Complex had building code violations before Legionnaires’ outbreak
HAMILTON >> The Alvin E. Gershen Apartments had numerous building code violations in 2018, the same year when the senior housing complex gained an infamous association with Legionnaires’ disease.
Robert Bonfitto of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs inspected the Gershen Apartments on Feb. 23, 2018, finding 25 violations, records show.
Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, commissioner of the DCA, ordered Gershen Apartments to correct the violations, mostly cosmetic issues.
Gershen Apartments violated New Jersey’s Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law by having a number of poorly maintained bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms and hallways. The building also had two “life safety” violations in a sixthfloor unit featuring a faulty smoke detector, according to the inspection report issued March 9, 2018.
DCA sent the inspection report to Jonathan Gershen’s company with the following threat: “Failure to comply with this notice and Orders of the Commissioner will subject you to a penalty levied by the Department of Community Affairs in accordance with the provisions of the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law.”
The state Bureau of Housing Inspection determined most areas in the low-income housing complex had “no violations,” but the 25 cited violations demanded corrective action, according to the report obtained by The Trentonian through an Open Public Records Act request.
DCA ordered Gershen Apartments to take necessary corrective action, including ceiling repairs and bathtub resurfacing. Gershen Apartments also had to install a carbon monoxide detector system and repair or replace a smoke detector to abate the life safety violations.
DCA re-inspected the apartment complex on June 18, 2018, and determined that Gershen Apartments “abated” all violations, records show.
Shortly thereafter, 89-year-old Gershen Apartments tenant Agnes DiNatale died from Legionella pneumonia on July 11, 2018. The New Jersey Department of Health did not publicly announce her fatality but said three cases of Legionnaires’ disease have emerged in the last 14 months in residents of Gershen Apartments.
“Whether you are 20 or 90, you should not die from Legionnaires’ disease,” DiNatale’s daughter Amelia Panfili told The Trentonian last month in an exclusive interview. “It was very shocking to me. She was very happy with the facility. She enjoyed being with other seniors, having the camaraderie there.”
Medical experts say Legionnaires’ disease is entirely preventable through proper water system maintenance. Gershen Apartments had Legionella bacteria in its potable water system last November, when DOH confirmed one case of Legionnaires’ disease associated with the building. Since then, DOH confirmed two additional cases.
The state Department of Health and Hamilton Township Division of Health have an ongoing investigation at the Gershen Apartments, according to a state DOH spokesperson. with the Gershen Group LLC, a New Jerseybased property management firm that also provides consulting and bookkeeping services, according to Gershen’s website.
Moderate Income Management Company has previously come under fire for its poor record of maintaining the troubled Kingsbury Towers housing complex in Trenton.
Kingsbury was cited last year with 417 building and fire code violations, according to a 2018 inspections report.
During a 2015 sweep of the 19-story high rise in Trenton’s North Ward, inspectors found 332 building and fire code violations, including for not ridding apartment units
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