Mold at Warren apartments, May 29, 2015
Remember when we first raised the issue of Global Ministries Foundation being slumlords and criminals, and “respectable people” chastised us and debated if this was true? They’re silent now, but the same can’t be said for the attorneys taking GMF to task.
As the Commercial Appeal reports, the Bank of New York Mellon Trust has asked a federal judge in Memphis to strip GMF of control of Warren and Tulane apartments.
Attorneys for the bank accused GMF of allowing the property to fall into a state of disrepair to the point of not meeting basic standards, according to the motion filed in U.S. District Court on Friday. Attorneys also accused GMF of failing to alert bondholders of the notice of default the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued over nine months ago. The bank indicated in court records it found out about HUD stopping federal subsidies for the property from the federal housing agency, not from GMF. The bank’s motion also suggests GMF may have committed fraud.
The article also quotes our brave tenant organizer Cynthia Crawford who faced retaliation by GMF after she spoke out.
We have huge plumbing issues here. The toilets overflow, tubs overflow after we shower,” said Cynthia Crawford, who lives at Warren and is also part of the tenant organization. “That’s a health hazard. We are going to move out but that’s going to take time.”
Crawford said she welcomed the idea of having someone new in charge of making repairs and ensuring tenants aren’t living in squalor.
While we are pleased to see action finally taken against GMF, we know that none of this would have happened without the work of our brave tenant organizers. Please support our Tenants Rights Project here to ensure that this work continues.