A.G. Gancarski
Washington Heights is just one of a few questionable HUD complexes owned and run by the Global Ministries Foundation. Some politicians, such as district Councilman Reggie Brown, have sent mixed signals regarding getting timely redress for the beleaguered tenants of the Northwest Jacksonville complex.
Others, however, are moving more expeditiously.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is primary among them. Curry will be doing a walkthrough of the complex Wednesday afternoon. Additionally, said his spokeswoman Marsha Oliver, Curry has talked to the Mayor of Memphis, where GMF complexes are as much a source of civic embarrassment as they are in Jacksonville.
“It is my understanding that the mayor did have a conversation with the Memphis mayor today; however, I am unaware of any specific policy directives or outcomes that were determined as a result of their discussion. It is certainly a demonstrated effort that amplifies the mayor’s commitment to learning more about the multi-family housing needs and challenges other communities are facing,” Oliver wrote in an email to FloridaPolitics.com Wednesday.
The mayor, adds Oliver, will be conducting an “On Your Block” walk through the Washington Heights community today. The walk itself will not be a media event.
Curry intends to share insights gleaned from the community with HUD Secretary Julian Castro.
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The Jacksonville Mayor is not the only local official headed to Washington Heights Wednesday.
At-Large Councilman Tommy Hazouri, a former mayor, is slated to meet with the President and VP of the Washington Heights’ tenants association Wednesday afternoon, in what is expected to be a private meeting.
Hazouri, while mayor from 1987 to 1991, kicked off the effort to alleviate the suffering of Jacksonville residents in Blodgett Homes, a project that, like Washington Heights, was decades old and in disrepair.
Hazouri, in a conversation with FloridaPolitics.com, urged a “hurry-up offense” to alleviate the human suffering in Washington Heights and other GMF properties, conducted in a “deliberate, transparent way” with the buy in of residents.
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Expect updates on this piece later on Wednesday afternoon.
