Brith Sholom House residents get new landlord after months in fear of displacement
PHILADELPHIA - Residents living in the Brith Sholom House in Wynnefield Heights say over the years the quality of life there has gone downhill.
"When I first moved here it was really great, really nice building, everything was in order," said resident Frederick Redditt.
Redditt has been living there for two and a half years and says bad management is the cause of the decline.
"That’s been very hard because they’ve done everything to make us uncomfortable," said Redditt.
Residence tell us outside benches have been taken away, their social areas have been closed within the building, they’ve been denied access of laundry rooms, and more.
In the past, FOX 29 has reported on the issues at the facility, including tenants receiving notice of their gas being shut off because management failed to pay gas bills, and even city officials identifying disturbing conditions back in 2023 resulting in dozens of notices of violations and an excess of 100 code violations.
Elderly tenants in fear of displacement call for Philadelphia leaders to save Brith Sholom House
More than 150 senior residents living in West Philadelphia are at risk of losing their homes and they rallied outside City Hall Tuesday, calling on the city to step in.
"It’s a lot of things that’s wrong and I think they are doing that to make it harder for them and push them out," said Essence Hughes.
Hughes has been taking care of 92 year old Josephine Minor for nearly two years.
Minor is a resident, Hughes has been trying to keep her away from the building throughout the day to avoid the problems.
"She’s stuck to my hip so, I try to keep her out because they make the complaints and it be a lot going on and it gets her worked up," said Hughes.
So worked up that it’s taken away her enjoyment of the place.
"I really don’t like living there, it’s just that I’m in a position right now that I really can’t do too much," said Minor.
Some of her neighbors have been fighting on her behalf.
"You can read about it, you can talk about it, or you can be about it, we chose to be about it," said resident Gail Peddle.
Peddle in the union have continually fought management and pled with the city to have the Philadelphia housing Authority take over control of the building, which judge decided Monday to let it happen.
"We’re looking forward to this being an opportunity to preserve 360 units of affordable housing right here in the neighborhood, keep tenants in their homes and it’s been an incredible outcome," said Madison Gray, an Attorney of the Public Interest Law Center.
We reached out to the current management group but have not heard back yet.
The Philadelphia Housing Authority plans to close on the deal on Thursday and will then be the official owners of the building.