CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - One Gadsden Green resident said she believes she is being targeted by the Charleston Housing Authority for speaking out against living conditions in the housing complex.
Gadsden Green is a public housing complex owned by the Charleston Housing Authority; a nonprofit that provides housing for moderate to low-income residents.
“Here in Gadsden Green, I guess they call me the ‘whistleblower.’ It’s why a lot of the tenants say I’m receiving what I’m receiving, and why they didn’t speak up,” resident Brittany Muckelvaney said. “They weren’t willing to go through this, and at this point, I’m not sure if I am either.”
Muckelvaney first spoke to Live 5 News in early September. At the time, she and several other residents spoke about the rats, black mold, and leaking ceilings they said they dealt with on a daily basis.
Since then, Muckelvaney has spoken to Live 5 News several times and stood alongside Rep. Wendell Gilliard and other state and community leaders during a press conference about living conditions in the complex.
Muckelvaney and several other residents have also filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Charleston Housing Authority because of the “egregious deplorability” of living conditions.
The attorney representing the Gadsden Green residents in that lawsuit, Vanisa Brown, said she believes the Charleston Housing Authority is using “arbitrary” fines to harass Muckelvaney. She said none of her other clients named in that lawsuit are being “targeted” like Muckelvaney.
“They’re using that as a tool to harass her and retaliate against her for doing what, really she should have done, which is make her voice heard,” Brown said.
Brown and Muckelvaney said she has received three fines in two weeks: two for leaving her trash can on the curb, and one for trash in her front yard.
Within the two-week period, they said she also received a letter stating that “several deficiencies” were found in her home during a maintenance visit, and that there would be various random inspections of her home moving forward.
“If you fail to meet the housekeeping standards, the Housing Authority will terminate your lease,” the letter reads.
Gilliard, who has advocated for improved living conditions in Gadsden Green after seeing Live 5′s coverage, said during a meeting with Housing Authority Officials he spoke specifically about preventing retaliation against residents.
He said the CEO and President of the Charleston Housing Authority, Arthur Milligan, assured him that if there was evidence of any type of harassment, he would take immediate action.
“That was his commitment, that was his promise, and quite frankly, we’re going to hold him up to it,” Gilliard said.
The Charleston Housing Authority Provided the following statement:
The Housing Authority is not aware of its harassment towards any resident. We will not try cases in the press, nor will we comment on unsubstantiated allegations by the Plaintiff and their Attorney. We will, however, continue to work diligently towards our mission and look forward to defending this case in the court of law.
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