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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS AIR GRIEVANCES

Public housing residents on St. Croix aired their grievances with their living conditions at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Housing, Parks and Recreation on Thursday night.
Taking the brunt of the criticism was Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ira Hobson.
Two residents of LBJ Gardens, under the purview of Hobson's department, said their homes were literally falling down around them.
Christopher Simmonds said he’s had problems with his unit since Hurricanes Hugo, in 1989, and Marilyn, in 1995. He said he has done some work on his home with the expectation of getting reimbursed. But that hasn’t happened.
"The house is cracking up bad," he said. "The kitchen ceiling is falling in."
Navetta Webster, an 11-year resident of LBJ Gardens, said all areas of the housing community have a long history of problems. The recreational facility has been a "hell hole" for the past five years, she said.
Personally, Webster said her unit is often flooded with sewage, soaked by leaking water pipes and plagued by bad wiring that destroys appliances. She showed a videotape of the problems, and criticized the "incompetency" and "laissez-faire" management of Housing Department officials.
"For five-and-a-half years I’ve been complaining," Webster said. "I’ve complained and complained until I can’t complain anymore."
V.I. Housing Authority Executive Director Conrad Francois and V.I. Housing Finance Authority Executive Director Claude Richards were also present at the hearing, called by committee chairman Senator Celestino White, a long-time advocate for public-housing residents and of home ownership programs for middle- and low-income residents.
Other witnesses listed a litany of complaints, which the housing officials promised to look into.
Senators in attendance, besides Senator White, were Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, Carlton Dowe, Emmett Hansen II , Norma Pickard-Samuel, Norman Jn Baptiste and Adelbert Bryan.

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