Rev. Jesse Jackson Meets With Residents Amid Complaints Of Mold, Mice, Mismanagement At Concordia Place Apartments
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mold, mice, and a lack of proper management – that is what residents at a low-income housing complex on the city's Far South Side say they're enduring.
CBS 2 first reported last week on issues at Concordia Place, at 13037 S. Daniel Dr. in the Riverdale neighborhood. Now, as CBS 2's Tim McNicholas reported Tuesday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is demanding answers from the New York-based management company.
Rev. Jackson said he arranged to meet with management of Concordia Place Apartments on Tuesday, but they didn't show up.
So instead, Jackson met only with residents. They showed him and his Rainbow PUSH Coalition colleagues the mold and mice droppings in their units, as seen in photos taken Tuesday.
"It makes us feel like they don't care," said Concordia Place resident Keonna Sargent. "They just patchwork up - come in, patch work - instead of fixing the problem."
"You deserve better. You're going to get better," said Bishop Tavis Grant of Rainbow PUSH. "We're going to fight for it."
We first reported on the complex last week, when we discovered the dumpsters at Concordia were for some reason hauled away - leaving the occupants of more than 200 apartments with nowhere to put their garbage bags for at least three days.
The tenants receive federal rent assistance, but the complex is privately managed by a New York company called Capital Realty Group.
After our story aired, management agreed to a meeting with Jackson on Tuesday at his Rainbow PUSH Headquarters.
"Management was right outside our headquarters here and refused to come in because they're afraid to address the media," Bishop Grant said.
They also were not available at the complex. But for the second straight week someone who said they were security for the property asked CBS 2's McNicholas and his crew to leave as they documented the problems.
"We don't need patchwork and half doing the job," Sargent said. "We need the entire job to be complete."
Residents also sent us photos from the past couple years showing mice stuck to traps.
They say management finally returned their dumpsters last week, but the rodent problems and mold remain.
Management never got back to us. But a spokesperson for Concordia Place said the meeting at Rainbow PUSH didn't happen because the property manager saw our camera on the sidewalk outside Rainbow PUSH Headquarters.
As for the living conditions at Concordia Place, the representative said any and all issues raised will be looked into and addressed. Rainbow PUSH said they will be following up on that, and so will we.
