Trash and other maintenance issues are piling up at a Dauphin County apartment complex.
Residents at Eastridge Apartments in Swatara Township say garbage hasn’t been picked up for days, and is adding to their growing list of complaints. Dumpsters around the complex were visibly spilling over with garbage on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s disastrous. It’s sickening. It’s unsanitary and unsafe,” said Joyce Clark, a 20-year resident.
Another resident, who wished not to be identified, questioned why the garbage isn’t being picked up and called it unhealthy.
Robert Ihlein, Swatara Township’s director of planning and zoning, said a code officer was expected to stop at the complex today, and noted the township has the right to give the management a notice of violation.
In a statement, Eastridge Apartments management team blamed the problem on a scheduling mix-up and said that the garbage will be removed by Friday.
“Providing safe, sanitary, and decent housing is the top priority of the Eastridge Apartments management team,” it stated.
Garbage collection company GFL declined comment.
Lack of garbage removal is just one of many concerns residents shared with PennLive, ranging from mold and mildew in bathroom ceilings and fixtures to plumbing issues and a lack of snow removal.
“I don’t believe people should be living in these conditions and I would hope this particular owner starts taking more responsibility and acting faster to address their tenants’ concerns,” said Swatara Township Commissioner Michael Tuckey.
Nationally, Eastridge’s owner, Millennia Companies in Cleveland, Ohio, owns about 200 subsidized properties in nearly two dozen states. Eastridge offers one-to-three-bedroom apartments designed for those who meet the federal definition for affordable housing, according to the low-income housing website.
Millennia, which also owns Linden Terrace in Harrisburg and Hershey Plaza in Derry Township, is under scrutiny across the nation for complaints, including trash pile-ups, breeding maggots and broken AC and heating units.
In January, tenants at Linden Terrace complained about broken elevators that they said left elderly and disabled tenants stuck in their apartments for a week.
Problems at Millennia properties, in some cases, have led to severe injuries and death. Tenants at one Arkansas Millennia property filed a $5 billion class action lawsuit against the company after a gas explosion killed three residents.
A mother and daughter were killed following a gas leak at one property in Mississippi, while a 2019 gas explosion in Jacksonville, Florida hospitalized seven people.
The nation’s top housing authority, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is holding the company accountable after it found Millennia mismanaged tenant security deposit accounts and taxpayer funds providing housing assistance.
The agency said it is demanding Millennia repay misappropriated funds and the company faces potential civil money penalties and a suspension as well as possible debarment.
“HUD has suspended Millennia from entering into new business with the federal government and is taking steps to bar Millennia CEO Frank T. Sinito and Millennia Housing Management from all federal government programs, including HUD’s Project-Based Section 8 program, for five years,” according to a spokesperson.
Clark said Eastridge used to be a nice place to live, but in recent years, maintenance issues have cropped up. She said last summer, she lived with sewage backups for a month.
“Our homes smelled like toilets. We were running to Sheetz, to the office to go to the bathroom,” Clark said.
Last fall, she said problems were compounded by sewer flies. After nothing was done she reached out to the Swatara Township Codes Enforcement officials. The township cited Millennia for violations, resulting in a hearing and fines, according to court documents.
“We were getting them so bad they were covering the windows,” she said. “They were in my refrigerator and stove.”
Clark added she’s holding her rent payments because she’s spent so much money on bug spray and meals out on account of the bugs.
Others, such as Stephanie Shields, point out the lack of attention to maintenance. Last year, she said, sewage leaked from her toilet and bathtub to a hallway floor. Management fixed the problem, but Shields said it resurfaced a week later and no one offered to clean it or relocate her and her son.
Plumbers dug up her apartment to replace a pipe for three weeks and she said during the work, they discovered black mold behind her kitchen cabinets. The mold was not removed and she said they never replaced the sewage-stained carpets.
“The amount of stress and amount of feces I had to clean up was horrible,” she said.
Shields said they told her they would relocate her to a different unit, but she’s still waiting five months later.
“Honestly, I think because we live in low income. It’s like ‘Oh, we don’t got no money and we’re low-income and that’s why we got nothing,’” she said. “They’re treating us like we live in the ghetto.”
Patty Grossman said mold grew in her bathroom for months and only recently was the problem fixed. Moving, she said, is not an option.
“How do you do it with almost $800 a month to pay to rent an apartment? There’s no way you can, especially when people are living here and are on a fixed income, a lot of them get food stamps,” she said.
In a statement, Eastridge’s management team emphasized it is committed to providing safe, decent and sanitary housing for residents.
It noted the complex undergoes continuous upkeep, with daily maintenance and cleaning carried out in outdoor spaces and shared areas. Monthly inspections cover interior lighting, sidewalks and landscaping, while quarterly inspections address life safety concerns, which it says are promptly addressed.
“As with any apartment community, maintenance issues arise and the management team is focused on responding to them promptly and professionally,” it stated.
Management said on March 5 that it was aware of mold in the basement of one building and blocked the area off, with remediation scheduled. It also said snow was removed this winter after each storm and the most recent plumbing issues were addressed in the fall.
Ihlein acknowledged the township has handled several maintenance complaints at Eastridge over the past year and a half that seem to take a while to resolve.
“We try and work with the property owners and maintenance people to work with them to get issues resolved,” he said.
Property owners are given notice of violation and if they don’t comply receive non-traffic citations filed with the local magistrate district court. It is then up to the district magistrate to hold a hearing and issue penalties, he said.
While Eastridge’s management has been slow to respond, Ihlein stressed the problem isn’t always the owners. Sometimes, he said tenants flush items such as disposable wipes and feminine hygiene products or toys that cause backups.
In the case of Clark’s sewer flies, Ihlein confirmed an exterminator found water leaking behind a wall near the shower causing the infestation. But Clark said a maintenance person recently found a broken pipe, but it’s not fixed and the flies remain.
Mostly, she’s worried about her health, noting she’s lost hair and her blood pressure is too high. She said she was informed she will have to move into a one-bedroom apartment while they do the work, something the apartment’s management confirmed.
“I’m so frustrated. I’m so stressed,” Clark said.
