Newark cracks down on 'slumlords', condemns rodent, bedbug-infested buildings

Mayor Ras Baraka said the move came after years of complaints and legal action led to no significant improvements at the South Ward properties

NEWARK - When Shaquana Council comes home, she traverses hallways filled with drug dealers and broken bottles to a two-bedroom apartment crawling with rats and bedbugs.

The 30-year-old and her four children, including a son who is deaf, have lived at the Aspen Stratford Apartments at 2 Stratford Place for the last seven years, though the conditions there often force them to stay elsewhere.

"It's hell. Really, hell," she said.

Soon, however, Council and approximately 100 other families living at the five-story building will suffer no longer. Mayor Ras Baraka and other city officials announced Thursday that they had officially condemned the structure and three others owned by Virginia-based Realty Management Associates.

"This kind of action has never been done in the city at this magnitude," Baraka told a throng of reporters gathered on Stratford Place. "Its just a clarion call that it's a new day and that we aren't going to tolerate this stuff."

Both residents and the city say the properties on Stratford Place and two townhouses on nearby Johnson Avenue have been riddled with problems for decades.

Rats and bedbugs have set up permanent colonies, leaks have led to the growth of mold and mushrooms, heat and elevators work rarely if ever, and smoke detectors are conspicuously absent. During a recent visit, Director of Neighborhood Services Patrick Council said he caught a man breaking into one an apartment before jumping out a rear window.

"It's become a public safety issue and it's become a public health issue," he said.

Officials say Realty Management Associates have made periodic, patchwork-like improvements over the years, but have allowed the subpar conditions to persist on Stratford Place and other properties around Newark. The city has sued the company and its agents Wayne and Denise Fox in an attempt to force them to address the violations, but the couple failed to show up to a pair of appearances in Newark Municipal Court last week, officials said.

In a statement, Wayne Fox said he was "saddened" to learn of the city's actions, and that regular upkeep was performed at the buildings. He added that it was "confusing and unfortunate" that HUD was apparently supporting the condemnations, claiming the agency had just given the properties a passing grade on an inspection last week.

"The residents' health and safety are and always have been our and the owners' top priorities," he said.

"Although it is most unfortunate that the City has decided to take this most litigious route, we look forward to the opportunity to present all the facts, evidence, and circumstances at the appropriate time."

Baraka said the city had enlisted the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to find other housing for the hundreds of families living in the buildings. He also hoped the move would send a message to other negligent owners.

"We are after these people, that's for sure...we need significant investment," he said. "When you look up slumlord in the dictionary, you probably see the Foxes there."

Most residents are expected to be moved into their new homes by Thanksgiving. On Thursday, many were still in near disbelief that their suffering might soon come to an end.

"I just feel like thank God," said Shaquana Council. "I was waiting for this day."