Home Care In Gadsden, SC

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.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The fight continues to save what’s left of Gadsden Creek on the Charleston peninsula.

There has been a debate over this tidal creek, which activists say is important to the area’s Black community, for years.

The Charleston Area Justice Ministry hosted an event Thursday evening at Burke High School to gain additional support in their efforts to revitalize the creek.

A judge ruled in favor of the nonprofit WestEdge Foundation to fill and cap the creek in 2022, but that ruling is now up for appeal.

Organizers say the goal of Thursday’s meeting was to spread the word on this issue that many feel very passionate about and dig deeper into the science behind what could potentially happen if development on the creek is approved.

“Their [Gadsden Green residents] needs and their way of life is kind of being shoved to the side because there’s money to be made,” Charleston Area Justice Ministry volunteer Lisa Gertner said.

A developer believes paving over what’s left of the historic creek will be the solution to pollution and flooding, but those against development say it’ll lead to more problems.

“It’s already a heat island,” Charleston Area Justice Ministry member Ron Malcolm said. “It’s one of the hottest places on the peninsula, and to put more buildings and concrete with [the] reflection off the windows and the buildings, it’s just going to make it even more miserable for those people.”

RELATED: Debate reignites over fate of Gadsden Creek in downtown Charleston

The event saw support to save the creek from generations of Charleston residents.

“I think it’s very important to the communities who live there and also the ecosystem,” Ashley Hall student Rheagan Miller said. “I feel like we need to protect the creek to make sure they are not harmed.”

Gertner said the development will only decrease the quality of life for the residents who’ve been there for years.

“Eventually they’re going to be pushed out and it’s not right that they are being taken advantage of again,” Gertner said. “There’s a long history of people in that community being taken advantage of.”

The ministry said they want community members to make their voices heard by reaching out to city officials and sharing why they want to see Gadsden Creek protected.

Friends of Gadsden Creek filed the appeal against SCDHEC and the developer in Jan. 2023, and as of October, it’s set to head to the Supreme Court.

You can read the judge’s final order in the document below or click here if you have trouble viewing it.

Friends of Gadsden Creek by Live 5 News on Scribd

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Residents at Gadsden Green Apartments have filed a lawsuit against the Charleston Housing Authority over what they call deplorable living conditions at the low-income public housing complex.

The housing authority says its mission is to provide decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing to low and moderate-income citizens of the City of Charleston.

The 10 tenants listed in the lawsuit signed their various lease agreements to rent apartments at Gadsden Green between 2008 and 2023 and have since reported experiencing myriad issues within their units.

In a court filing last month, the tenants said they are seeking legal recourse for the poor living conditions allegedly caused by rat infestation, improperly maintained electrical systems, and persistent water leakage causing significant mold and mildew growth.

“The tenants have endured these problems for an extended period, resulting in several harms, including emotional distress, astronomically high electricity bills, and displacement from their homes,” the filing stated.

Tenants said the issues have significantly impacted the habitability of their apartments and caused financial loss, and emotional distress.

They said the housing authority has failed to properly address the infestations. Tenants also said that because of the poorly maintained and outdated electric systems, they have been financially burdened with electricity bills which are abnormally high. And have been forced to limit use of electricity inside their apartments because of faulty or outdated system.

“Wall outlets in some apartment homes would, without any manipulation whatsoever, shoot electrical sparks. Such sparks resulted in a small fire in at least one of the Plaintiffs’ apartment homes. The random firing of electrical sparks may also be due to rats chewing on the wires. Regardless of the cause, such a phenomenon creates a serious fire hazard,” the filing said.

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In one instance, a plaintiff said his home underwent heat treatment for bed bugs in August 2022. Shortly after treatment, the man – who is legally blind – felt bed bugs crawling on his face after air from a vent in his apartment home started blowing the vermin from inside the duct onto him.

He said it was the fourth time his home had been treated for bed bugs since he became a resident.

Two other tenants in another unit said their apartment experienced severe water leakage in February 2023 that caused a ceiling to cave. “The water leak caused extensive damage” to their furniture and were not reimbursed for the damage done to their property.

The plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial and hope to be awarded damages connected to allegations named in the lawsuit, along with attorney fees and other costs.

When asked for comment, the Housing Authority of the City of Charleston said it “will not make any comment on pending litigation.”

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — The fight to save what remains of Gadsden Creek continues.

Local advocacy groups have appealed a judge’s decision to allow developer WestEdge Foundation to fill and cap the nearly four-acre tidal creek.

Read More: Gadsden Creek and SCLEP file an appeal against court's decision to side with WestEdge

Members of "Friends of Gadsden Creek" and "Charleston Area Justice Ministry" protested Friday morning just blocks from Southeast Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) festivities. They invited expo attendees to join them in their calls for the City of Charleston to restore and revitalize the creek.

“When we talk about conservation and protecting wildlife, we must talk about Gadsden Creek,” said Lin Kuhl Joy, a member of both FOGC and CAJM. “The city continues dumping its sins, telling half-truths and lies about contamination, lack of funding, and the true impact of this development.”

In December, a judge ruled in favor of WestEdge, citing the "unique hurdle of a naturalized drainage ditch for a landfill that is now being contaminated by that landfill."

Protestors said measures to prevent flooding were never taken by the city.

“The city could have easily answered the problem of tide water flooding long before now with simple solutions that they are already using in other parts of the city with higher income bracket,” said CAJM Flooding Steering Committee Member, Michelle Brandt.

The City of Charleston provided ABC News 4 with an Army Corps of Engineers permit from 2009, stating the Corps would not authorize proposed mitigation activities in this area because "the potential negative impacts associated with excavating a portion of a former landfill and restoring tidal flow to this area far outweighs the potential environmental benefits."

Read More: 'Fight is far from over': Friends of Gadsden Creek respond to DHEC ruling

Members of the Westside community agree action needs to be taken against flooding, but said they refuse to ignore deeper issues of gentrification.

“We know that whatever is developed in the future in the next few years, if the city moves forward, will lead to the displacement of scores and scores of black families,” said FOGC Co-Chair and Charleston Mayoral Candidate Mika Gadsden. “We’re asking the city to do right and save the Gadsden Creek."

WestEdge said the short-term goal for the area is to provide flooding relief and protection from pollution and contamination, adding this appeal will only delay relief and force residents to suffer.