We got to let them know that we matter,” Brown said. “Enough is enough.”

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