East End public housing long plagued by problems

Complaints date back at least five years

Tenants had been complaining for years about problems — rodent and pest infestations, broken pipes, sewage backups and more — at Bethesda-Homewood Properties.

Officials announced in October that more than 100 East End families could relocate from the privately owned, federally subsidized apartments due to poor housing conditions. But the properties had been plagued by problems for at least five years, according to records from the Allegheny County Health Department.

In a statement, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it “was actively engaged in holding the owner responsible for bringing the property up to the department’s housing standards” but provided no details or specifics about any action it took prior to finally suspending subsidy payments to the property’s owners at the end of October.

The owner of the property is legally responsible to correct

violations, health department officials said, and they did not deal directly with HUD.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obtained complaints to the health department from tenants and inspection records for the last five years via a request under Pennsylvania’s Right to Know law.

Some of the issues inspectors found over the years at the properties were “emergency” problems, according to inspection records.

“The cellar was filled with 7 inches of raw sewage,” a 2013 inspection of a Brushton Avenue apartment noted, which the health department inspector deemed an emergency. When he returned to inspect the premises again, he noted the cellar was locked and he couldn’t enter. The violation was eventually corrected, records show.

At a Tioga Street apartment in November 2012, inspectors noted another emergency situation when the furnace was inoperable in “winter conditions”; they ordered the problem to be fixed within 24 hours. Days later, the dwelling was deemed “unfit for human habitation” because that and other violations were not corrected. A health department letter to tenants informed them they were permitted to pay their rent into an escrow account for six months due to the conditions of the unit.

During an inspection at the same apartment building in January 2013, the inspector noted a basement floor “contaminated with sewage.” Paperwork by the inspector noted the unit would have to be inspected again by the department before it could be occupied. The problems were eventually corrected, records show.

Although records show many violations were corrected following the tenant’s complaint, in other instances, the health department didn’t take further action because the tenant was evicted, or because the tenant declined to allow inspectors into their home. The health department suspends enforcement in these instances, officials said, because they have limited resources.

“Once the tenant and landlord are embroiled in eviction proceedings, our efforts to do enforcement are hampered,” said Ryan Scarpino, a department spokesman.

If a court allows the tenant to remain in the apartment, the agency “will resume our enforcement efforts,” he said.

Mr. Scarpino said the health department makes multiple attempts, via phone calls and letters, to reach tenants before closing a case.

HUD is offering relocation assistance to residents of the more than 100 units to obtain a voucher to find new housing, in addition to other moving help. Most of the apartments are in Homewood, though others are in Larimer and Garfield.

At one Hamilton Avenue apartment, a leaking or broken water pipe was “causing structural damage,” according to a Sept. 1 inspection. The pipe, the inspector noted, was “causing the gas line to rust and floorboards to rot.” The department suspended enforcement action shortly soon after because the tenant was being evicted but in a letter to property manager Aishel Real Estate noted, “Occupancy of these premises is prohibited,” until all the cited violations were fixed.

Wilkinsburg-based Aishel Real Estate, which managed the units, has previously said tenants were responsible for many of the more serious maintenance problems at the properties.

“We poured a lot of money into this property,” Chaim Davidson, a broker at Aishel, said last month.

Mr. Davidson declined on Thursday to address specific situations but said any health department complaints were addressed promptly.

At a Murtland Street apartment earlier this year, a health department inspector noted cracked and bubbled plaster, mildew growing above a shower, missing or cracked caulking allowing water to seep behind a bathtub, the thermostat in disrepair, and “possible deteriorated lead paint,” among other issues. In October, the department ordered the owners to correct the violations and threatened possible fines. Days later, city officials announced HUD was offering relocation assistance for tenants to move.

A tenant complained of broken windows, an “infestation” of ants and a bedroom floor “caving in,” among other problems, at their unit on North Aiken Avenue in 2015. The health department suspended enforcement action shortly after the complaint was received due to the tenant being evicted, records show.

An inspection at a Hamilton Avenue unit in 2014, the department inspector noted a carbon monoxide hazard where the gas water heater flue pipe was not sealed to the chimney, damaged electrical fixtures and rotted floorboards.The department ordered the owner to fix the problems. At the same property in 2016, an inspector noted a bedbug and rodent infestation, though the inspection report also noted the occupant was “not maintaining the dwelling in a clean and sanitary manner.” The case was closed earlier this year, records show, after the tenant failed to make an appointment for the property to be re-inspected.

Although two inspection reports noted peeling paint, the health department does not disclose if specific locations have been cited for lead paint hazards, because it believes these records are exempt from the state’s Right to Know law. It’s unclear from the records obtained by the Post-Gazette if any young children, who can be particularly harmed by lead paint dust and chips, were living in the residences at the time problems were noted.