Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiApril 21, 2016

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On Wednesday, Jacksonville city officials, including Mayor Lenny Curry and Councilman Tommy Hazouri, visited Washington Heights. The Global Ministries Foundation’s 200-unit HUD complex has many of the same issues as Eureka Gardens, say the electeds, including mold and public safety concerns. Curry told FloridaPolitics.com this was one of his many “neighborhood walks” in which he goes into […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 20, 2016

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 […]

Melissa RossMarch 30, 2016

News that problems still persist at Jacksonville’s troubled Eureka Garden public housing complex has local activists such as Denise Hunt steaming. “I’m disgusted. I was assured these problems would be solved, and I even offered a case management plan of action to help solve some of the inequities out there. I feel like I got […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 15, 2015

A December 10 letter from HUD broke the news: Eureka Garden is in default of its HUD Housing Assistance Payments contract. The reason for default: failure to maintain facilities, as amply documented throughout the media. including failure to provide “decent, safe, and sanitary housing” and keep units in “good and tenantable condition” in accordance with […]

Melissa RossOctober 27, 2015

A chastened Tennessee pastor and nonprofit CEO has promised to make a laundry list of fixes at a troubled Jacksonville Section 8 housing complex after media reports uncovered deplorable conditions at the city’s notorious Westside Eureka Garden complex. “I am not a slumlord,” said the Rev. Richard Hamlet during an appearance on WJCT’s First Coast Connect. […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 26, 2015

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In a letter last week, the Eureka Gardens Tenants Association wrote HUD Secretary Julian Castro to continue its pressure on HUD to resolve “numerous conditions in our homes that are in direct conflict with HUD’s policy of providing safe, decent and affordable housing.” The letter contends that “practices in place at our complex may involve […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 14, 2015

Jacksonville’s 400 Unit HUD-funded apartment complex, Eureka Gardens, was one of those things that mysteriously flew below the radar until recently. Even though Jacksonville’s City Council spotlighted the horrific conditions at the complex, going so far as to pass a resolution urging HUD to defund it, the complex’s issues remained. The solutions discussed included adding […]

Melissa RossApril 21, 2015

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says it’s trying to assist Florida with its ongoing foreclosure woes, announcing $479,394 in grants to support 30 housing counseling organizations across the state. The funding is intended to provide information to help families and individuals with their housing needs and to prevent future foreclosures, according […]

Tag: HUD

Lenny Curry, Tommy Hazouri talk Washington Heights

Lenny Curry, Tommy Hazouri press for action on Washington Heights in Jax

Persistent problems at Eureka Garden complex outrage Jax activists

Eureka Garden in default of HUD contract

Eureka Garden chief: “I am not a slumlord”

Eureka Gardens tenants appeal to HUD for relief

Eureka Gardens code inspection reports raise existential questions

State gets HUD housing counseling grants; foreclosure crisis continues, may worsen